How to travel between Madrid and Malaga this Easter: rail delays and alternatives
With AVE repairs in Álora extended, only 15,000 seats remain. Compare plane, bus, and car options for Semana Santa
The number of people that the high-speed train carried between Madrid and Malaga during last year's Easter Week illustrates the debacle following the announcement that Malaga's AVE line will not reopen before the end of April.
According to SUR's calculations, a total of 75,000 people used the trains of the three operators (Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo) during the festive period in 2025. Given that only Renfe offers trips this year, at a reduced frequency, the number of visitors by train will be hardly a fifth of that.
Key travel impact: What you need to know
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Reduced Frequency: Services have dropped from 26 daily trains to just seven in each direction.
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Extended Travel Time: The journey now takes 4.5 hours due to a mandatory bus transfer between Malaga María Zambrano and Antequera-Santa Ana.
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Sole Operator: Only Renfe is currently operating; private competitors Iryo and Ouigo have suspended the route during the repairs.
Note on Álora Repairs: Engineering teams continue to stabilise the slope and repair tracks in Álora following recent structural damage. The central government insists the rail link will be restored by the end of April.
The visitors during this time of year are mostly Spanish residents, either coming to see Malaga's Semana Santa or returning to be with family.
Also important is the number of foreigners who land in Madrid after a long-haul flight from the US, Canada, Latin America or Asia and then start their journey through the country.
One rail operator
This year, only Renfe will run the connection, with a bus alternative from María Zambrano to Antequera-Santa Ana and vice versa.
Pending confirmation of whether there will be any extra services on the days of greater demand, the alternative transport plan so far includes seven daily departures in each direction, with a journey time of four and a half hours (including bus and train).
Planes, private and shared cars and buses will be alternative means of getting to Malaga.
In an optimistic estimate, Renfe will only be able to transport around 15,000 people between Malaga and Madrid during the entire Holy Week.
Renfe will only be able to transport around 15,000 passengers this Easter with its alternative train and bus services
The public company will keep this special transport system in force until the end of the repair works in Álora, with the aim of offering a basic railway connection between both cities at an affordable price.
Alternatives: plane, car or bus
It's also important to remember that the vast majority of tourists on the Costa del Sol are international. In fact, during Easter week last year, Malaga Airport handled some 2.6 million passengers on nearly 15,200 flights.
Malaga Airport set a new passenger record in February, handling almost 1.6 million passengers, a 3.5 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. In its report, airport operator Aena has stated that the high-speed rail crisis, which is particularly affecting the María Zambrano station, has driven an eight per cent growth in domestic traffic, especially to and from Madrid (298,159). The shift of passengers from trains to air travel is clear.
This Easter, Malaga-Madrid air transport might become a lifeline for thousands of passengers wanting to visit the Costa del Sol. In addition, a considerable increase in road arrivals is also expected this year, both by private car (often shared) and by bus. However, this too will not be without its uncertainties, due to the high price of fuel caused by the war in Iran.
In conclusion, as far as transport is concerned, the holiday season will be more similar to Christmas 2007, when the high-speed train first arrived at María Zambrano.
The central government says that financial loss estimates are overexaggerated
"It's not true that 1.3 billion euros will be lost due to the AVE high-speed rail works," MP Nacho López says in an Instagram video, posted the day after the fourth delay announcement broke. The data he cites coincides with SUR's calculations: last Easter, 75,000 passengers used the high-speed line, 70 per cent of whom were tourists, while the rest were residents of Malaga.
"In other words, Malaga will lose 52,500 AVE passengers," López says. Since their average stay is three days, according to data from Turismo Costa del Sol, and their average daily expenditure is 170 euros, the actual revenue loss will be around 27 million euros, far from the 1.3 billion euros that warnings predict.
Although López acknowledges that the interruption of the high-speed rail line is a significant problem that must be resolved as soon as possible, he believes that the impact will not be nearly as serious as the opposition is saying.
