The planned construction of a high-speed (AVE) rail link between Alicante and Valencia along the coast, together with plans to  build another high-speed rail link between Madrid and Alicante, will one day make it possible to get from Benidorm to the Spanish capital in just 125 minutes.
 
The frequency of the service will depend on demand but it is hoped that a high-speed connection will be added from Alicante to Benidorm to complete the service.

The proposed Alicante-Valencia AVE link along the coast was the focus of a press conference given today by the Minister for Infrastructure, Mario Flores, the general director of this AVE Section, Vicente Domine, and the Mayor of Alicante, Sonia Castedo, to explain the so-called 'Suburban Plan', a joint initiative between the Government and the Ministry of Development.

The direct AVE connection between Madrid and Benidorm depends on both the completion of the Alicante-Valencia link, with stops in El Campello, Benidorm, Benissa, Teulada, Denia and Gandia, and the current proposed AVE link between Madrid and Alicante.

In the current Coastal Train ("Tren de la Costa") project, the Benidorm station will be located at Terra Mitica, where the Alicante Metropolitan Tram already stops.

Priority will be given to the "Tren de la Costa", which has been divided into several sections, the first of which, Cullera-Gandia, will see an investment of 190 million euros to duplicate 26 km of track.

For the Gandia-Denia-Alicante section a joint venture will be set up between the Ministry of Public Works and the Generalitat, which will extend the line from Gandia to Denia, building new stations en route.

With respect to the province of Alicante, the plan presented today includes the Xátiva-Alcoy line (with stops in Albaida and Ontinyent), to which the Government will allocate 35 million euros and the Generalitat another 30 million, and the Torrellano -Alicante-Elche/Crevillente stretch, which will see an investment of 400 million euros, including a station at El Altet airport.

The third 'prong' of the service will include the San Vicente del Raspeig to Villena line, incorporating three stations (Novelda, Sax and Elda).

Overall, the project, with a total investment of over 3.9 billion euros, will create 139km of new track and extensions, 86 km of double track and will give ten more towns access to the suburban rail network.