Cercanías Murcia/Alicante ( ca-valencia, Rodalia de Múrcia/Alacant) is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
service (''
cercanías
The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...
'') in the provinces of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
. The line connects
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
with
San Vicente del Raspeig
San Vicente del Raspeig ( Spanish) or Sant Vicent del Raspeig ( Valencian), or simply San Vicente / Sant Vicent, is a municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Alacantí, in the province of Alicante, Spain, inside the conurbation of Alicante ...
,
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,[Orihuela
Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...]
,
Totana,
Lorca, and
Águilas
Águilas () is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almería ...
. It runs through 200 km of railways with a total of 26 stations.
Lines
The
cercanías
The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...
consists of three lines. Line C-1 connects
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
by 1 or 2 trains per hour. Line C-2 connects
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
and
Águilas
Águilas () is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almería ...
. Line C-3 connects
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and
San Vicente del Raspeig
San Vicente del Raspeig ( Spanish) or Sant Vicent del Raspeig ( Valencian), or simply San Vicente / Sant Vicent, is a municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Alacantí, in the province of Alicante, Spain, inside the conurbation of Alicante ...
with about eight trains per day.
Line C-1
The railroad linking the cities of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
was built in 1885. It passes
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,[Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...]
and
Lorca, with only three daily trains running to
Águilas
Águilas () is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almería ...
. The average travel time between Murcia and Lorca is 50 minutes and 1 hour 50 minutes between Murcia and Águilas.
Line C-3
The railroad between
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
and
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
was built in the nineteenth century, but it was not used for local traffic until 2007 when line C-3 was opened. The line is 8 km long and it takes about 12 minutes to get from
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
to
San Vicente del Raspeig
San Vicente del Raspeig ( Spanish) or Sant Vicent del Raspeig ( Valencian), or simply San Vicente / Sant Vicent, is a municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Alacantí, in the province of Alicante, Spain, inside the conurbation of Alicante ...
.
Future expansion
Alicante Airport rail link
The new terminal of
Alicante–Elche Airport was built with space allocated for a railway station and an
Alicante Tram stop.
In 2019, the Generalitat Valenciana granted €50,000 towards a feasibility study in connecting Alicante Airport to the rail network.
The same year, the
Ministry of Development put out to tender the contract to build the airport rail link.
Tren de la Costa
The Tren de la Costa proposes a new rail line linking Valencia to
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
via coastal towns as an extension of
Cercanías Valencia's C-1, into which a study was produced in 2016.
Torrevieja branch
A branch line from
San Isidro–
Albatera–
Catral station to
Torrevieja
Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Torrevieja ...
was formerly in operation from 1884 to 1986.
Since the 1990s reopening of the line has been proposed, as since the line's closure the town has become an important tourist destination.
In 2020, the University of Alicante proposed a branch from a new location –
Orihuela
Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...
– to Torrevieja serving stations at
Bigastro
Bigastro () is a municipality in the Valencian Community (Spain) situated in the south of the province of Alicante, in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura. It had a population of 6,450 at the time of the 2005 census.
History
In La Loma there is ...
-
Jacarilla and
San Miguel de Salinas. The cost of the line was estimated to be between €210 and €270 million for a single-track line capable of speeds of , with ridership of 1.1 million expected annually.
Further proposals
Line C-3 is due to expand from Sant Vicente Centre using the existing line to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
as far as Villena, with the potential to add 2,000 daily rail passengers to the network.
The existing rail line from
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
to
Cartagena is currently only served by Renfe Media Distancia services, and a Cercanías service has been proposed to enhance service frequency.
Proposals exist to link the future Elche–Matola
AVE
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
station (part of the
Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network) to the Cercanías network by way of a new line south of Elche, at a projected cost of €32 million.
This would allow services through Elche city centre to terminate at the AVE station.
References
External links
Cercanías Murcia/Alicante at RENFE website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cercanias Murcia Alicante
Province of Alicante
Cercanías
Rail transport in the Valencian Community
Rail transport in the Region of Murcia