The Canaries are demanding €4 billion from Spain for railways.

The government of the Canary Islands, together with the municipalities of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, are ready to contribute financially to the construction of railways on the two largest islands. However, they want Spain to recognize these trains as important for the entire country and allocate the main part of the money – more than 4 billion euros over 7-10 years.

The authorities understand that trains connecting the capitals with airports and tourist areas in the south are the only way out of the situation, as the population is becoming more mobile and the roads are congested. Therefore, now is the time to build a railway and demand that the central government treat the Canary Islands the same as other regions of Spain in terms of transport.

"We have not yet decided exactly how much we are ready to give, but the authorities of the Canary Islands, both municipalities and the government, are ready to contribute. We are not just asking for money, but we are also ready to allocate it ourselves so that the trains become a reality," said Pablo Rodríguez, Councilor for Public Works, Housing and Mobility of the Canary Islands.

Rodríguez spoke at a forum dedicated to the development of transport on the islands, where they discussed how to move railway construction projects forward. Other government officials also participated in the forum.

It is not yet known how much money each administration will provide. However, the railway construction plans state that 70% of the funding should be provided by Spain, 20% by the government of the Canary Islands, and 10% by each municipality.

To date, the central government has already allocated more than 20 million euros for the development of projects for each island. The municipality of Gran Canaria, which has made the most progress, has already budgeted 16.7 million euros for the purchase of land for construction, which is scheduled to begin at the end of this year or the beginning of 2026.

Pablo Rodríguez said that the Canary Islands Coalition wants the Spanish government to allocate money for both trains as part of an agreement between island nationalists and socialists to support the government of Pedro Sánchez.

Given the current complex political situation in Spain, the authorities of the Canary Islands propose including railway funding in the state budget for 2026. If the government is unable to gain support for the adoption of the budget, other funding options will be sought, recognizing the importance of these projects for the whole of Spain.

As an example, they mentioned the agreement on financing road construction in the Canary Islands, which allowed many projects to be implemented.

There are other opportunities to obtain money from the state and the European Union, for example, through the new law on transport development, which is currently being developed in Spain.

"We are considering different options, taking into account the political situation in Spain. Both projects cost more than 4 billion euros, but everything will not be done at once, we plan to build in stages," Rodríguez explained.

He added that although the amounts may seem large (1.8 billion euros for a train for Gran Canaria and 2.2 billion euros for a train for Tenerife), this should not be feared. After all, the construction of a railway in another region of Spain cost 5 billion euros, although its length was less than 50 kilometers.