GRANADA'S long-awaited metro system has been put back at least another month and a half due to 'dysfunctional elements detected' during empty-train test-drives.
Andalucía regional government public works minister Felipe López says his team was 'too optimistic' when it announced the metro would be open for use by this coming Friday (March 31) and that it is now unlikely to be ready until mid-May at the earliest.
Mechanical faults mean the train is 'unable to reach the speeds needed to run successfully' and that ongoing tests will be carried out weekly to enable the regional government to eventually give an exact opening date.
López, speaking to mayors in Granada and the other towns outside the city through which the metro is due to run, said he is 'still confident' that, whatever happens, the metro will be on track in time for the high summer season as originally planned.
“We need to exercise prudence and responsibility without sacrificing safety or quality of service,” he insists.
Issues affecting the speed the metro will be able to travel at, and which need to be addressed, include shared track use by cyclists, parking spaces, loading and unloading bays, as well as enabling traffic to safely get through its 57 level crossings.
These are problems which the regional ministry initially underestimated, López admits.
Photograph by the regional government, or Junta, of Andalucía
