IN a rare show of political unity, the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) voted together on Wednesday in Malaga to call on the central government to commit to building a rail link along the Andalusian coast.
The motion, which was passed in the Provincial Council, also called for the Socialist-led administration in Madrid to temporarily suspend toll charges on the Costa del Sol AP-7 motorway until the train reaches Marbella and Estepona, according to Spanish press reports.
The text of the approved motion calls on the central government to ‘bring into play all of its capacity to implement rail infrastructure that connects the most-populated towns of the Costa del Sol and reach the Campo de Gibraltar’.
The current Cercanias train line between Malaga and Fuengirola is viewed as insufficient for the transport needs of local residents, contributing to regular traffic problems on the roads.
As well as the PSOE and PP, which are traditionally political enemies and rarely vote together on any issues, the motion was supported by far-right Vox and local leftist bloc Con Malaga.
The motion also calls on the central government to ‘explain what has happened with the €8.4 million budgeted over the last 10 years to carry out studies about the coastal train’, and that they create ‘a more up-to-date study’ on the rail link.
The vote was proposed by the PP after the secretary of state for transport, Jose Antonio Santano, made comments earlier this month at an event in Malaga that the central government did not, for now, have information ‘that would allow in the short term for progress in the direction of a Costa del Sol train’.
The president of the Provincial Council, Francisco Salado of the PP, said after the vote that it was ‘an important day for Malaga province’, in comments reported by La Opinion de Malaga, adding that ‘all of the political groups have been responsible for calling on the Spanish government to solve one of the big problems that needs solving in Malaga province, which is mobility’.
The PSOE spokesperson in the Provincial Council, Josele Gonzalez, stated that his party ‘will always defend and support what’s best for Malaga, whoever is in power in Madrid’.
Among Spain’s 50 provinces, there are 38 Provincial Councils. These branches of Spain’s administration are responsible for providing administrative support to the local councils in the municipalities that comprise the province.
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