This is the Costa del Sol district that has been demanding a train stop for more than ten years

A Costa del Sol neighbourhood's desperate plea for a train station continues to fall on deaf ears more than a decade after it was first requested.

Located between Benalmádena and Fuengirola, although in the municipality of the former, Nueva Torrequebrada was initially an area of second homes but today, with the vast majority of its 5,000 homes occupied all year round, it has become a "dormitory neighbourhood". Most of those who live there commute every day to the neighbouring municipalities or to Malaga city for work.

Although there is a bus service that connects the area, the residents' association has been calling for more than a decade for another public transport alternative, the train. The Cercanías C1 line, linking Malaga with Fuengirola, runs through this residential area but the creation of a new stop in Nueva Torrequebrada would solve the mobility problems of many residents in the area and would considerably reduce traffic.

"We have been fighting for the train stop since 2012. We set ourselves up as a residents' association with the main objective of achieving it. Many houses in this area were even sold with the promise that there would be a train stop here," said president of the residents' association, Vicente Pelegero.

Petitions

This association has twice collected petitions calling for the Cercanías stop, once in 2015 and again in 2018, and on both occasions they collected almost 1,500 signatures from local residents, which were sent to the Ministry of Transport, rail infrastructure operator Adif and the local town hall.

"We know that an economic feasibility study was carried out by Adif, but we think that a public service does not have to be only economically viable, it has to respond to a need of the residents," said Pelegero, who also recalled that in the last municipal elections, the then Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, visited the area and pledged to create the Cercanías station.

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Recently, representatives of the residents' association met with the current local government team to discuss the issue and "the current mayor told us of his commitment to this project, although he asked us for time to study all the documentation". The association pointed out that the council's involvement is key, as one of the requirements set by Adif is that there should be land next to the halt on which to build car parks. "There is land, but at the moment it is green space and would have to be reclassified".