The La Robla railway is a narrow-gauge Spanish rail line with a length of 335 km, considered the longest narrow-gauge route in Western Europe, which originally linked La Robla (León) and Bilbao (Biscay).
Its main section, between La Robla and Balmaseda, was inaugurated on 11 August 1894.Sánchez Melado (2006: 117). Its primary objective was to bring the important coal output of the mining basins of León and Palencia closer to consumption in the powerful steel industry of Biscay. The project was promoted and carried out by the Gipuzkoan mining engineer , funded by industrialists and Victoriano Zabalinchaurreta.
The construction and operating company was the , which from 1905 onwards was renamed . In 1972 the company went into bankruptcy and the public undertaking FEVE took over the line. Under its management, the situation not only failed to improve but worsened dramatically. In 1991, passenger services were suspended — restricted to freight only — but, through various agreements with the public administration, different services between León and Bilbao were resumed in 2003. Since 1 January 2013, the infrastructure has been managed by Adif, while rail services are provided by Renfe or any other operator that chooses to run them, such as .
Its route crosses the provinces of León, Palencia, Cantabria, Burgos, and Biscay, and owing to its economic and social influence over more than a century it is regarded as one of the most emblematic railways in Spain.Ferrocarril y territorio: El centenario del Ferrocarril de La Robla. ERIA, revista cuatrimestral de geografía, p. 1. PDF version
History
Origin The origin of the La Robla railway project lies in the great importance acquired by the metallurgical industry in the Basque Country towards the end of the 19th century (from 1902, Altos Hornos de Vizcaya), and its considerable impact on the industrial development of northern Spain. The main problem for this industry was the high cost of transporting the coal needed to produce the coke used to fuel the smelting furnaces, since it is the only major steelworks in the world not located in a coalfield — given that its fuel needs, in this case coal, are estimated at between 3 and 5 times the weight of iron ore. This fact meant that the percentage contribution of fuel to the cost of producing pig iron in Biscay was double or even triple what it represented in other steel-producing regions such as Pittsburgh, Loire, or Westphalia.González Portilla (1985). The fossil fuel reached the Biscay ports by sea, from Asturias and England,Sánchez Melado (116–23) in the same ships that exported iron ore. This greatly limited the development of the steel industry, making the import of coal at competitive prices dependent on the export of iron.
The sharp rise in the price of English coal between 1889 and 1890 led powerful Basque steel capital to seek alternatives in the coal fields of León and Palencia.According to Sen (1993, 130), in 1890 the price of English coke delivered to Bilbao rose from 25 to 40 pesetas per tonne. It was then that the need arose for an efficient and economical means of transport to link the emerging Basque steelworks with the isolated mining basins. The chosen solution was the railway, which after the Industrial Revolution had become the most advantageous form of land transport.
Project Several projects to solve this communications problem were put forward in the final years of the 19th century. After studying possible alternatives, the definitive project, the work of the prestigious Gipuzkoan mining engineer , was presented to the Cortes on 26 November 1889.Ferropedia: Sociedad del Ferrocarril Hullero de La Robla a Valmaseda S.A. . Zuaznávar (1841–1916), with wide experience in mining operations, convinced Bilbao's business community (Ustara, Gandarias, Ampuero, López de Lerena, Echevarría, Epalza, etc.) of the economic interest of investing in the project.
Although two variants were initially studied (one of them in Iberian gauge), the final choice was to build the route in narrow gauge to reduce costs, representing a saving of 60% compared with the standard gauge.Ferrocarril y territorio: El centenario del Ferrocarril de La Robla. ERIA, revista cuatrimestral de geografía, p. 2. PDF version The initial budget was 16 million pesetas.Cronología del Tren de La Robla a Valmaseda. Vía Libre magazine, no. 465. June 2003. Eight million pesetas were issued in shares and 8 million pesetas in bonds redeemable at 6%.
In January 1890, the Congress of Deputies and the Senate officially granted Zuaznávar management of the railway line and legal authorisation to undertake the construction of:
The construction contract was signed on 17 April 1890 with contractors José María de Yriondo and Juan José Cobeaga, and on 28 April, and Victoriano Zabalinchaurreta created, together with twelve other investors, the (which from 1905 onwards was renamed ),Sánchez Melado (2006: 118). with the intention of laying a narrow-gauge line to transport coal from the Leonese and Palentine mining basins to Bilbao, to meet the demand of the powerful ferrous industry of Biscay. Its president was Cirilo María de Ustara and Zuaznávar the managing director. The prominence of Basque investors and the coincidence of ownership of the mining operations and the railway initially turned the project into a monopoly, which did not please many people.Oriol y Vidal, Román (1893), «Las cuencas castellanas», Revista Minera, XLV, cit. in Sen (1993, 156). In this way, La Robla was one of the first railways in Spain built with Spanish capital.
Construction
Throughout 1890, surveying and ground studies were carried out, with the final route design entrusted to José Manuel Oraá Aizquibel, in which Ignacio de Rotaeche, who was managing director of the company between 1918 and 1922, also played an important role.Ediciona.com: Fondo de la Compañía del Ferrocarril de la Robla - Expedientes de nombramientos. For its construction, 13,000 tonnes of rails were ordered from Altos Hornos y Fábricas de Hierro y Aceros de Bilbao. The works were carried out with great speed. On 6 October 1892 — in barely two years — the first section was inaugurated, between Balmaseda and Espinosa de los Monteros, covering 45 km and overcoming one of the greatest changes in elevation along the route. The main section of the line (Valmaseda–La Robla) was inaugurated in 1894, barely four years after work began.
Costs
The main infrastructure — land, earthworks, tunnels, and bridges — cost around 10,000,000 pesetas. The superstructure — buildings, track, workshops, and fittings — somewhat more than 7,000,000, and the rolling stock — locomotives, coaches, and wagons — around 2,000,000, so that the total cost of the railway came to approximately 20,000,000 pesetas.Fernández Díaz-Sarabia (2003).
Opening
The inauguration ceremony was held on 11 August 1894 at an intermediate point on the line, station in Cantabria, where a convoy arrived from each end of the route and civil, military, and religious authorities from the affected provinces gathered.Ferrocarril y territorio: El centenario del Ferrocarril de La Robla. ERIA, revista cuatrimestral de geografía, p. 6. PDF version On 24 September, traffic opened along the entire route. The main project was complete, since the transport from Valmaseda to Bilbao was to be handled by the , with which the Sociedad del Ferrocarril Hullero had reached a cooperation agreement; but differences between the two companies led La Robla to decide to extend its line to the Biscay capital, though at first it only reached as far as Aranguren. In 1898, the Santander–Bilbao Railway was formed following the merger of the Ferrocarril del Cadagua with other railways. In 1902, the Valmaseda–/Bilbao section was opened (using the Santander–Bilbao Railway's route to access Bilbao). Finally, in 1911, the new section between Araguren and (on the other side of the Cadagua River) was completed to avoid sharing track with the Santander–Bilbao Railway due to differences between the companies. In 1923, the auxiliary branch León–Matallana was completed, establishing the direct Bilbao–León service. As a reminder of its coal-mining origins, a large coal washery belonging to Hullera Vasco-Leonesa still stands at La Robla.
Timeline
Dates on which the various sections entered service:
DateSectionLength (km)6 October 1892Valmaseda–Espinosa45.012 November 1892La Robla–Boñar31.020 July 1893Espinosa–Sotoscueva13.020 July 1893Boñar–Cistierna24.014 September 1894Cistierna–Sotoscueva171.01 December 1902Valmaseda–Luchana2931 May 1923León–Matallana29.0
Operation
The first steam locomotives to run on the line were 6 of the 0-3-1 T model (0-6-2 according to Whyte notation) built by the Société Franco-Belge de La Croyère, named "León", "Palencia", "Guipúzcoa", "Burgos", "Vizcaya", and "Santander". Its main locomotive fleet, first steam and then diesel, was based at Valmaseda, with workshops at La Robla and Mataporquera.
The hullero (coal train), as it was colloquially known, revitalised the economy of the mining basins of northern León and Palencia. Towns such as Cistierna and Guardo became important industrial centres, and their development reached levels never seen in modern history. In addition, the route's connections with Iberian gauge stations at La Robla and facilitated cooperation in traffic between the two gauges.Sánchez Melado (2006: 119).
The amount of coal transported by the hullero in its early years of operation was as follows:Fernández Díaz-Sarabia (2003).
Year1895189718991901190319051907190919111913Tonnes17,37848,906107,413163,381135,811128,694189,248140,556163,552223,629
The early years were difficult, since as can be seen from the table, demand was modest (200,000 t transported was not reached until 1912), and the company remained in a very precarious situation between 1896 and 1905.Fernández Díaz-Sarabia (2003). In May of that year the company changed its name to Ferrocarriles de La Robla, S.A., and renounced all his rights as founder of the company.Narganes Quijano (1999: 561). Demand grew from 1910 onwards, and important mining centres developed in areas such as Sabero and Matallana, in the province of León, where new and important mining companies were formed. Production tripled in some areas.Sánchez Melado (2006: 144). Population growth in the areas mentioned was extremely high. In 1916, the company achieved the best economic result in its history, with revenues of 4,117,269.94 pesetas. Furthermore, in 1918 it reached half a million tonnes transported.
The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) caused a major setback in the railway's history: the mining basins were brought to a standstill, the train was used for military purposes by both sides, and serious damage was inflicted on the infrastructure. Passenger services resumed on 27 August 1937, after a year's suspension.Saber.es: Empresas y emprendedores leoneses. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
From the 1930s, the La Robla railway had a connection with the Iberian gauge via . Through this terminal station, opened in 1930, passengers could change trains, since La Robla trains ran in parallel.
In 1949, the construction of the necessitated building a diversion, thus eliminating the longest straight section of the route, which extended for more than 6 km.
In 1958, the railway reached its record for coal transported, with 908,464 tonnes, though this figure was only the starting point of its ultimate decline.Ferrocarril y territorio: El centenario del Ferrocarril de La Robla. ERIA, revista cuatrimestral de geografía, p. 4. PDF version That year, the acquisition of its first diesel locomotives was approved: 7 models.