Since the beginning of this year, the Government had been working on a decree with the aim of promoting rail transport in the country. Those in charge of establishing the regulations were the Ministers of the Environment, Susana Muhamad, and of Transportation, William Camargo. After several weeks working on the draft, this Thursday EL TIEMPO learned exclusively of Decree 0510, published yesterday, April 24, which takes several measures with the aim of promoting this type of transportation in the country.
The document incorporates modifications to Decree 1076 of 2015, specifically related to the non-requirement of environmental licensing procedures in railway projects, accelerating the implementation of railway projects, thus seeking to promote more efficient and sustainable mobility, in line with national commitments. and international efforts to mitigate climate change.
The Minister of the Environment, Susana Muhamad, was one of the signatories of the Decree.
Photo:Santiago Saldarriaga Quintero
Furthermore, the standard Its objective is that in these railway projects “trains powered by electricity, hydrogen, electromagnetism, or any other means of low greenhouse gas emissions or not derived from the internal combustion of fossil fuels” operate.
Regiotram de Oeste, the future Regiotram del Norte, the Río train and the Valle train are some of the projects that benefit from the decision, for which they must meet some requirements: that the activity be developed within the railway corridor; does not include resettlement or relocation; does not involve the construction of tunnels and if cuts are made, they do not generate impacts in areas of springs and their water circuit, among others.
That is to say, Railway projects that are carried out on existing railway lines, that use renewable energy and that connect with mass transportation systems in large cities are exempt from applying for an environmental license. In cases where new railway lines must be opened, the rule will not be applicable.
“It is a very specific standard. It applies to rail transport with renewable energy, for example electric, that enters and connects to mass transportation systems in urban centers and that runs along rail corridors that already exist. So it is very specific, precisely because The railway corridor is already there and because it will generate an energy transformation by replacing transportation that today runs on gasoline with electric transportation,” said the Minister of the Environment, Susana Muhamad.
The objective is to operate trains that do not use fossil fuels for propulsion.
Photo:Medellin Metro
Besides, The decree also indicates that the environmental procedures in progress, related to projects in the transport infrastructure sector of the land-rail mode, must be archived by the environmental authority and the return of all the documentation provided will be ordered, to facilitate the development of these projects.
The decision was celebrated by experts in sustainable mobility such as the president of the Academic Mobility Network, Darío Hidalgo Guerrero, who pointed out that “It makes perfect sense” that existing railway infrastructure does not require new environmental licensing. “Good management of Minambiente and Mintransporte,” said the researcher.
EDWIN CAICEDO | ENVIRONMENT EDITOR
@CAICEDOUCROS | @ELTIEMPVERDE
