Tortosa has unveiled its new 100% electric tourist train at the 80th Expoebre fair in Remolins, where it will be on display from 30 April to 3 May. The train, which evokes the historic Carrilet, was presented to the media by Mayor Mar Lleixà, Tourism and Fairs Councillor Sònia Rupérez, and First Deputy Mayor Jordi Jordan.
The Lleida-based company Ilertren Tourist Train built the vehicle, which cost €427,130. This was fully funded by European Next Generation funds. Mayor Lleixà explained that the vehicle was officially received on Monday and will soon complement the city's Green Wall Circuit project and the upcoming reorganisation of the riverfront.
Connecting History and Future
While the train is on display at Expoebre, it will not yet be operational, Lleixà clarified. The mayor noted that the train's exhibition aligns with the fair's 80th edition theme, 'Building history and memories of the future'. She described the new tourist train as a '21st-century Carrilet', arriving 100 years after the original Carrilet began connecting Tortosa with the Delta towns.
Lleixà called it a 'beautiful coincidence' that Tortosa can inaugurate an electric train, with a locomotive inspired by the old Carrilet, a century after the first section of the original line opened. To mark this, La Tuna Folk will perform one of their animation shows on Thursday afternoon during the Expoebre inauguration, recalling journeys on the legendary Carrilet between Tortosa and La Cava. Raquel Sánchez, president of Paradores, will inaugurate the fair.
Service Launch and Features
Councillor Rupérez reiterated that the new tourist train will be exhibited in the outdoor area of the exhibition pavilion for the four days of Expoebre but will not yet offer rides. She explained that necessary procedures, such as vehicle registration and the service concession tender, must be completed first. However, a contract with a company will be signed before summer to start the tourist train's operation. During this provisional testing period, rides will be free.
Rupérez also detailed that the final version of the tourist train is an improvement on the one initially put out to tender by the City Council. The locomotive is three times more powerful, offers two days of battery autonomy without recharging, and its two carriages can hold a total of 56 people. One carriage is adapted for people with reduced mobility, and the train is equipped to provide an audioguide system in four languages, for both children and adults.
The tourist train is expected to follow a route through the historic centre and commercial area, connecting to the new Green Wall Circuit. Rupérez anticipates it will pass along Sant Blai street, with one of its stops located near the municipal market by the river.
