For years, Marbella has been the only Spanish city of more than 100,000 people without a train connection. And until recently, Madrid insisted it would stay that way.
As recently as 18 months ago, Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente dismissed the idea outright, arguing it was too expensive, too complex and not ‘competitive’ when compared with other infrastructure priorities.
The rugged coastline between Fuengirola and Marbella – combined with decades of chaotic urban development along the Costa del Sol – made the project seem unworkable.
But the tone in Madrid has shifted dramatically. Today, the ministry openly describes the extension of the railway as both ‘possible’ and a project it intends to carry out.
According to sources cited by respected local newspaper Malaga Hoy, the preferred option on the table is a major tunnel running beneath the A-7.
While the exact model of train has not yet been selected, the Ministry of Transport has already commissioned a feasibility study, which will later be followed by a full technical report. What is emerging, however, is a preferred engineering approach.
Because the coastline is so densely built-up, and because no land was ever reserved for a future railway , the main viable solution is underground.
Ministry sources say the current favourite is a tunnel constructed using the cut-and-cover method, similar to parts of Malaga Metro. This technique involves installing deep concrete retaining walls and placing a structural slab over the top before excavating the interior.
The works would be carried out in short sections to limit disruption on the A-7, with only one lane expected to be closed at a time.
The alignment most likely to move forward would begin from the tunnel already in place at the Fuengirola end of the Cercanías C-1 line.
Continuing the existing commuter rail service to Marbella is therefore gaining weight as the preferred outcome.
This approach was also advocated by Álvaro Fernández Heredia (now president of Renfe) when he was still a senior official within the ministry.
Experts consulted by local media estimate that each construction section would cover around 15–20km and could take roughly two years.
At the same time, land expropriations would need to begin, in a process that, even in the fastest scenarios, could require six months to tender and another six to complete.
Even under favourable conditions, specialists believe the total construction period would not fall below four years, and the works could stretch significantly longer depending on funding, planning setbacks or political change.
Although works could theoretically be carried out simultaneously along different sections, engineers warn that digging up the entire coastline at once would be unfeasible for residents, tourism and logistics.
A separate study prepared by engineer José Alba for Unicaja Banco estimated the Malaga–Marbella connection could be completed within eight years, at a cost of between €2.5 and €2.8 billion depending on the final design.
The longer-term goal is the full coastal railway between Nerja and Algeciras, in a project currently being examined by consultancy WSP. Spain’s construction trade association, Seopan, estimates the entire corridor would cost around €6.7 billion.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
