Torrevieja’s tourist train suspended its usual town centre routes in mid-September after the local council’s Legal Services department denied a contract extension requested by the operating firm, Trainvision. The decision, based strictly on contractual grounds rather than safety concerns, meant the service could no longer depart from Paseo de La Libertad in Torrevieja, opposite Plaza de Waldo Calero.
The ruling by the local governing team was made public during October’s ordinary plenary council meeting, where a decree detailing the rejection of the company’s appeal was formally presented.
Two distinct routes
The tourist train, locally known as the “habanero”, previously operated two separate services. One route ran along the municipality’s coastline, operating predominantly during the peak summer season. The second route, introduced in 2018, had become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the municipality. Running along the southern stretch of the seafront, it travelled via public roads to connect the town centre with the salt mining facilities. Passengers were taken on tours of the site and its salt mountains, learning about the history and salt-making traditions of Torrevieja, as well as browsing souvenirs made exclusively for the Nueva Compañía Arrendataria de las Salinas, a subsidiary of Grupo Salins.
Following the council’s decision, Trainvision has maintained a reduced service via a private agreement with the Torrevieja salt lakes. This service operates purely inside the private industrial enclosure, starting directly from the salt firm’s premises, where the souvenir shop was expanded this summer. Over 50,000 visitors a year continue to take part in the salt lake tours starting from within the complex itself.
Contract expired
The original concession contract reached its official expiration date on 9th August 2026. Prior to this deadline, the concessionaire requested permission to continue operating until a new contract could be awarded, finalised, and put into service. Although public contracting law allows for this possibility when a concession expires, the final choice rests entirely with the administration.
On 10th July, the Governing Board, chaired by the Mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, rejected the request in line with technical reports. The council concluded that the contract had reached its maximum duration and declared that all associated rights and obligations ended on 9 August. Trainvision appealed against the decision and asked for its effects to be suspended while the appeal was resolved.
On 7th August, two days before the contract expired, the Governing Board accepted this precautionary measure. In practice, this saved the end of the high season for the firm, whose salt lake tour alone brings in more than 50,000 people annually and has been a key complementary attraction to Torrevieja’s traditional sun-and-beach tourism since 2018.
The temporary measure permitted both trains—the one connecting the town centre to the salt complex and the one offering coastal tours—to continue operating past 9th August while the appeal was considered. However, this provisional arrangement ended following a resolution adopted on 4th September and notified a few days later.
On that date, the Governing Board fully dismissed the operator’s appeal, confirming that Trainvision had no right to continue providing the public service on its own initiative without a new contract. The council maintained that any temporary extension following the end of a concession must be an explicit decision by the administration, justified by service needs, and strictly limited in time.
Investments and financial terms
The legal resolution acknowledged that the contract was a service concession, which was one of the arguments raised by the company to justify staying. However, it rejected the idea that this status automatically allowed for continued operation while a new tender was drafted.
Specifically, the head of Legal Services noted that the original contract documents lacked the economic calculations necessary to justify a period exceeding five years based on the company’s investments. Consequently, the legal team ruled out applying the four-year contract plus four-year extension option mentioned in the tender specifications, limiting the extension to a single year to cap the total duration at five years.
The company previously paid the local council an annual fee of 37,501€ (excluding VAT) for the operation of the two tourist trains, which was originally awarded in 2021. Trainvision, which operates several public contracts, also offers group tourist routes in Toledo, San Sebastián, and Burgos. Information regarding its Torrevieja town services has since been removed from its official website.
