Friday 11 November 2011

Vilafranca lodges administrative dispute with ADIF regarding noice levels



Ever since the highspeed train (AVE) service started to operate on the railway lines going through Vilafranca del Penedès (Alt Penedès) there have been severe complaints about noise. Now Mayor Pere Regull (CiU) has announced that he will lodge an administrative dispute with ADIF, the Spanish authourity responsable for railway infrastructure.

On the one hand, the ajuntament of Vilafranca wants for ADIF to reduce the noise in the non-covered parts of the track area, where it is still 13 decibels above the legal norms. On the other hand, it demands that the covered area – to which the local authorities do not yet have access – is cleant up since it looks like a deserted constructions site.

The AVE goes through but does not stop in Vilafranca. Pere Regull admits that the formal dispute is above all aimed at putting pressure on ADIF. A court ruling on the matter could possibly clarify ADIF’s responsibilities, but it will take negotiations to achieve a solution which does not only meet legal minimums but is also good for the town from an urbanistic perspective.

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Read more in Catalan (el 3 de Vuit) and Spanish (ABC).

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