Alex Trelinski
PEOPLE can travel on the TRAM d’Alacant’s Line 9 route between Benidorm and Denia from Tuesday without using replacement buses on various sections.
The final piece in the jigsaw was the upgrading of the Altea-Calpe section as part of a programme that started in 2014 with different parts of Line 9 closed over the decade.
Modern rolling stock was unable to use the old rails and they needed replacing in a major overhaul.
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New bridges parallel to existing structures had to be built in the Altea area at Algar and Mascarat at a cost of €16 million because they were too narrow to accommodate modern track gauges.
Altea’s mayor, Diego Zaragozi, described the line reopening as ‘good news’, ending inconvenience to passengers.
There’s also a bonus, as Zaragozi explains: “The old Mascarat bridge will be part of a new path which will allow walkers to enjoy a rich environmental area as well as a link between the centre of Altea and Cap Negret.”
Valencia president, Carlos Mazon, said travellers between Benidorm and Denia will ‘at last’ have an improved service, with journeys cut by an hour if travelling between Alicante and Denia.
“Dual-fuel trains will be used that are more sustainable, faster, modern and accessible, in a key area for tourism and the development of the region,” he added.
The old diesel trains have been replaced by the new units that started running between Denia and Calpe in 2023.
Six dual-fuel trains have been built by Stadler Rail Valencia at a cost of €43.3 million.
On the negative side, the Line 1 service between Benidorm and the Marina Baixa Hospital at Villajoyosa will be out of action until the end of April.
Essential track maintenance and electrification work means buses will run between the stations en route, with the exception of the Terra Mitica stop.
