The Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, and the Mayor of Portbou, Gael Rodríguez, have signed an agreement to promote this training project. The initiative leverages the infrastructure of the historic Portbou station, a strategic point for cross-border mobility of goods and people between the Iberian Peninsula and Europe.
Niubó highlighted the importance of starting railway training from Vocational Training (FP) classrooms, as the sector requires hundreds of qualified professionals. The agreement lays the groundwork for the launch of the training cycle, which will require an investment of 480,000 euros and will have between fifteen and thirty students.
These studies will be integrated into an existing network of FP degrees related to the railway sector in Catalonia. The mayor detailed that the future FP will be located in a building adjacent to the station, the former 'Economato' (company store), currently disused. This space, with a relatively simple investment, will be able to house the new training.
Gael Rodríguez emphasized the advantages of the Portbou station for practical training, as it has tracks of both Iberian and European gauge. The commissioner for the transfer of commuter rail, Pere Macias, also present at the signing, noted that the Generalitat is working to re-establish standard gauge connections with Europe, a fact that adds value to the new FP, especially with the future route between Girona and Perpignan.
