Mayors of the Costa del Sol erupt over the six-month closure of the Cercanías in 2027

New setback for mobility in Málaga. The Railway Infrastructure Administrator (Adif) plans a total shutdown of the C1 suburban line between Málaga and Torremolinos for about five and a half months, from the last quarter of 2027 to the second quarter of 2028. The interruption is due to a series of actions aimed at increasing the capacity of the line between Málaga and Fuengirola, one of the most heavily used in the suburban network.

This forecast appears in the 2027 Catalogue of Temporary Capacity Restrictions, a technical document published by Adif on March 31, which details the planned limitations on the railway network due to improvement works. According to this document, the section between Málaga and Torremolinos will need to be closed for about five months to carry out works in the tunnel located between the airport and the Guadalhorce River, within the C1 Málaga–Fuengirola line.

The affected municipalities demand to know the detailed schedule of the works, the stations affected, and the alternative plan

The action is part of a set of works aimed at increasing the capacity of the line, which currently operates at several points with a single track, limiting the frequency of train passages. The planned actions include a double tracking between the airport and Campamento Benítez, located between the Plaza Mayor and Los Álamos stops, as well as improvements in stations and other interventions in tunnels along the route.

The news has been received as a "cold shower" by the City Councils of the affected localities. The mayors of Málaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, and Fuengirola have urgently requested information from the Ministry of Transport, led by Óscar Puente, about the planned works. In a letter addressed to the General Directorate, the mayors express their "surprise and concern" for not having received prior information about this action of "great impact" on the mobility of the Costa del Sol, despite institutional contacts since the summer of 2024 to discuss improvements in the railway infrastructure.

Adif must provide an alternative transportation plan as it is under the Obligation of Public Service

The signatories of the letter are the mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre; the mayor of Torremolinos, Margarita del Cid; the mayor of Benalmádena, Juan Antonio Lara; and the mayor of Fuengirola, Ana Mula. All four share the need to improve the line between Málaga and Fuengirola but consider it essential to know in advance the scope of the actions, their specific schedule, and the phases in which service interruptions will occur. Moreover, they warn that a prolonged interruption could directly affect thousands of workers, students, and visitors who use the suburban train as their main means of transportation daily.

As this is a service declared of Public Service Obligation (OSP), the railway operator must establish an alternative transportation plan during the shutdown period, presumably through substitute buses, as is usual in these types of high-impact actions. The dates included in the catalog are indicative and are often modified based on the progress of construction projects and their tendering, although they constitute the planning reference used by administrations and railway operators.

The mayors insist on the importance of coordinating actions to avoid the succession of works on different sections that prolong the inconvenience "for years." The goal, they point out, should be to concentrate the works in the shortest possible time to reduce the inconvenience to users and avoid repeated service interruptions. Therefore, they propose the creation of a monitoring table in which the affected City Councils participate, to ensure fluid communication with the central Administration and continuous monitoring of the works.