Local authorities on the Costa del Sol have started work on plans to extend the high-speed AVE rail service along Spain's southern coastline.
With a new AVE line now connecting Malaga with the capital Madrid in just two hours and 30 minutes, local government figures are keen to improve transport links on the Costa del Sol even further by developing a rail service which will run between Malaga, Fuengirola and Estepona.
According to southern Spanish newspaper Sur, such a line is a "long-awaited dream of local people and professionals in the tourism industry", although the project is currently far from completion and still faces several obstacles.
The main difficulty lies in coordinating the efforts of two different organisations - the Junta de Andalucia is responsible for building the line between Fuengirola and Estepona, while the Ministry of Public Works will construct the link between Fuengirola and Malaga.
Sur has stated that the two projects could cost over 1,000 million euros.
While the Ministry of Public Works is lagging slightly behind the Junta at the moment, people on the Costa del Sol remain confident that both bodies will deliver the necessary changes by 2013, when the high-speed service is due to be extended.
