Rail transport
Malaga welcomes first direct high-speed train from Madrid on Thursday following four-month suspensionBoth public operator Renfe and private companies Iryo and Ouigo resume their services, alongside the reopening of the Avant connections to Cordoba, Seville and Granada
Trains of the three operators that travel from the capital stationed at the María Zambrano station in Malaga. (Migue Fernández)Chus Heredia
29/04/2026 a las 15:38h.The direct high-speed rail connection between Malaga and Madrid is reopening on Thursday, 30 April, although with fewer services and at a reduced speed. The first train will depart from the Atocha station in Madrid at 9.50am and arrive in Malaga at 12.25pm.
In the opposite direction, the first service will depart from Malaga at 12pm and arrive in Madrid at 2.58pm. State operator Renfe will operate both services, although private companies Iryo and Ouigo are also returning to the province.
The direct high-speed rail in Malaga province has not operated since 18 January, when the Adamuz train crash occurred. The service experienced an even more serious delay following the collapse of a slope in the municipality of Álora on 4 February. Since then, state infrastructure company Adif has been working in both areas to recover the tracks so that trains could run again.
Until now, Renfe has been running between Malaga and Madrid with the help of a bus transfer, but with significantly reduced frequencies. The private operators had completely ceased operations. This forced Iryo to place its employees on temporary layoff (ERTE) due to unforeseen circumstances and force majeure.
Weekly frequencies
Renfe is the operator that offers the largest number of services, with 161 weekly frequencies and an average of 25 daily services in both directions.
The alternative bus transport plan had recorded a total of more than 275,000 journeys up to 22 April. According to estimates, the total number of journeys will have exceeded 300,000 by Thursday, when the direct train returns.
Renfe will also reinstate all direct Avant services to and from Malaga starting at noon on Thursday. The first four services on the Malaga-Seville route will, as before, travel by road between Antequera Santa Ana and Malaga (departing from Seville at 6.20am and 7.51am and from Malaga at 5.13am and 7.55am).
The Avant Malaga-Cordoba-Seville services will run again without the need to change trains, restoring the usual direct connectivity of 14 trains on weekdays and eight on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 May.
The Avant Malaga-Granada services will also resume from 12pm on 30 April, with a schedule of six daily services. The 9.26am Malaga-Granada and the 7.34am Granada-Malaga services will not run on Thursday.
"The current infrastructure conditions, which require single-track operations in some sections, have made it necessary to modify the schedules of these Avant services in Andalucía, including those on the Seville-Cordoba-Granada route," Renfe said in a statement.
On Monday, 4 May, connections between Malaga and Zaragoza and Barcelona will also resume.