Algeciras-Madrid train service to be suspended for at least three months

(Agencies) The Algeciras-Madrid-Algeciras train line is to be suspended for at least three months because the track between Algeciras and Bobadilla is being replaced, acording to Renfe. An alternative bus service linking Algeciras with Málaga, Ronda and/or Bobadilla will be set up. There is no firm date as to when work is to begin, but it will probably be on or around the 25th or 26th of this month.

The measure affects all stations between Algeciras and Bobadilla, including San Roque, Jimena, Gaucín and other stations on that line, all the way to the southern hub at Bobadilla.

Renfe will offer a bus service from Algeciras to Málaga, linking with the AVE speed train, or to Bobadilla or Ronda, where it will link with the Altaria train to Madrid. Cargo trains will also be affected, so merchandise will be transported by road to Sevilla or Córdoba for further rail transportation.

The mountain line is a complex one, so Renfe has said that, while plans are for three months, work could continue longer than that. Salvador de la Encina, spokesperson for the Comisión de Infraestructuras in the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, said that a more precise report on the work's progress will be detailed around December 20, which will help to establish when the line will be operational again. Work on the 160-kilometre section will be carried out 24 hours a day, he added.