Marbella’s railway extension to be made top priority, says government

Marbella has been promised a railway station since the 1990s, but so far there has been no movement. Madrid now has the budget to build, experts say.

Marbella holds many noteworthy distinctions: exclusive resort getaway destination for the rich and famous; a place where carbs are allowed but frowned upon before arrival, and de facto ‘capital’ of the Costa del Sol…

But one of the least distinguished distinctions that Marbella holds is its crown as Spain’s largest town without a train station.

Sure, the road network serving Marbella is good, and the nearby Málaga airport makes the region extremely accessible for the rest of the world, but where railways are concerned the strip of land south of Fuengirola is curiously track-free.

For years now, councillors and governors have been promising action on a much-needed railway extension of the suburban link that runs south from Málaga but stops at Fuengirola. The proposed extension – details of which were covered extensively nearly three years ago by VIVA – would see the line run all the way down to Estepona.

However, there has been precisely zero movement on this infrastructure project since the ‘finalisation’ of plans in April 2015. The estimated cost of the project – some €5 billion – has long been a sticking point, particularly as Spain has only recently climbed clear of recession.

Now, though, it would appear that Madrid is finally ready to come good on its promise and deliver the railway extension within a decade, the Association of Construction Companies and Concessionaires of Infrastructure (SEOPAN) has said.

While Madrid’s chief spending focus over the next two years will be on health and education, expansion of Spain’s transport network will then follow suit, SEOPAN president Julián Nuñez has said, with Spain’s improved economic outlook to thank.

“The consolidated GDP growth and the progressive scale back of the deficit have created some space to increase public investment in infrastructure,” Nuñez said. SEOPAN has pitched a prospective investment portfolio to central government that lists those proposed projects that should be given priority – among them the Costa del Sol railway extension.

Nuñez believes that construction of the line could therefore begin as early as next year.