Having attended the inauguration of the AVE high speed train route serving Madrid-Segovia-Valladolid yesterday, president Zapatero is on the south coast today for the opening of the Madrid-Malaga route.

Accompanied by under-fire Development minister, Magdalena Alvarez, as well as Andalucia's socialist regional president, Manuel Chavez, president Zapatero has been enjoying an extravagant civic reception at Malaga station that included a performance by flamenco star, Pastora Soler.

Ms Alvarez explained that the new link will cut the journey time from the capital to the south coast to just two and a half hours and that 1.7 million passengers are expected to use the service in the first year.

The Ecologists in Action association organised a demonstration outside Malaga station to protest at what they describe as the "environmental disaster" that has been caused by new tunnel construction in the Abdalajis Valley.

For its part, the IU United Left party has slammed the closure of a number of local stations as a result of the new high speed link - such as Guadalhorce, Ronda and Antequera - and demands a "public rail transport service that is socially acceptable, safe and sustainable."