The spokesperson for PSN in the Parliament of Navarra, Ramón Alzórriz, defended on Monday that the high-speed train (TAV) connection between Navarra and the Basque Autonomous Community (CAV) will either be through Vitoria or not at all, as the route through Ezkio, he said, «is not physically or economically viable.»
Speaking to the media after the Board of Spokespersons in the Parliament, Alzórriz emphasized that «it is unfeasible to tunnel through the Sierra del Aralar 20 kilometers on each side, rupture aquifers, and harm the environment.»
He explained that «the Ministry is currently conducting surveys» to «determine if it is possible to route the train through Ezkio.» «The Ministry is doing its job,» he said, asserting that «the viable route to connect to the Basque Y is through Vitoria.» «We do not want to carve up a land, a Navarrese mountain range, 20 kilometers on each side. We understand that it is unfeasible, economically, climatically, and environmentally. We are not within those parameters and we must be realistic,» he stated.
On the other hand, the spokesperson for UPN, Javier Esparza, stated that «PSN has already announced that Ezkio is unviable and the only option is Vitoria.» He noted, «I have long stated that the connection with the Basque Y will be wherever Pedro Sánchez wants, unrelated to the environment or other issues.»
In his opinion, «PSN is dancing on this issue and others to the tune of what EH Bildu tells them and what the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party in Madrid tells them regarding trains.» «EH Bildu is against everything, including having a tunnel in Aralar, and Sánchez saves millions of euros if it goes through Vitoria; therefore, we already have the solution,» he said, deeming it «tremendously unfair to gamble with the future of this Community.»
He continued, «We are talking about a project for generations» and «Navarra will be the last region to receive high-speed rail.» «Navarra has been supportive of the rest of Spain by funding 1.6% of every kilometer of high-speed rail built in this country, with thousands of kilometers already constructed, so we do not deserve this,» he warned, adding that «either an annual investment of 350 million euros begins, as the College of Engineers of Navarra suggests, or this will be an indefinite delay.» He stated that in the TAV «there is no progress, no effort, no commitment from the Spanish government.»
From EH Bildu, parliamentarian Adolfo Araiz pointed out that «what we are proposing to connect Navarra and the Basque Autonomous Community is a train that utilizes the current platform, there is already a well-defined social train project that would even allow high-speed speeds without the need for the current informational study.»
«We have no doubt that the improvement needed is the connection to Vitoria, but everything else is partisan territorial disputes, where we see representatives from Álava making statements and those from Guipúzcoa making others, but we are proposing that the high-speed train, in terms of the connection to the Basque Y, does not require the current informational study project,» he stated.
The spokesperson for Geroa Bai, Pablo Azcona, urged «sensibility» in statements regarding this infrastructure. «We have heard statements such as the TAV connection to Pamplona will either be through Vitoria or not at all, or that the world will not end if the TAV does not reach Navarra through Guipúzcoa.» «These are unfortunate statements,» he opined, defending that «looking at the map, there can be no disagreement that the best connection is through Ezkio, especially with an alternative that reduces impacts and was already presented by the Government of Navarra in 2018.»
He thus demanded «sensibility» in the statements because «this is a serious and extremely important issue for Navarra» and asked the Ministry to «evaluate all alternatives, including that alternative route through Ezkio, which reduces impacts.»
The spokesperson for PPN, Javier García, asked PSN if regarding the TAV, «they will do whatever the Socialist Party of the Basque Country wants or if they will stop kneeling before all socialism and speak up to defend Navarra.» He criticized that «they will do whatever Pedro Sánchez or others dictate in this case.» «I am concerned that the socialists have not yet spoken on this matter; I believe they should speak, not on behalf of the Socialist Party, but for the benefit of all Navarrese,» he said, opining that «they will speak little or not at all in favor of all Navarrese citizens.»
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