South Tenerife Train project needs deal with AENA to move forward
Plans for the long-awaited South Tenerife Train are edging closer to reality, with the Cabildo waiting for the signing of a key agreement with AENA to define how the railway will pass through Tenerife South Airport.
The deal is considered to be a crucial step before the project can move into the environmental approval phase. Both institutions have been working for over a year to finalise how the rail line will integrate with the airport, particularly in light of planned future expansion works.
Designed with expansion in mind
Technical plans for the railway, originally drafted more than 13 years ago by engineering firm Ineco, already allowed for flexibility around a potential airport expansion.
According to environmental documents, the airport interchange is planned as an underground station located at the eastern end of the current terminal. This design ensures compatibility with both the existing infrastructure and any future enlargement of the airport.
However, AENA is now proposing a full redevelopment of the airport terminal, including improved intermodal connections, meaning direct integration with the train.
Investment and route planning
The Cabildo budget for 2026 includes €1 million to refine the rail route through the airport area and to develop the interchange project in detail.
This section is a key part of the first phase of the railway, which will run between San Isidro and Costa Adeje.
Previous agreements between the Cabildo and AENA have already allowed for adjustments to the route as it approaches the airport, ensuring it does not conflict with existing territorial planning.
Planned route of the southern train line as it passes through Tenerife South Airport.
Awaiting final approval
Once the agreement is signed, an addendum incorporating the agreed modifications will be attached to the project. This will allow the environmental impact assessment, which has already been prepared, to be formally submitted and processed.
Island president Rosa Dávila has confirmed that this is the final step needed before the project can advance administratively, although no date has yet been set for signing the agreement.
A strategic transport link
The first section expected to be built will connect San Isidro with Costa Adeje, covering around 30 kilometres. It will link key locations including Las Chafiras industrial estate, the airport, the port of Los Cristianos and El Mojón hospital.
Journey times for this section are estimated at just 13 minutes, offering a significant improvement in connectivity across the south of the island.
At the same time, the Cabildo is considering acquiring a stake in Ineco to bring the company in-house as a technical partner, a model already being pursued in Gran Canaria, where a similar rail project has progressed further and already secured environmental approval.
For now, all eyes are on the pending agreement with AENA, as this is a decisive step that could finally set Tenerife’s long-discussed southern rail project in motion.
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