The last August, I watched on tv a write-up about the abandoned train stations in Spain. I stayed watching it, because I have always loved train.
The write-up started talking about a village named Portas (Pontevedra, South-West of Galice, North-west of Spain), where from 2008 – July, its train station is closed, caused of the new reform on the railway line in the coast of Galice.
The Portas neighbors have united on a platform, named “Salva o tren” (“Save the train”), in order to ask Administration that it recovers the line.Those neighbors united say that they are many old people and students, who need that line or another solution –for example a bus— in order to go out the village within to spend more money –because, actually they have to take a taxi or travelling in the car of a neighbor--.
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"Station of Portas", Portas, Pontevedra, South of Galice, North-West of Spain, by Javi Lago
The trouble is that today Spain has invested a lot of money in the High Speed Train.It is very good, of course –actually, Spain is the country with the most number of lines AVE--, because it makes life easier between cities, thanks to shorter trips--; but the sacrifice is for people who lives in little villages, because the trains, that passed before, now do not stop or even they never go over those rails.
Administration says that “everyting that is not profitable, you can not have”.But I think that it is not so exact, because, still many people, in many villages, need to travel, although it is with other lower speed.Moreover, I think that many people from Spain and out of Spain should like to travel with those trains and its lines, if they were prepared.So, more people would leave more money and it should generate more jobs and Administration should have money in order to keep stations on.
Portas lost the train because the reform in the Atlantic axle.The Atlantic axle is the line along the coast of Galice, from Vigo (in the South) to La Coruña (in the North).It had to become a high-speed line.With AVE (Alta Velocidad Española), the route between Santiago and Coruña spends 35 minutes, instead of another speed train that spends more than one hour.
In order to reduce the time, the outline has been changed in some sections.Cause of that, many villages have been isolated; that is the case of Cerceda (La Coruña). In Repor, a very young woman from Cerceda said that, a long time ago, the building of the station was closed, however the trains stood still.Also said that the people of her village still had a little hope of seeing the train again, passing through that station, because, some days before closing the station, they put some new posters.Each station closed, has new posters with the name of the station.
"An abandoned freight car in the old train station of Meirama", Cerceda, La Coruña, North of Galice, North-West of Spain
As in Portas, in Cerceda there is no other public transportation, currently.
In Repor, two ladies were remembering when they were two children and lived in front of the station; in that epoch, they liked to play going out of their houses, running, in order to see how the train was passing.
The neighbors of Cerceda have to travel 4 Kms, to the new station, where they can take the train AVE.
Another village, with the same problem is “Ordes” (La Coruña).Its station is far from the village.Through that station pass 48 trains with passengers; but, only 8 stop.
But, out of Galice, you can find several abandoned train stations; one of them is the semi-abandoned train station of Castillejo-Añover (Toledo).
We say “Semi-abandoned”, because it is still used by the company ADIF. A manager performs maintenance routine visits, but not the station but facilities adjacent.
The old station of Castillejo-Añover, Toledo, Spain.Two pictures courtesy by Rutas Abandonadas.es
An abandoned train
The train tracks are still used by fast trains.On the area of the siding, we find a whole train, with graffities, waiting for who knows what fate.
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Two pictures inside the station, courtesy by Rutas Abandonadas .es
There is no problem to visit the inside of the station: such the area for travelers, in the ground floor, as the upper rooms, where the stationmaster and perhaps other officer lived.
Who knows if anybody shall be abble to recover this and other stations in order to attend to many people who need those trains for having an easier life?.
I hope that people is assisted.
Best regards,
Luis.
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