Coastal train
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The administrative milestones surrounding the feasibility study for the Costa del Sol train line extension continue to be met, with a much faster pace of processing than typically happens with other publicly-awarded contracts. The last BOE (Spain's official state gazette) of last year (number 315, 31 December 2024, page 75125) published the tender offer "for the drafting of the feasibility study of the Costa del Sol rail corridor." Interested consulting firms had until 10 February to submit their budgets and possible improvements. Then, on March 5th, the envelope with the bids was opened.
Well, now comes the next step and, on 17 March, the contracting board issued a report proposing the company that will be in charge of putting flesh on the bones of the requirements. The winning bidder will have to determine where and how the Costa del Sol rail corridor will be able to operate.
The winning proposal, pending the signing of the contract - once everything has been checked and, if necessary, any possible objections from the other bidders have been resolved -, was the joint venture formed by the engineering consultancy firms WSP Spain and Apia, gaining 97.54 points
Their joint bid amounts to almost 820,000 euros, some 400,000 euros less than the base price estimated by the Ministry in Madrid, which was 1.2 million euros. The planned timeframe will be the same as in the tender documents, so that means 18 months to complete the study.
From now on, a short period of time will be allowed to resolve any possible disputes and formalise the contracts with the successful bidder. They will be expected to start work on the ground, at the latest, by June.
This appears on the last page of the specifications, in the "estimated timetable" of the work to be done, where the Ministry's technical experts have established three phases. According to this timetable, the first key milestone of the feasibility study will take place already in the final part of phase I, whereby in January 2026, that is, in less than a year's time, the "initial study of alternatives" will be known.
This stage refers to the actual, physical route, where and in what form it will operate. By form we mean will it be wholly Cercanías, high performance trains or a mix? Then to decide on the platform for the railway tracks to be laid from Nerja to Malaga city and from there to Marbella, Estepona and Algeciras.
The forecast coincides with the announcement made back in December by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, when he said: "In one year we hope to have the route for the coastal train made clear." The initial idea of the tech team from the Ministry is to take the train line, whenever and wherever possible, along the spare land kept clear by law that runs alongside both sides of all state-owned roads, including the A-7.
According to the aforementioned scheme for the work, the first phase consists of the collection of data to define the current situation of the rail network, which may be affected by the new rail corridor. The technical background and studies previously carried out will be pulled together as well as all the basic starting data (infrastructures, demand, cartography, geology and geotechnics, planning, environment and so on). At the end of this, general conditioning and carrying capacity plans will be provided, culminating with an initial study of alternatives.
The second phase includes a more detailed analysis of the alternatives in the different sections into which the action has been divided (five in total). It will also examine in depth the areas and operating scenarios of the proposed alternatives, as well as the travel times, demand and profitability.
The third and final phase includes quality control and supporting formalities. This work will be carried out in parallel with the other two phases. The feasibility study should be ready for final approval in November 2026, with a conclusions document and a summary format for public presentation.
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