12,000 signatures call for the return of the Cartagena-Madrid train service

The service was suspended more than four years ago, with campaigners now calling on the Government to set a firm date for the return of passenger trains

A campaign to restore the direct train between Cartagena and Madrid has now reached the Spanish Government, with almost 12,000 people signing a petition calling for the service to return.

The Asociación Cultural Despierta CT formally registered a letter with the Presidency of the Government on Sunday September 13, addressed to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The group is asking him to step in after more than four years without the passenger connection through Chinchilla, Albacete.

The Cartagena to Chinchilla railway was closed to passenger services in February 2022, with the disruption initially expected to last two years. Four and a half years later, there is still no confirmed date for the return of trains.

The line is expected to reopen by the end of 2026 or early 2027, with freight trains set to use it while work is carried out around La Encina in Alicante. What remains unclear is whether passenger services will actually return to the line.

Despierta CT says it can't understand why the line is only being reopened for freight when there is clear demand for passenger trains to return as well. While the need for the freight route is clear, the association says Cartagena should also have a firm date for getting its direct trains to Madrid back.

It is also asking for information about the long-delayed Beniel bypass, a 1.4-kilometre section of railway first requested in 2015. The project was later planned and awarded, but the contract was eventually cancelled and the work remains unfinished.

The group points out that Cartagena has had a railway connection with Madrid since the 19th century. The Albacete-Cartagena line was approved in 1859, following years of campaigning for the railway to reach the city.

Now, Despierta CT says Cartagena is just asking to get back a service it already had.

After petitions, official complaints and thousands of signatures, the group says it has turned to the Prime Minister's office because they have run out of options and don't know who else to turn to.

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Image: Archive