A NEW map for Malaga province sketches out a dream rail network that would link almost every corner by train, from Nerja in the east to Estepona in the west, and up through inland towns long cut off from rail.
The design imagines a sweeping overhaul of the province’s rail links at a scale never attempted by regional or national planners – but one which residents argue is richly deserved.
The map shows the C-1 commuter line extended south from Fuengirola to Marbella and Estepona, running through La Cala de Mijas, Calahonda and the coastal urbanisations.
It also pushes the same line north into central Malaga with a new terminal at Malaga Parque near La Malagueta.
Inland, a proposed C-3 would reconnect Coin, Alhaurin el Grande and Alhaurin de la Torre with the capital – towns that once had rail service but lost it more than half a century ago.
Another new line, the C-4, would restore trains between Malaga and Velez Malaga before continuing on to Nerja, while a regional service would push even further east towards Motril and Almeria.
To the north, the plan brings back historic links to Cordoba, Antequera and Granada, and extends the existing line from Alora to El Chorro and the Caminito del Rey.
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It would also extend past Estepona, stopping in long-neglected Sabinillas before heading onwards to Algeciras – possibly stopping in La Linea-Gibraltar as well.
The scale of the imagined network has struck a nerve because the fast-growing province is so utterly underserved for its transport infrastructure.
Malaga province now has around two million residents – a figure that swells dramatically in summer as hundreds of thousands of tourists and second-home owners arrive
Yet its commuter rail system remains confined to two short lines: one between Malaga and Fuengirola, and another between Malaga and Alora.
Entire municipalities with tens of thousands of people, including Coin and Velez Malaga, have no rail access.
Marbella, with a population of more than 150,000, is the largest city in Spain without a train station, and relies almost entirely on road traffic to move residents, workers and tourists along a heavily congested coast.
These bottlenecks have long raised questions about how a region that draws millions of international visitors each year can function with so few rail options.
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Airports in Valencia, Alicante and Palma de Mallorca have far more extensive rail links despite serving similar or smaller populations.
Even within Andalucia, provinces with lower seasonal demand, such as Cadiz and Sevilla, enjoy more frequent and better-connected regional services.
Transport economists argue that the Costa del Sol’s geography makes rail expansion expensive, but also point out that its density, tourism flows and year-round workforce give it some of the strongest demand for new lines anywhere in Spain.
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The map circulating this week includes the Renfe logo and mirrors the design of official Cercanias charts, but there is no evidence it has anything more than a pipe dream, lacking formal backing.
Neither Renfe nor the Ministry of Transport has announced funding for the lines shown, although several ideas – particularly the long-discussed extension to Marbella – have appeared repeatedly in political debates without making it to the construction phase.
For now, the viral design reflects what many residents already say the province urgently needs: a rail network that matches its size, its economy and the daily reality of getting around one of Spain’s fastest-growing regions.
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