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Narrow-gauge railways in Spain

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Electric unit 3500, operated by FEVE, arriving at Muros de Nalón station, on its way to Gijón

In Spain there is an extensive 1,250 km (780 mi) system of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge railways. The majority of these railways was historically operated by FEVE, (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha, Spanish narrow-gauge railways). Created in 1965 FEVE started absorbing numerous private-owned narrow-gauge railways. From 1978 onwards, with the introduction of regionalisation devolution under the new Spanish constitution, FEVE began transferring responsibility for a number of its operations to the new regional governments. On 31 December 2012 the company disappeared due to the merger of the narrow-gauge network FEVE and the broad-gauge network RENFE.

In 2023 transport officials in RENFE in Spain resigned when it was found that narrow-gauge passenger rolling-stock ordered in 2020 for the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria would be too wide for the tunnels and were to be redesigned with delays of a year or two in delivery.[1]

Northern Spain

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Euskotren Trena unit at Amara station, Donostia–San Sebastián

In the north of the country, operated by RENFE and EuskoTren (Eusko Trenbideak, Basque Railways). At the centre of this system is a metre-gauge line which runs for 650 km (404 mi) along the entire length of Spain's north coast.

EuskoTren is the Basque regional government rail company. This company also owns several bus lines.

The Euskotren Tranbia in Bilbao is a tramway line.

Metro Bilbao started in 1995 on EuskoTren track and has a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge. The Renfe metre-gauge network in Northern Spain and EuskoTren form the longest narrow-gauge network in Europe.

Andalusia

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Castile–La Mancha

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Catalonia

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Barcelona

Gelida

Girona

Montserrat

Northern Catalonia

Valencian community

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Castellón

Madrid

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FC del Guadarrama stock at Cercedilla
  • Ferrocaril Électrico del Guadarrama near Madrid, in the Sierra del Guadarrama, runs a metre gauge electric line through a short but extremely sinuous track from Cercedilla to Los Cotos. This is the only narrow gauge railway operated by RENFE rather than FEVE.[2]

Majorca

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  • SFM (Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca); 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
  • FS (Ferrocarril de Sóller) operates a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge electrified railway and connecting tramway, the Tranvía de Sóller.
  • Palma Metro; 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)

Murcia

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Heads roll in- Spain over trains too wide for tunnels". Stuff/Fairfax. 2023.
  2. ^ Rowe, D Trevor (1994). Narrow Gauge Railways of Spain Volume 2. Brighton: Plateway Press. p. 11. ISBN 1 871980 25 9.
  • Organ, John (2009). Eastern Spain Narrow Gauge: from Gerona to Málaga. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781906008567.
  • Organ, John (2010). Northern Spain Narrow Gauge: Irún to El Ferrol. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781906008833.
  • Organ, John (2011). Central and Southern Spain Narrow Gauge: Castile to Huelva. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781906008918.
  • Organ, John (2014). Majorca and Corsica Narrow Gauge. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781908174413.
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