George Mathias
A NEW high-speed rail route has opened between Malaga and Granada taking under one hour and 10 minutes.
New high-speed train launched between Malaga and Granada
THE new high-speed route between Malaga and Granada launched on Monday becoming the first ever direct train journey between the regional capitals.
It means Renfe passengers can now travel between the destinations within one hour and ten minutes.
There are two routes to and from Malaga each day, one that departs Granada at 7.40am and one at 6.50pm
Each journey calls at Loja, with plans to add a future stop at Antequera-Centro station.
There are further plans to add an additional departure in each direction though no date for this has been set.
The trains on this route have four carriages with a 240 seat capacity and top speeds of 250kph with a single costing €23.10 and €37 for a return.
Renfe said 150 passengers got on the first train on Monday, with some 1,500 tickets sold since the new service was announced on March 18.
Among the first passengers was Spain’s government delegate to Andalucia Pedro Fernandez who described it as an ‘historic day’ for the cities of Granada and Malaga.
He shared footage from the train window showing a landscape of olive groves whizzing past.
Until now there were no direct trains running between Granada and Malaga.
The new route is expected to be popular for tourists making a day trip from resorts on the Costa del Sol to visit the Alhambra.
The Alhambra palace in Granada remains the most visited tourist site in Granada but until now was not easily accessible to those on the Costa del Sol except by car.
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