A Civia train undergoing tests for the new service at the El Chorro-Caminito del Rey station, yesterday. /
The objective of the Government, which promotes this connection, and Renfe is that it be a different service to the two Cercanías, although it will use the same type of railways
A Civia model train, the same one used for the Cercanías of C1 (Coast) and C2 (Guadalhorce), arrived yesterday morning at the El Chorro-Caminito del Rey station. To an untrained eye, this railway does not attract much attention, but the novelty is important: it means that future direct services that are going to be enabled between the capital and one of the main tourist and environmental resources inland are already being tested. the province: the popular flying path in the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes.
The convoy has been circulating all week in tests, and therefore without passengers, for the professional qualification of the train drivers who are going to take over its driving, according to various technical sources from Renfe and Adif.
This line will not be an extension of the C2 but rather a completely new one, within a strategy that the Ministry of Transport has called “proximity services”, halfway between Media Distancia and Cercanías, according to the railway sources consulted. Instead, the Civia trains will be used, which are the same ones that currently reach Fuengirola and Álora.
The goal is for the service to be fully operational within this first quarter of 2023, foreseeably towards the end of March; although its implementation is pending a forthcoming ministerial resolution, like other similar ones in various parts of Spain.
This is a connection that is in high demand by the municipalities around the Caminito and by visitors, since the train is the fastest and most direct way to access the area from the capital of Malaga; although until now there were few connections (the Media Distancia train that goes to Seville stops, and which has recently recovered its usual frequencies, after months of restrictions).
The line’s target audience exceeds 300,000 passengers a year, which is the number of hikers that the Caminito receives (around 345,000 if visits to the Guadalhorce and Guadalteba reservoirs are taken into account, according to data from the Provincial Council). More than half of them are foreign tourists, many of whom do not have a car during their stay, and who demand frequent, fast and reliable public transport.
“Proximity service”
This initiative is one of the five “proximity services” relationships that have been declared in the General State Budget for 2023, as recalled by the Government Sub-delegation. The Ministry of Transport is going to invest ten million euros for its maintenance.
The sub-delegate of the Government in Malaga, Francisco Javier Salas, has been the main supporter of this claim for the Guadalhorce in Madrid. “The Government has been sensitive to the needs that were being raised from the region, with a concrete solution for alternative mobility to the car and sustainable from the social, environmental and economic point of view,” says the sub-delegate.
The data
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300.000
On average, hikers pass through the Caminito del Rey every year, some 345,000 if visits to the swamps are also taken into account. This is the target audience for the new rail service, which will be called “proximity”
“This solution results in the structuring of the territory in the interior of our province, improves the living conditions of the residents and the productive fabric, and also offers an incentive for mobility in a large-scale tourist enclave.”
The Malaga Provincial Council, the owner of the Caminito del Rey, has been claiming these improvements for years. “It is great news, expected and highly demanded,” says its president, Francisco Salado. “It was common sense for Renfe to enable this train, which will give a boost to the region and to the Caminito del Rey itself.” In his opinion, it will also help many users to choose this means of transport to make their visit, which will result in the sustainability of the environment.
«El Caminito del Rey is a fundamental pillar of the province as a destination and, therefore, anything that helps to improve its connectivity should be well received. It is very good news for which we have fought for a long time and for which we are all happy, “he says.