The long-talked-about railway project for the Costa del Sol may have just taken another small shuffle forward – emphasis on small.
After a month-and-a-half of government deliberations, the Ministry of Transport has signed off on a contract to investigate whether connecting Algeciras to Nerja by train is feasible and economically worth it.
The almost €1million feasibility study has been handed to a joint venture led by WSP Spain APIA, who will have 18 months to produce a report weighing up the economic and social benefits of the proposed route.
The study, it is hoped, will lay the groundwork for an ambitious rail corridor designed to relieve the region’s oversaturated roads and underwhelming public transport system.
It will look at how to better use the existing Malaga–Fuengirola C1 commuter line and assess whether it’s worth extending it west to Marbella, Estepona and Algeciras, or eastward to Nerja.
Currently, the C1 line connects Malaga city, the airport, and popular towns like Torremolinos and Fuengirola.
However, it is bursting at the seams, operating at an unsustainable 117% capacity during the peak summer months.
The report will include a demand forecast, plus a deep dive into financial and socioeconomic feasibility.
But should expats and tourists be getting their hopes up? While things are moving in the right direction, the feasibility will take time and even if it is positive, it will likely be years before shovels hit the ground.
Francisco Salado, President of Malaga’s Provincial Council, isn’t thrilled about the timeline, and is pushing for a faster route.
He wants to skip the feasibility stage and jump straight to the more decisive ‘information study’, which he says could shave two years off the process.
Bigwigs in Madrid are pushing back however, citing Article 5.3 of the Railway Sector Law – which critics say was sidestepped for other projects, including for the €3.1billion bypass in Ourense, Galicia.
That project skipped the feasibility process in an effort to fast-track the project, which had been delayed for over a decade.
But the Costa del Sol train has been in demand for far longer, with calls for an extension to the C1 and other train lines dating back 30 years.
‘Pedro Sanchez will build the train’
Malaga minister Javier Salas is remaining positive and insists the wheels are turning, slowly, but surely.
He told press today: ‘Pedro Sanchez’s Government will build the Costa del Sol train.
‘For the first time since it was created, the C1 line will be extended.’
While there are reasons to be optimistic, there have been feasibility studies in the past which have led to nowhere.
These included extending the train line to Marbella, which remains one of the largest towns in Europe without a train station.
