What does the future hold for an abandoned old train on the Costa del Sol?

An exciting Mediterranean park project includes the restoration of the carriage, which evokes memories of the old La Cochinita train that used to run along the coast

José Rodríguez Cámara

Rincón de la Victoria

Monday, 4 November 2024, 20:54

Francisco Salado, mayor of Rincón de la Victoria on the eastern stretch of the Costa del Sol, has announced that the future Parque Periurbano del Mediterráneo, a large green space in Torre de Benagalbón, will include the recovery of the old train carriage which has been on the land planned for the green area for years.

The carriage in question comes from Salamanca, it was part of a 'ferrobus' convoy that had served between 1970 and 1984. But how did it end up in Rincón de la Victoria? Spain's state railway operator Renfe made it available to the town hall when it transformed the former railway station, on the town's promenade, into a library.

With the idea of giving a nod to the old train that connected Malaga city with Vélez-Málaga with stops along the coast, which was known as 'La Cochinita', an attempt was made to place some of its original elements, but these had disappeared.

The vehicle from Salamanca was transformed into a reading room as a tribute to the Malaga railway and it remained like this until 2008, when the Antonio de Hilaria public library was inaugurated. The wagon, which can still be found on Calle Lebeche, was abandoned and fell into disrepair and suffered vandalism.

There was an attempt to save it in the 2010s by the Tran-Bus de Málaga association, a group created in 2006 by employees of Empresa Malagueña de Transportes (EMT), but it did not succeed. However, if, on this occasion, everything goes according to plan, this old train carriage will have a new life, this time integrated into the future Mediterranean park. This project envisages the transformation, in the first phase alone, of 26 hectares, in the area around the street where the wagon sits and the surrounding area with an initial investment of 4.7 million euros.

It will be a new space with an artificial lake. Once this new municipal facility has been enhanced and restored for its new uses, the train will be integrated into it, explained the town hall. According to the local government, work on the future park will begin at the beginning of next year.

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