Date set for first roundtable meeting examining extension of Costa del Sol train line

The first round table forum to discuss the possibility of extending the Malaga - Fuengirola coastal train line further along the Costa del Sol will take place on Thursday 28 November.

Secretary of state for transport José Antonio Santano made the announcement: "We are going to convene the first meeting of the working groups of the inter-institutional committee for the coastal train".

He pointed out that on 17 July, a first meeting was held, attended by the regional minister of public works, the provincial council and mayors of the Costa del Sol and Algeciras, to discuss the possible rail prospect.

At this meeting, it was agreed to create two working groups: one for the coastal train, and the second focused on sustainable transport. "Today we are taking another step forward by convening the first of the meetings of these working groups, with the utmost institutional loyalty, seeking the greatest consensus and open to permanent dialogue in order to respond to the problems that we are aware of in terms of mobility on the Costa del Sol," Santana said.

It was only a fortnight ago, on 11 September, that the government started to finalise the commitments reached at that historic meeting on 17 July. The central government's ministry of transport, together with the regional government's ministry of public works and town councils, announced that day the members of both working groups, in consensus with the rest of the administrations.

The first of these working groups, dedicated to the coastal train, will have five members from the government, four from the Junta, one from the Diputación and four from the affected areas: such as from the councils of Malaga and Vélez-Málaga, as well as Algeciras and a representative of the western Costa del Sol, who will be Violeta Aragón, spokesperson of the platform in favour of the coastal train and secretary general of Fadeco.

The ministry will have: Álvaro Fernández Heredia, secretary general of sustainable mobility; José Alfonso, director general of mobility strategies; Carlos Juárez, director general of the railway sector; Montserrat Rallo, director general of Adif planning.

The team of the regional ministry of public works will be made up of: the deputy regional minister, Mario Muñoz-Atanet; Eduardo Gutiérrez García, director general of transport infrastructures; José Miguel Casasola, director general of mobility, and José María Rivera, manager of the public works agency.

For the Malaga provincial authority: Pablo Llanes, head of the roads and works service. And from the municipal side: Juan Antonio Alba, general coordinator of infrastructures in Malaga; José Alberto Barranco, deputy head of the infrastructures service in Vélez; Victor Casado, from Algeciras town council (representing the municipalities of Gibraltar, and Violeta Aragón).

The second working group will examine short term transport options along the coast between Malaga and Algeciras. This will also have five representatives from transport (state); four from the regional ministry of public works; one from the provincial council and four from the local councils and affected areas.

Representing the ministry of transport will be: Álvaro Fernández Heredia, secretary general for sustainable mobility; José Alfonso, director general for mobility strategies; Roser Obrer, director general for road and rail transport; Rosalía Bravo, deputy director general for planning at the directorate general for roads, and María del Carmen Picón, deputy delegate for toll roads.

For the regional ministry of public works: the deputy regional minister, Mario Muñoz-Atanet; Eduardo Gutiérrez García, director general of transport infrastructures; José Miguel Casasola, director general of mobility, and José María Rivera, manager of the public works agency (the same as in the previous meeting).

The representative of the provincial authority will also remain the same. While on the municipal side, they will be: councillor Trinidad Hernández; José Alberto Barranco, deputy head of the infrastructure service of Vélez; Violeta Aragón (western Costa del Sol) and Luis Núñez, head of division of European projects of the Port Authority of the bay of Algeciras.