He has assured it in the plenary session of the Senate to the question formulated by the PSOE senator from La Paz, in which he asks whether the Ministry of Development considers that the situation of the railway in Extremadura “can be considered adequate to current times”.
De la Serna has maintained that “not a single linear meter” of the AVE to Extremadura “is going to be delayed” because there is “not enough budget” and has estimated that by the summer of 2019 the works will be completed, so that by 2020 “this un-electrified line to become an electrified line. ”
He stated that the Extremaduran railway corridor “is a priority” for the Government and recalled that during the previous PSOE legislature, between 2004 and 2010, only 8.7 percent of the works were put out to tender.
He has argued that the Government is going to “fulfill the commitments” and has assured that an informative study will be presented detailing an investment of 1,120 million euros for the section that connects Madrid with Seville and that reaches Oropesa.
Also, he has described as “important rhythm” the works for the sections that connect Plasencia with Badajoz -with dozens of contracts in progress, he pointed out- and that he will have an investment of 955 million euros, which add to the 855 million already intended.
In his question to De la Serna, Lemus recalled that the travel time from Badajoz to Madrid exceeds five and a half hours and criticized the numerous delays, breakdowns and accidents on a line that he described as “the train that is not going to nowhere ”or where“ one travels to the past ”.
