Government creates two committees to study the Costa del Sol train and improve mobility in Malaga and Cadiz

The commitments reached during the meeting regarding a train service on the Costa del Sol on 17 July are beginning to materialise. The Spanish ministry of transport, together with the Andalusian government's ministry of public works and local councils have finalised the two working groups that were agreed upon.

The first of these committees will be dedicated to the "coastal train", as it has been called, and there will be five members from the government, four from the Junta de Andalucía, one from the provincial authority and four from the councils of Malaga and Vélez, as well as the Bay of Algeciras, and a representative of the western Costa del Sol, Violeta Aragón, spokesperson of the platform in favour of the coastal train and secretary general of Fadeco federation.

The second committee will focus on the search for mobility improvements "in the short and medium term" on the coast from Malaga to Algeciras. This will also have five representatives from the national government; four from the regional ministry of public works; one from the provincial council and four from the local councils and territories.

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 the directorate general for roads, and María del Carmen Picón, deputy delegate for toll roads.

The secretary of state for transport, José Antonio Santano, said: "Today we have taken another step in the right direction to work together with the Junta de Andalucía, the city councils and the Diputación de Málaga to improve mobility on the Costa del Sol". Thus, he explained that the creation of these working groups was a commitment of the meeting last July. The general secretariat for sustainable mobility of the ministry will be responsible for convening the sessions.

The list of members has been sent by letter to the regional minister of public works, Rocío Díaz. "We are ready to convene the first meeting of both committees in the coming weeks with the aim of continuing to work together and seeking short, medium and long-term responses to the mobility problems of the Costa del Sol corridor," she said.

Díaz added that the working groups for the Costa del Sol train have been set up with four representatives of the ministry of public works, including the deputy minister, Mario Muñoz-Atanet, and three general directors. "The government of Juanma Moreno will always seek dialogue and reach meeting points with all the administrations for the implementation of the coastal train, as well as all those measures that result in improved mobility."

Díaz also stressed that, in addition to selecting the members of the groups, the studies should start as soon as possible. "It is a good starting point for discussion and we will always be there, but it is time, as we agreed in July, for the government to start setting dates, deadlines and concrete measures, as the citizens and mayors are asking for.