South Coast of Spain

[gray1404]

Are trains limited on the South Coast of Spain. Was thinking of flying into somewhere like and travelling across but the map.on seat 61 suggests the coastal service is limited.


Thanks.

 

[30907]

Are trains limited on the South Coast of train. Was thinking of flying into somewhere like and travelling across but the map.on seat 61 suggests the costal service is limited.

Yes. You could try looking at
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/mobile.php (sorry, the link won't paste).

A Mediterranean Corridor route to Almeria will eventually continue right through to Algeciras, but for now there's only the interurban east of Alacant and the Malaga Cercanias to Fuengirola.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

If you mean the Mediterranean coast, there are decent services near the coast all the way from Portbou via Barcelona and Valencia to Alacant and Cartagena.
Though sometimes you have to go inland and then back to the coast (eg between Valencia and Alacant.
Further west there are essentially radial lines from Cordoba to ports (eg Malaga, Almeria and Algeciras), with a few local coastal branches.
The fastest through route is often via Madrid on the AV lines, and there are some fast sections of the coast line as far as Alacant and Cartagena, branded Euromed.
On the Atlantic coast you can reach Cadiz and Huelva from Seville, and from Huelva you can catch a bus to Villa Real across the Portuguese border to reach the Algarve coast railway.
There are also Seville-Faro through fast buses.

 

[route101]

I used the Malaga to Fuengirola branch last weekend. I must say the services were very well used at every 20 minutes, I had to stand on a number of services. Has anything other than the EMUs to Malaga run on this branch?

 

[nwales58]

As well as the above ... if you wait a couple of years Murcia-Almeria new line might be open ... and in Spain the answer to getting anywhere long distance where there is no train, or it's Friday and every train is full, is www.alsa.es www.movelia.es or any of the agents.

Spain can be fun, but using train can be hard work.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

I used the Malaga to Fuengirola branch last weekend. I must say the services were very well used at every 20 minutes, I had to stand on a number of services. Has anything other than the EMUs to Malaga run on this branch?

Yes, after conversion to broad gauge in 1975 there were summer loco-hauled services to Torremolinos and Fuengirola and an overnight sleeper from Madrid. There was a connecting curve to the main-line (avoiding Málaga station) but lost with the redevelopment and arrival of the LAV. The intensity of the working and single-sections would make it impossible today anyway. Extension to Marbella and Algeciras has long been talked about, but the thinking now is a completely new line.

 

[Cloud Strife]

I used the Malaga to Fuengirola branch last weekend. I must say the services were very well used at every 20 minutes, I had to stand on a number of services. Has anything other than the EMUs to Malaga run on this branch?

Yes, it's pretty much now at capacity, although still no decision has been made about an onwards extension. There are two different philosophies in play:

1) Extension of the coastal line to Marbella, acting as an extended commuter line and serving all the tourist areas en route. This would almost certainly need double tracking of the line between Malaga and Fuengirola and removal of the viaduct in Fuengirola, although it would also heavily relieve the A-7 coastal (former) motorway.

2) Leaving the coastal line as-is, perhaps with some more improvements to improve the frequency further. Malaga-Marbella-(Algeciras) would then be built as a high speed line, although this makes very little sense without a high speed line onwards to Almeria and Algeciras.

The problem is that none of this makes any sense in isolation. If there is a high speed line to Marbella, then it would have to miss Malaga unless the train is reversed there. One alternative would be to build Malaga-Almeria, but the cost of Algeciras-Almeria would be astronomical due to the terrain. I'm also not convinced it's needed: I can't imagine a lot of demand for high speed journeys along the coast.

Another alternative is to build the LAV to Marbella and Algeciras, but then build a new high speed station at Malaga Airport instead. Algeciras/Marbella trains could then call at Malaga Airport, and Marbella/Malaga-Granada-Almeria would be served via the transversal line.