Ferrol – Gijón railway line

Ferrol-Pravia

Route length:

269 km

Gauge :

1000 mm ( meter gauge )

Dual track :

No

Legend

	0.0	Ferrol
		Virxe do Mar
		Santa Icia
		O Alto do Castiñeiro
		Piñeiros
		O Ponto
	7.6	Jubia ( Xuvia )
		Ferrerias
		Sedes
		Pedroso
	17.0	San Saturnino ( San Sadurniño )
		Llamas
		Apalla
		Moeche
		Labacengos
		Entrambarrias
	33.6	Cerdido
		A Cuqueira
		Santa Maria
		A Ponte Mera
		San Claudio
		Senra
	52.5	Ortigueira
		Espasante
		Loiba
		O Barqueiro
		Vicedo
		Mosende
		Folgueiro
		Covas
	85.9	Vivero
		Vivero apeadoiro
		Xuances
		Xove Apdro
	99.0	Jove (Xove)
		Lago
		Bidueiros
		San Cibrao
		Madeiro
	112.7	Burela
		Cangas de Foz
		Nois
		Fazouro
		Marzan
		Foz
		Barreiros
		Reinante
		Esteiro
		Os Castros
		Rinlo
	146.3	Ribadeo
	153.0	Vegadeo (A Veiga)
		Vagadeo Pueblo
		Vilavedelle
		Castropol
		Las Campas
		Tol
		Tapia de Casariego
		La Caridad
		Cartavio
		Loza
		Jarrio
	189.6	Navia
		Piñera - Villaoril
		Villapedre
		Otur
	211.4	Luarca (Ljuarca)
		Barcia
		Caneiru
		San Cristobal
		Cadavedo
		Tablizo
		Ballota Apaedero
		Ballota
		Santa Marina
		Novellana
		Valdredo
	242.4	Soto de Luiña
		San Cosme
		San Martin
		La Magdalena
	255.9	Cudillero
		El Pito
	260.6	Muros de Nalón
		Los Cabos
		Santianes
		from San Esteban de Pravia
	269.2	Pravia
		to Trubia and Gijón

Pravia-Gijón

Route length:

51.8 km

Gauge :

1000 mm ( meter gauge )

Legend

		from Ferrol and San Esteban de Pravia
	0.0	Pravia
		to Trubia
		Peñaullan
		Riberas
	6.9	Soto del Barco
		El Parador
	11.5	Santiago del Monte
		Vegarrozadas
	16.4	Piedrasblancas
		Salinas
		Raices
		La Maruca
		from Las Arobias
	23.2	Avilés FEVE
		Avilés Apeadero
		Llaranes
		Oficinas
	27.6	Trasona (Tresona)
		Laminacion-Gudin
		San Zabornin
	35.1	Regueral
	37.7	Candás
		Candás Apeadero
	39.7	Perlora
		Xivares
		Aboño
		to Sotiello - El Berrón
	46.0	Veriña FEVE
		Centro Transportes
		Tremañes
		from Sotiello - El Berrón
	51.8	Gijón Sanz Crespo
		Gijón-Cercanías

The Ferrol – Gijón railway is a narrow-gauge railway line along the north coast of Spain , which runs from the Galician city of Ferrol to the Asturian city of Gijón . The track width is one meter. The line is single-track and only electrified between Cudillero and Gijón. The length is 320 km and was only opened as a total route in 1972.

history

Pravia train station

Gijón-Cercanías train station

The construction of a railway line between Ferrol and Gijón was decided in 1886. For strategic military reasons, the aim was to create a transport link between the military facilities in the Ferrol region and the weapons and explosives factories in Asturias. The project was included in the investment plan in 1888. However, work did not begin until 1921.

The progress of the work was very slow for a number of reasons. In 1953, the first Asturian section between Avilés and Pravia was put into operation. Further completions took place in 1962 between Pravia and Luarca and in 1968 from Vivero to Vegadeo . Several sections of the route had previously been inaugurated on the Galician part. It was finally completed on September 6, 1972 with the opening of the last section from Vegadeo to Luarca. The total duration of the work is 51 years.

Extremity of the line in Gijon was the head station Gijón-Cercanías , also known as Estación de El Humedal was called. It was closed on March 28, 2011 and demolished in autumn 2014. Since then, the trains have ended, again together with the broad-gauge ones , in the new Gijón-Sanz Crespo station , which was built almost 1000 m from the former end point.

Routing

The mountainous coastal terrain and the numerous sea bays typical of the region - called rias - made the layout of the railway line technically demanding and expensive. The route has 110 tunnels, which together are 37 km long, and 27 bridges. Due to the long construction period, the construction of the engineering structures is not uniform. A trip is considered to be attractive for tourists. The El Transcantábrico , a comfortable hotel train , also runs along the route .

business

The original military significance does not matter today. The A-8 motorway, which runs largely parallel to one another, has significantly improved the region’s transport links. As a result, only a few passenger and freight trains run on the route. The travel time between the two end stations can be over 11 hours with changes. The mayors along the route are complaining about the decreasing attractiveness of the transport links.

The line has been part of the ADIF network , the infrastructure company for the Spanish rail network, since January 1, 2013 . Operation is carried out by FEVE , a division of the Renfe state railway company .