The train would connect key destinations along the Costa Del Sol (Image: Getty)
A could connect key tourist destinations along the following a significant step forward in the project by Spanish government.
The Minister of Sustainable Transport Alvaro Fernandez Heredia requested the first viability study into the Costa Del Sol railway yesterday, which would connect Algeciras and Nerja, passing through key stations including and .
It’s been estimated that the project, which may cost £2.07 billion (€2.5 billion), could serve up to twelve million passengers a year.
The request said: “There’s already significant demand on the C1 line, especially between Malaga city and the airport, with the fourth highest number of passengers in the country.
“Despite several improvements being made in the last few years, it still struggles to meet the mobility demands of the local population. That’s why we need to look into how we can improve it.”
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The research will go through five key phases: Nerja-Malaga, Malaga-Fuengirola, Fuengirola-Marbella, Marbella-Estepona and Estepona-Algeciras.
The study will first analyse the current C1 line which connects Malaga with Fuengirola, assessing whether it’s viable to add to the existing railway.
The research is expected to cost at least €1.2 million and take around 18 months, and will be carried out by an independent inspector.
However Transport Minister Oscar Puente hopes to have the “ideal route” planned out earlier, by the end of the 2025.
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While appearing on Spanish television programme, Espejo Público, Puente said: “The coastal train is possible, there is a formula and we are going to develop it.
“We are already going to put the (feasibility) study out to tender, but when you launch a study you can already see whether it is going to be feasible or not, and I have great confidence in the director general of the railway sector, Carlos Juárez, who is a brilliant technician and already has in his head what the alternative could be.”