Journey time on the new route from Malaga to Madrid has been long awaited and has been set at two hours 30 minutes for non stop services and 25 minutes more for trains which stop en route. 11 trains will cover the line in each direction daily, a number which is increased to 13 on Fridays and reduced to ten on Sundays and nine on Saturdays. Ticket price is 76 € single, but there are discounts for advance internet booking which can take the price down to as low as 30 € 50 cents. It came the day after the Zapatero also officially opened the other new AVE high speed train line from Madrid to Valladolid. After the photos in Málaga the Prime Minister made his way to the airport and flew back to Madrid in an official plane, while the rest of the politicians returned on the train. A statement from the Moncloa said Zapatero had a ‘private meal’ to return for. The 7:10 AVE service from Málaga to Madrid on December 26th arrived 40 minutes late as the train stopped short of Córdoba when it failed to correctly read the signalling system on the Sevilla to Madrid stretch of the line. This older track uses a different signalling method that the Córdoba to Málaga link. It meant that RENFE were obliged to return the ticket price to the 281 passengers on the train. El Mundo has reported that the delay to the 2pm AVE from Málaga on Boxing Day was even greater, with the train arriving in Madrid one hour 40 minutes late. Travellers have told the paper that the train stopped and started on the Málaga – Córdoba stretch, the TV’s did not work, there was no water in the bathroom taps, and the oven in the cafeteria had broken. Currently on the new lines to Málaga and Valladolid RENFE returns half the ticket price for a 15 minute delay and all the ticket price for delays of more than 30 minutes. On established AVE lines a full refund is given if trains are more than 5 minutes late on arrival.

| Benalblog

We were very fortunate and had a dry sunny and generally very pleasant Christmas day after the foul weather of the previous week however heavy rain has brought flooding to the Western Costa del Sol with several estates in Estepona among the hardest hit. The main A-7 road was closed to traffic direction Málaga in Saladillo for three hours on Sunday. Estepona saw 45 litres of rain fall per square metre, with flooding affecting basements, shops and several roads. Some people were trapped in their cars by the water for a time when a stream burst its banks in the area of Playa Bella. The local fire service were called out more than 100 times. In Marbella the local fire service was called out 55 times as the rain also caused problems for some, mostly the flooding of garages and homes in the Guadalmina-Casasola, Los Naranjos and Jardines de Marbella urbanisations. In Mijas a wall collapsed because of the rain, the Paseo Marítimo flooded in Carvajal, Fuengirola, and some 20 vehicles had to be abandoned in the water of a restaurant car park in Churriana. There was far less rain on the Eastern Costa del Sol, but the Paseo Maritímo on the Ferrara beach in Torrox was at the mercy of the waves after the sand was washed away. Christmas Eve saw a spectacular hail storm in parts of the Axarquia, causing traffic problems and damage to crops in the area. Algarrobo was particularly affected and also suffered a power cut from the start of the storm until 3 in the morning. The local council has called for the area to be declared a catastrophic zone.

| Benalblog