Cercanías Málaga

Cercanías Málaga is a commuter rail service between central Málaga, Spain, and towns in the province.^[2] The network consists of 70 kilometres (43 mi) of track, with two lines and 23 stations in operation. The trains are powered by overhead lines and run on broad Iberian gauge track.^{[citation needed]}

Cercanías Málaga
Overview
Locale	Málaga, Spain
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	2
Number of stations	23
Annual ridership	11.469 million (2018)[1]
Operation
Began operation	1975
Operator(s)	Renfe
Technical
System length	70 km (43.50 mi)
Track gauge	1,672 mm (5 ft 5+13⁄16 in) (Iberian gauge[disputed – discuss])
Electrification	Overhead lines
Lines of Cercanías Málaga

Estación de Fuengirola.

History

Bond of the Comp. de los Ferrocarriles Suburbanos de Malaga, issued 1 January 1920

In 1908, the first line of the Ferrocarriles Suburbanos de Málaga opened; a metre-gauge rail network connecting Málaga to Vélez-Málaga. This line was later extended to Ventas de Zafarraya, along with lines to Coín and Fuengirola.^[3] The lines closed in stages between 1960 and 1968. Part of the corridor to Fuengirola was rebuilt to 1668 mm Iberian gauge, with some sections placed underground including a re-routing of the line through Málaga Airport, branded as Cercanías Málaga, and opened in 1975.

Lines and stations

The busiest stations on the network in 2018 were Málaga-Centro Alameda with 1,525,000 passengers, Fuengirola (1,408,000), Málaga María Zambrano (1,375,000), Arroyo de la Miel (1,293,000) and Torremolinos (1,109,000).^[1]

Line C-1 Malaga - Airport - Fuengirola

Line C-1 runs along the Costa del Sol. Services were half-hourly, but since 22 September 2011 the frequency has been increased to every 20 minutes.

There are long-standing plans to extend this line to Estepona to the west, and to Nerja in the east, but current stations are:

• Centro-Alameda connecting to Metro de Málaga
• María Zambrano connecting to Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line/Metro de Málaga
• Victoria Kent (see Victoria Kent)
• Guadalhorce
• Aeropuerto with eventual connection to Metro de Málaga
• San Julián (canceled)
• Plaza Mayor
• Los Álamos
• La Colina
• Torremolinos
• Montemar-Alto
• El Pinillo
• Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel
• Torremuelle
• Carvajal
• Torreblanca
• Los Boliches
• Fuengirola

Line C-2 Málaga - Álora

Line C-2 runs inland from Málaga to Álora. The stations are:

• Centro-Alameda
• María Zambrano
• Victoria Kent
• Los Prados
• Campanillas
• Cártama
• Aljaima
• Pizarra
• Álora

Future expansion

The Costa del Sol railway extension of the C-1 service from its current Fuengirola terminus to Marbella and Estepona is planned.^[4][5] In January 2018 three possible route alignments were determined, costing between €2 billion and €3.8 billion.^[6]

Network Map

See also

• Cercanías

References

1. Málaga, La Opinión de (6 February 2019). "Málaga, la provincia andaluza con más usuarios de Cercanías". Laopiniondemalaga.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 August 2019.
2. Finch, Daryl (2023-05-31). "Cercanías Málaga train service". Malaga Guru. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
3. "Abierto el antiguo túnel hacia Vélez-Málaga". Diario Sur (in Spanish). 17 November 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
4. "Fuengirola to Marbella train line extension described as 'urgent'". The Olive Press. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
5. "Marbella train line overlooked as Spanish Government bet on Bobadilla-Algeciras route". Euro Weekly News. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
6. "Un territorio a la espera de nuevas oportunidades". Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). 29 June 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.