Alex Trelinski
EIGHT companies have bid for a €48.5 million contract to modernise the Tram d’Alacant service in the Benidorm area.
The work includes doubling and electrifying the Line 1 track between the Benidorm Intermodal stop and Villajoyosa’s Marina Baixa hospital.
Over 20,000 m2 of land- most of which is uncultivated- will need to be expropriated by the Valencian government in the Benidorm, Finestrat, and Villajoyosa areas.
New ditches, repairing damaged embankments, and better safety will come as part of the package.
Stops at Cala Finestrat and Terra Mitica will be improved and the Moralet path will be extended from the existing car park north of Benidorm station for the benefit of hikers.
Once the project is completed- over a 30 month period- tram services in the Benidorm area will boast greater capacity, regularity, and more services.
Last January, tram services between Calpe and Denia resumed after they were suspended due to safety concerns, with the section linking Denia and Gata de Gorgos being reopened.
Line 9 Tram d’Alacant trains between Calpe and Denia were suspended over bridges and viaducts being unable to take the weight of new rolling stock.
Old bridges were restored and work also included the ‘straightening out’ of the line to allow new electro-diesel trains to use it- including the ability to travel faster.
Section by section, the line reopened with the Gata de Gorgos to Teulada link restored in July 2022.
Denia also got the bonus of two new stops at Bosc de Diana and Pedrera-Vassanes, as well as the modernisation of city level crossings and the tram station to accommodate the new trains.
