Although the plans for a more polluting expansion by means of a second runway are looking increasing less likely, the proposed railway link that will allow travel by train to Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport is making tracks to becoming a reality, after several years of political and business demands, with the development of specific contacts between the Railway Infrastructure Administrator (Adif) and Aena.
Technicians from the two state agencies are cooperating in the definition of the new branch that will connect with the passenger terminal at the aerodrome site and squaring both the location and the definitive characteristics of the station.
This station itself will be located in the space expressly reserved for that purpose since 2005, when the work to expand the terminal was planned, finally inaugurated in 2011. In principle, at that time – in which surface reservation was also contemplated for a hypothetical arrival of the tram, it was specified that the train station would be positioned underground, to the east of the vehicle parking building.
This technical coordination work occurs in the context of the drafting of the project for that railway branch from the current Cercanías C-1 line between Alicante and Elche, awarded in February 2023 to a Temporary Union of Companies (UTE) formed by Geocontrol and Inse Rail (named UTE Aeropuerto Alicante), for a total amount of 2,478,518.76 euro.
In that agreement, it was contemplated that the project would be completed in 2026, although it is expected to be delayed until 2030, and is part of the EU funded Trans-European Transport Network.
It should be noted that the current socialist-led Government of Spain has faced criticism from the PP at both regional and local levels over the lack of investment in the Alicante province, criticism which forgets to mention that it was also a socialist government in 2005 who instigated the plan, and were in power when the new airport facility was inaugurated, and it is the socialist government now progressing the rail link once again, whereas the gap in between where no progress was made was when their own party was at the helm, with Mariano Rajoy as the President, with links just down the road from the airport in Santa Pola.
