June 2009 saw the first meeting of the new president of the local Andalucian council, Jose Antonio Grinan, with the central Spanish government to discuss the building of a new rail link which would provide high-speed access all the way from Malaga to the coastal town of Estepona, to the west of Marbella. Although the project is one which has been talked about for some time, this is the first formal meeting to take place and offers signs that the development might finally take place. Rosa Aguilar, the newly appointed Public Works Delegate, has been tasked with carrying out a feasibility study for the project.
The journey between Malaga and Estepona by road is some 89 kilometres and, particularly at peak season, can therefore take some time to negotiate. The proposed new high speed rail link would cut that journey down to just 30 minutes.
Visitors arriving at Malaga Airport can currently avail themselves of the local train services, but as things stand, these only extend as far westwards as Fuengirola, only about half way along the stretch of the Costa del Sol between Malaga and the millionaire resorts of Marbella and Puerto Banus. Although independent travellers do have the option of using taxi or bus transfers, the main E15 coast road can suffer from congestion problems during the busiest months of the summer season in July and August, something which the new rail link would alleviate considerably.
Clearly taking the transportation issues in the Costa del Sol region very seriously, the local Spanish government has issued reassurances that this new project would be in addition to existing proposals to take the local train service which currently runs as far as Fuengirola, further along the coast to Estepona. This local service, although currently limited, is well-known to visitors to the area as being highly reliable, with trains running exactly to timetable and being extremely clean and comfortable, despite carrying nine million travellers each year. If this service is anything to go by, then both new rail links should offer an exceptional alternative to travelling by road.
The extension of the Malaga to Fuengirola rail link was actually first proposed some four years ago, but it was only in March 2009 that the Andalucian council announced their intention to seek funding from the European Investment Bank to help cover half of the estimated 4 billion euro cost of the project. This new stretch of railway will enable travellers to make the journey from Fuengirola to Estepona in a matter of just 22 minutes and the service is expected to carry some 40 million passengers per year.
More good news for travellers to the Costa del Sol also comes in the form of an announcement that the second line of the Malaga Metro is to be completed by 2011. Previous estimates of a completion date have been, at best, vague and only served to indicate some time before or during 2012. The new line will run between the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Hall and the Malaga Renfe station.