Visitors to the coasts of Andalucia see one big difference between these coasts and elsewhere on the Mediterranean shoreline - it's not blighted by a railway line.  Apart from a few kilometres between Malaga and Fuengirola, which doesn't run close to the sea, there isn't one.  In one sense this has been a good thing - a frontline beach property in Andalucia means precisely that, nothing between it and the ocean while on some Mediterranean coasts property is separated from the sea by rail tracks as well as a road.  But the lack of a railway means coastal travel is a choice between a crowded bus or a car.  Clogged roads have turned 10 minute journeys into hour-long crawls and the toll motorway hasn't helped to relieve local traffic congestion.  Malaga's second ring road can't come soon enough, likewise the San Pedro underpass.

It's just over a year since high speed trains (AVE) arrived in Malaga and the service has been a huge success since opening in December 2007, with passenger numbers doubling on the Madrid - Malaga route, one result being that local businesses such as hotels and restaurants have reported an sharp increase in the numbers of people on weekend breaks from the capital.  And on January 10th 2009 the line going around Madrid opened so it is now possible to go Malaga - Barcelona direct, no stop in Madrid required.  The journey time is now 5hrs.40min, a reduction of 50 minutes.

Now the largest-ever project proposed for the Costa del Sol, the extension of the AVE line going along the coast, has taken a step forward with the submission for funding to the European Investment Bank.  This joint-venture project between the Madrid governement and the regional administration, the Junta de Andalucia, is for a 56.6 kilometre extension from Fuengirola to Estepona.  The €4 billion project, 90% of which will be underground, gives estimated journey times of 10 minutes between Fuengirola and Marbella and 12 minutes from Marbella to Estepona.  The long term aim is to take the line further west to Algeciras and east from Malaga to Motril.

High speed trains have had a noticeable impact on property prices in areas with easy access to an AVE station.  In particular, we have noticed a change of attitude among Spaniards towards commuting and they have been buying property in the vicinity well ahead of the line actually opening.  Currrently in Spain there are over 7000kms of high speed lines either planned, under construction or fully operational with 30% of this figure in Andalucia and by 2013 all eight provincial capitals will be linked by AVE trains.