The last hit of the train at the level crossing in Alfafar, which ended the life of a young 19-year-old university student last Wednesday, brought together dozens of people yesterday afternoon at the scene of the event to request the elimination of the crossing to level. Convened by the platform for the undergrounding of the Alfafar-Benetússer roads, it was held next to the aforementioned level crossing, and it was attended by the mayors of Alfafar and SedavÃ, Juan Ramón Adsuara and José Cabanes, respectively.
Adsuara warned that the problem with the level crossing after 40 years is “very serious”. “There is a structural one, which is how to bury it, but the other is political,” she denounced. In this regard, she claimed that the suppression of the level crossing and the creation of an underpass “must be accompanied by the commitment to bury it.” For his part, the mayor of Sedavà pointed out that “another life is lost at this level crossing”, and stressed that its suppression is “a historical claim of more than 40 years”.
Hours later, Adif summoned the first councilors to a meeting next Wednesday, May 3, in which it plans to reach an agreement with the municipalities to abolish the level crossing. Adif pointed out that this will “advance” the proposed solution from 2021, which is based on the construction of a pedestrian underpass and the diversion of vehicles through alternative steps. And it added in the statement that the suppression of the level crossing could be carried out “in the short term, once an agreement is signed that establishes the obligations of the parties.”
The infrastructure operator trusts that this meeting will contribute “to unblock this situation” and agree on a solution for this point of the rail network in the Valencian Community.
The latest death at the level crossing generated a popular reaction that resulted yesterday in a crowded concentration, in which the attendees displayed posters and banners with the slogans “SOS whistles”, “No more deaths” or “Buried the tracks already”.
From the platform, its president, Vicente GarcÃa, demanded “a solution so that there are no deaths, above all, and that there are no more patients.” “Less than two months ago another person died, in eight months three people have died, (…) This is unbearable,” he lamented. In this regard, he assured that the group has so far filed more than 100 complaints in the City Council against Adif.
