New Malaga Metro Up And Running After Nine-Year Wait
Spain News
Published: 31 July 2014 12:00 CET
Updated: 20 December 2019 13:00 CET
Much anticipated Malaga metro finally opens after nine-year long wait and goes over budget to the tune of €400m.
After a nine-year wait extending back to 2005, the Malaga metro was finally inaugurated on Wednesday and is expected to service around 20 million passengers each year once fully operational.
The service was supposed to be completed back in 2009, but five years later there is still around 20 percent of the track to be completed. The initial budget of €400m will also increase significantly to around €800m once the work has been completed in 2017.
The metro will connect a total of 17 stations in the Malaga city area and will cover an area of around 12 kilometres.
It will be one of seven metro's in the country and the second metro service available in the Andalucia region, the other being in Seville.
The local authorities are hoping that the service will have a positive impact on traffic congestion within the city, although critics feel that it will only relieve congestion by around three percent.
Malaga is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with plenty for visitors to see and do. The new metro will no doubt be a huge benefit to locals and visitors to what is one of Spain's most popular cities.
