Malaga AVE: rail authorities maintain 27 April as partial reopening deadline

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Although repairs did not meet the previous two deadlines, private operators have already started selling tickets for the end of the month

Ignacio Lilla

Malaga

Wednesday, 8 April 2026, 11:08

Only 20 days remain until the reopening of the high-speed rail (AVE) in Malaga province, at least in theory. This is less than three weeks before AVE trains can run directly between Malaga and Madrid - something that has not been possible since mid-January.

The works in Álora are progressing well. For now, the forecast head of Adif (the rail infrastructure company) Pedro Marco de la Peña gave seems doable.

Almost a month ago, Marco said that the service would resume "no earlier than the last week of April" and pledged to review the date every two weeks, depending on the progress of the work. Private operators later provided more specific information, as Adif informed them that they could sell tickets for the reopening on Monday, 27 April.

SUR has verified that private operator Iryo is currently offering three services in each direction (half of what there were before the disruption) for that day, on which, presumably, it will be possible to travel without the need for road transfers. Only public operator Renfe has been offering the transfer option since the incident in Álora.

The second private operator, Ouigo, also has two departures scheduled between the two cities for that same day. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Renfe had not yet released Malaga-Madrid AVE and Avlo tickets for 27 April. There is one indication that this might change: the state-owned company is currently offering transfer journey tickets only until 26 April.

Broken promises

In his latest posts on X, Minister of Transport Óscar Puente announced that they continue "working day and night, seven days a week, to put the line back into service".

The photo the minister shared shows how the work is progressing: the wall that remained standing after the landslide has already been partially demolished, as agreed. The same has to happen to the other side.

Although current forecasts are optimistic, people treat them with caution, given the government's history of broken promises in addressing this serious breakdown on the Malaga-Cordoba high-speed line. The track closure in Álora occurred on 4 February, although initially the impact was minimal because the rail connection had been closed since 18 January due to the Adamuz tragedy.

Initially, a miscalculation led to the announcement that trains could resume services on 8 March. The next official date was 23 March, just a few days before the start of Holy Week.

That deadline also failed to materialise, sparking a bitter controversy between the government, the opposition and the tourism sector. On 16 March, Pedro Marco de la Peña visited the Álora construction site and announced that the direct high-speed service would not resume until at least the end of April.

High-speed at half throttle

Although it will reopen at the end of the month, the line will remain incomplete for several more months. During his recent appearance, Marco outlined several key aspects of the track's gradual recovery plan.

Traffic will initially flow on a single track (track 2, the one further from the slope) and with speed limitations at the affected point, although the impact on travel times due to this obstacle will be limited, as it is a stretch of barely 500 metres.

According to this timeline, the double track could reopen in June, while the complete restoration of the infrastructure to its original condition (and capacity) will take at least until the end of the year. This is because the landslide also damaged a major piece of track equipment (the turnout and crossing system) located in the affected area. Replacing it requires between five and seven months for manufacturing the part, followed by installation.

Therefore, the summer of 2026 will pose challenges for rail connections between Malaga and Madrid, with trains running on a single track from Malaga's María Zambrano station to Antequera-Santa Ana. There is no possibility of trains passing each other. This involves the stretch of 54.5 kilometres between the two stations. In the event of a train breakdown or track failure on this section, the line will be blocked with no alternative route.