The Minister of Works and Housing of the Junta de Andalucia, Elena Cortés, has reportedly made a ‘commitment’ to bring back the tram system to Vélez-Málaga. The tram was suspended in June 2012 and the vehicles leased to the Australian city of Sydney.
The Minister said that negotiations began in late July between the municipality and the Ministry of Works and Housing and that these are ‘on track’ and the Junta will consider with ‘rigour’ proposals and studies submitted by the local administration.
The mayor of Vélez-Málaga, Delgado Bonilla, responded by saying that the tram system cannot be a drain on the municipality and the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the system, such as the low public demand for such a service, need to be studied.
He added that new machinery should be purchased with shorter units of 21 metres instead of the former 31 metres, cheaper ticketing and a system more geared to the reality of Vélez-Málaga.
The failed tram system, the first in Andalucia, cost in excess of €40 million to set up.