Government pledges to increase frequencies of local commuter trains along the Costa del Sol

The central government has pledged this week to improve train services along the Costa del Sol.

Spanish minister for transport Óscar Puente said they will extend frequencies of the Cercanías trains. "We have set a target for the C1 (Fuengirola), to reduce from 20 minutes to 15, and if we can, to less," he said. The promise comes after a steady stream of complaints from passengers about continuous delays, breakdowns and packed carriages.

Puente said rail infrastructure company Adif was working to change single tracks to double tracks on more stretches. Out of the 30 kilometres from Malaga to Fuengirola, only 19.9 have double tracks, creating a bottleneck situation.

Stretches where laying a second track is already being studied include 3.5 kilometres between Campamento Benítez, Plaza Mayor and the airport and around Benalmádena.

The current railway infrastructure dates back to 2011, when Adif completed a number of works on the doubling of the line and improved the frequency to the current 20 minutes.

"Rail and public transport must be the cornerstones of our strategy for the decarbonisation of the transport system. Cercanías services are strategic because we are committed to putting the citizen at the centre of our management, guaranteeing the safe daily commute for millions of people. Thus, investments will be promoted to improve the quality and reliability of the Cercanías lines," Puente pointed out.