Costa del Sol railway
Overview
StatusProposed
LocaleSpain (Andalucia)
Termini
Technical
Line length53 km (33 mi)–55 km (34 mi) (Málaga–Marbella)[1]

The Costa del Sol railway is a proposed railway line in Andalucia, Spain, to link Málaga with Marbella and Estepona on the Costa del Sol.

History

Marbella is the most populous municipality in the Iberian Peninsula without a railway station in its territory, and is the only Spanish city of over 100,000 inhabitants not served by rail.[2]

In 1975, the Cercanías Málaga commuter rail line opened, linking Málaga to Fuengirola. After its opening, an extension to Marbella was proposed. Planned since the 1990s,[3] plans to build the line had never materialised, despite the extension has been described as "urgent".[4][5]

In 2004, a study into building the rail line was produced, with a proposed completion date of 2012, which was cancelled following the 2008–2014 Spanish financial crisis.[6]

In January 2018 a new study was produced, estimating the cost of the project to be between €2 and €3.8 billion.[7] The Málaga branch of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party announced support in February 2018 for the Costa del Sol railway to extend westward from Estepona to the existing Algeciras railway station and eastwards from Málaga to Nerja.[8]

Andalucia announced in 2023 that it is seeking €2 billion of European funds from the Next Generation EU fund to help extend the existing Fuengirola track to connect Marbella, Estepona and Algeciras.[9]

Route

In the 2018 study, three possible route alignments were determined.[7] Due to passing through many built-up areas, a significant portion of the line would be built underground.

The route of the line would roughly follow either the Autovía A-7 or the Autopista AP-7. Originally conceived as an extension of the Cercanías line from Fuengirola,[10] in 2020 Málaga mayor Francisco de la Torre stated that an entirely new line linking Málaga to Marbella was required for capacity reasons.[11]

Members of Parliament in the comarca of Axarquía requested in 2018 that the Junta de Andalucia not "forget" the region, and provide a rail connection between Nerja and Málaga via Torrox and Vélez-Málaga.[12]

Political pressure has continued,[13] particularly in Marbella, including a suggestion to set up a Municipal Commission

The regional government of Andalucia continues to request funding for an extension to the existing line, or a high speed alternative [14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fomento plantea dos posibles trazados para el tren hasta Marbella y Estepona". cadenaser.com (in Spanish). 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Marbella, única urbe española de más de cien mil habitantes sin servicio de tren". Málaga Hoy. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Marbella's railway extension to be made top priority, says government". www.yourviva.com. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Fuengirola to Marbella train line extension described as 'urgent'". The Olive Press. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. ↑ "Marbella train line overlooked as Spanish Government bet on Bobadilla-Algeciras route". Euro Weekly News. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Coastal rail link back on the table". The Resident. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Un territorio a la espera de nuevas oportunidades". Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). 29 June 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "El PSOE reclama la unión ferroviaria de todo el litoral malagueño". Marbella 24 Horas (in Spanish). 3 February 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Andalucia claims 2 billion euros for the extension of the Costa del Sol train via Marbella". 2 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Minister confirms government's commitment to extend local train service to Marbella". Sur in English. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "New railway along Spain's Costa del Sol could be funded by EU, suggests Málaga mayor". The Olive Press. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "The Axarquía doesn't want to be left without a rail service of its own". Sur in English. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "IU advocates the importance of the coastal train to the life and economy of the Costa del Sol". Marbella Confidencial. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "La Junta pide 2.000 millones de los fondos europeos para el tren litoral". Málaga Hoy. 26 December 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
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