Andalucia’s infrastructure plan ignores the coastal train

The Andalucian government has set out its strategy for mobility until 2030, but skips over the major projects pending in Malaga such as the extension of the Costa del Sol coastal train.

In its more than 300 pages, the document analyses the current situation and sets out a series of needs. The overall budget of the plan is €7,500 million for the development of a series of actions in the region up to the year 2030. This is a much higher investment than in previous plans and a major commitment is being made to conservation, with €1,000 million earmarked for the road network.

Connecting the Costa del Sol

The Development Commission of the Andalucian Parliament urged the Spanish Government to prioritise the high-speed railway network from Malaga and the Fuengirola-Malaga suburban train line, as well as to resume the project of the coastal train connecting the Costa del Sol.

Andalucian Member of Parliament, María José Escarcena urged the Government not to forget “a historic demand” for a coastal train to connect the Costa del Sol to Estepona; a request which, he said, “is more than justified, as this part of the coastline is one of the most saturated areas in terms of the use of private vehicles”.

The coastal train

However, despite Vox proposing, “to recover the coastal train of Málaga”, a proposal which was approved by 18 votes in favour and none against, the document ignores the coastal train although it does raise the need to extend the Cercanías to Marbella, but without specifying any funding.

The Malaga coastal train project has been forgotten by all the administrations year after year, more than 2decades after it was first proposed. The first commitments were made back in 2000, when shortly before the elections the then president of the Junta, Manuel Chaves, promised the construction of a railway linking the entire Costa del Sol from Nerja to Manilva. More than 20 years later, the coastal train is still an illusion that has not gone beyond announcements and impact studies. No government of any political persuasion, including the current incumbent, has made a firm commitment about its future.