Cercanías Málaga is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

service between central Málaga,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and towns in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. The network consists of of track, with two lines and 24 stations in operation. The trains are powered by

overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipm ...

and run on broad

Iberian gauge Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, ...

track.

History

In 1908 the first line of the Ferrocarriles Suburbanos de Málaga opened; a

metre-gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, ...

rail network connecting Málaga to

Vélez-Málaga Vélez-Málaga () is a municipality and the capital of the Axarquía comarca in the province of Málaga, in the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the most important city in the comarca. Locally it is referred to as Vélez. Vélez- ...

. This line was later extended to

Ventas de Zafarraya Ventas de Zafarraya is a village in the municipality of Alhama de Granada, Granada, Spain. It is just north of a mountain pass between spurs of the Sierra de Alhama to the west and the Sierra de Tejeda to the east, on the main road from Vélez-Mál ...

, along with lines to

Coín Coín () is a town and municipality in the Province of Málaga, Spain, c. 33 km west of the provincial capital, Málaga, and about 30 km north of Marbella. The town has an official population of 22,000 inhabitants. Foreigners now make ...

and

Fuengirola Fuengirola (), in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a large town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the pr ...

. 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 Málaga Airport , officially Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Málaga-Costa del Sol) since June 2011, is the fourth busiest airport in Spain after Madrid–Barajas, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. It is significant for Spa ...

, 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).

Line C-1 Malaga - Airport - Fuengirola

Line C-1 runs along the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

. 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 Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

to the west, and to

Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about 50 ...

in the east, but current stations are: * Centro-Alameda connecting to Metro de Málaga *

María Zambrano María Zambrano Alarcón (22 April 1904 – 6 February 1991) was a Spanish essayist and philosopher associated with the Generation of '36 movement. Her extensive work between the civic engagement and the poetic reflection started to be rec ...

connecting to

Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line The Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line is a standard gauge High-speed rail line of in length that links the city of Madrid with the city of Málaga in Spain. The line was inaugurated on 24 December 2007. At the time the service opened, Renf ...

/ Metro de Málaga * Victoria Kent (''see''

Victoria Kent Victoria Kent Siano (March 6, 1891 – September 25, 1987) was a Spanish lawyer and republican politician. Biography Born in Málaga, Spain, Kent was affiliated to the Radical Socialist Republican Party and came to fame in 1930 for defending � ...

) * Guadalhorce * Aeropuerto with eventual connection to Metro de Málaga * San Julián (canceled) * Plaza Mayor * Los Álamos * La Colina *

Torremolinos Torremolinos () is a municipality in Andalusia, southern Spain, west of Málaga. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism began in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be developed and is still t ...

* Montemar-Alto * El Pinillo *

Benalmádena Benalmádena () is a town in Andalusia in southern Spain, 12 km west of Málaga, on the Costa del Sol between Torremolinos and Fuengirola. Benalmádena is rich in attractive beaches and interesting places like the Colomares Castle, the 33-me ...

-Arroyo de la Miel * Torremuelle * Carvajal * Torreblanca * Los Boliches *

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 Campanillas, also known as District 9, is one of the 11 districts of the city of Málaga, Spain. It comprises the wards (''barrios'') of Amoníaco, Campanillas, Castañetas, Centro de Transporte de Mercancías, Colmenarejo, El Brillante, El ...

Cártama Cártama is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately from Málaga. It is one of the most extensive towns in the province, coveri ...

* Aljaima *

Pizarra Pizarra is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 30 kilometres from Málaga. It is located in the center of the province and ...

Álora Álora is a town and municipality in southern Spain in the province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located c. 40 km from Málaga, on the right bank of the river Guadalhorce and on the Córdoba-Málaga railway, within ...

Future expansion

The Costa del Sol railway extension of the C-1 service from its current Fuengirola terminus to

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

and

is planned. In January 2018 three possible route alignments were determined, costing between €2 billion and €3.8 billion.

References