Tram waiting at Benidorm station

Back in the Summer there was concern that Tram line 9, which runs between Benidorm and Denia may be forced to close due to lack of investment. Protest and awareness rallies were held in August, which coincided with the hugely popular annual firework display in La Olla, when many thousands use the tram to get to Altea.

The Councillor for Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, Isabel Bonig, yesterday confirmed that the Tram line 9 WILL remain in service in the future and that next year alone will invest 3.5 million to improve its current state. The regional minister made these remarks during a meeting held in Denia, which was attended by the Mayors of Benidorm, Altea, Calpe, Benissa, Teulada, Gata de Gorgos and Denia - the municipalities through which the line runs.

It was also announced that a total of 70 million euros has been allocated as part of an investment plan, in order to modernize it over the coming years. "The purpose of the planned actions lasting until 2020 is to maintain the current operation, ensuring levels of safety and quality, enabling seamless integration of this line with the rest of the network lines" remarked the Councillor.

From next year a 1.5 kilometer stretch of track between Benidorm and Altea will be renewed and the steel bridges along the line will also be overhauled.

Line 9, whose running time is 1 hour and 17 minutes has a length of 51 kilometres with 11 stations along the route. Last year alone, there were a record 735,921 passengers using the Benidorm to Denia service. Its a superb and efficient hourly service and used by many tourists, especially over the summer months.

... and on the subject of trams and trains, it has been confirmed that the AVE high speed train from Madrid to Alicante will start running from next June. This is great news as it will mean more "weekend" visitors to the area and also mean that we can "pop" over to Madrid for a short break and shopping trip!