Supreme Court Upholds Government Decree Closing Aranjuez-Cuenca-Valencia Rail Line

• Spain's Supreme Court (Chamber 3) issued a ruling (STS 900/2026) in July 2026 upholding the government's 2023 decree to close the Aranjuez-Cuenca-Valencia railway line.
• The legal challenge by the United Left party and the Confederation of Ecologists, which sought to annul the decree, was dismissed.

Environmental Concerns

• The plaintiffs argued that the rail line passes through or near 56 protected sites under the Natura 2000 network.
• They contended that the government failed to conduct a mandatory environmental impact assessment, violating both European Union habitats directives and national biodiversity laws.

Legal Reasoning

• To bypass the failure-to-assess allegations, the Supreme Court distinguished the government's closure decree from the specific projects outlined in the "General Action Protocol" for dismantling the line.
• The Court ruled that it was only validating the closure decision in the abstract, intentionally excluding the dismantling and urban integration projects from the scope of its judgment.
• By separating the closure from the subsequent industrial-style dismantling, the Court invalidated the environmental complaints raised by the plaintiffs.

Judicial Inconsistency

• This ruling contrasts with a December 2024 Supreme Court decision (STS 1.939/2024), which had previously praised the same Protocol for its social benefits and potential to recover environmental value by converting the tracks into a "green way."