The Henderson family lunches in San Pablo

Station on the Algeciras - Ronda line,
with evident British influence

JIMENA /San Pablo de Buceite Who are the Hendersons? you ask. They are the descendants of Sir Alexander Henderson, the man who built the Algeciras-Ronda railway, as well as the Reina Cristina Hotel in Algeciras and the Reina Victoria Hotel at the other end of the line in Ronda. The Henderson family had lunch recently at that wonderful jewel of restaurant in San Pablo, (appropriately) La Estación in San Pablo, run by Nieves Domínguez and her son, Samuel. The family were apparently on a trip up the hills in preparation for a Michael Portillo TV programme about the British-built railway (about which we reported here years ago). More, no doubt, later, so watch this space.

Landslide cuts Algeciras - Granada rail line near Gaucín

(Photo: europasur.es)

Storms batter Andalucía · Better weather ahead

ANDALUCÍA A landslide between Jimena and Gaucín caused by the storms forced line closures on the Algeciras-Ronda-Granada route, which in turn affected the Algeciras-Madrid one as well. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday night, had the railway line administrator (ADIF) making alternative plans for passengers. The line is also used for cargo but no alternative measures could be taken for that as yet. ADIF said later yesterday, Thursday, that they didn't know how long the line would be closed because the 'situation is complicated by the weather.'>>>

Algeciras-Ronda train service cuts

Stop at San Pablo de Buceite
(Photo: buceite.com)

ALGECIRAS / RONDA Improvement, that is, expansion and connections, to the Ronda to Algeciras train line has been on the books for at least fifteen years. Area businesses, and in particular the Algeciras Bay Port Authority, are adamant that connections with the Campo are essential to progress and employment. However, recent developments on the 'rationalization' of infrastructure front has that specific line set for elimination altogether. Blame the crisis. The only alternative on that line, which was originally built by Britain for R&R of the troops stationed in Gibraltar, will be to board the Granada and get off at Ronda. The service that is to be eliminated is the train that leaves Ronda at 7.30am, arriving in Algeciras at 9.15; the return journey leaves Algeciras at 7pm and arrives at Ronda at 8.42. So what is left is the Granada train leaving Algeciras three times a day (at 6.35am, 11.45 and 3.55). It remains to be seen whether any stops on the way are to be eliminated, and when this all comes into effect. One of the area's great joys has always been a train ride to Ronda in the spring, when all the wild flowers are out in their splendour.

Politics, business and social agencies put differences aside to back need for rail improvements

La Almoraima station

Over fifty regional and national institutions sign request for immediate tenders on Algeciras-La Almoraima

LOS BARRIOS A meeting took place recently in Los Barrios that brought together 50 representatives of institutions with a major interest in getting the railway authorities to keep their word of improving the system between Algeciras and Bobadilla. They are unusually united in their understanding of the need for the country's largest container port, Algeciras, with the rest of Spain's network. This, they insist, would open up the Bay of Algeciras area, and by extension all the towns and villages along the line, to access from different parts of the country. The first item on the agenda was the urgency to put out to tender the first section of the line, from Algeciras to La Almoraima. Various budget matters were discussed, including the fact that only €13m have been allocated to this first section in the 2013 national budgets, which by their reckoning would put the matter back by at least two years, given that it is very far from adequate for the job.

European Commission approves new Mediterranean Railway Corridor

An approximation, no details

SPAIN (Agencies) The Campo de Gibraltar came alight yesterday when the European Commission announced its decision on the future design of what is being called the Railway Corridor (though it involves more than just railways). The new design, which will probably end up being called the Mediterranean Corridor by the media, is scheduled to link Algeciras with the East coast of Spain and on to the rest of Europe, for which plans are also in the making. According to one Costa del Sol paper, the redesign does nothing for them as it bypasses the coast, which has disappointed the mayors there, who had hoped to use European finance to link up their towns, particularly Marbella and Estepona by rail. But the plan approved yesterday by the EC starts in>>>

Government backs Mediterranean rail route linking Algeciras with Barcelona

ALGECIRAS / BARCELONA / SPAIN (Agencies) Reiterating the government's commitment to the EU's Mediterranean Corridor rail route, Public Works Minister José Blanco met with representatives from the regional governments of Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Murcia this week, promising to begin the tendering process for construction of key sections of the high-speed link within two months. The Corridor will link North Africa and southern Spain with central Europe. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor has been on the drawing board for decades, and will eventually link North Africa and southern Spain with central Europe along Spain's Mediterranean coast via a standard European rail gauge. (See CampoPulse items here and here)>>>

European Commission backs Algeciras-Madrid connection to TEN-T

(Map: Bay of Algeciras Port Authority)

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) The European Commission announced yesterday that is will back a rail connection that connects Algeciras to the TransEuropean Railway Network (TEN-T) via Madrid, up through Zaragoza to Tarragona and on to the French frontier at La Junquera. The new plan (the 3rd, at least) coincides with what the Campo de Gibraltar has been saying for years. From this viewpoint, a rail connection with the rest of Europe is seen as essential for the development of the area. The Commission's new plan comes in a report it issued called Un presupuesto para Europa 2020 and is now in the hands of the European Parliament and Council, as well as several committees. This means that the subject has yet to be approved, so nothing is written in granite as yet. Nevertheless,>>>

Spain's Ferrovial bids for Crossrail contsruction project

Farringdon connection - artist's impression

UK/SPAIN (Agencies) Spanish construction company Ferrovial is preparing to become the most important cog in the Crossrail development, one of the largest railway projects currently in Europe. Having been awarded the first contracts at the end of last year, the consortium headed by the Spanish giant has now prequalified for five of the six tenders that Crossrail has put out to build stations in central London. The six contracts amounts to almost €1,700million. The consortium, made up of Ferrovial, Bam Nuttall and Kier Construction, is among those qualified to build stations at Bond Street, Tottenham Court, Whitechapel Station, Paddington and Farringdon, which are due to connect extensively with the rest of the UK transport network.

Last of the train trips to celebrate the arrival of the railway 120 years ago

(Photo: TioJimeno)

JIMENA Estación de Jimena is now known as Los Ángeles (with an accent to avoid confusion with California) but that has not stopped the semi-attached village from celebrating the 120th anniversary of the arrival of the railway with related activities over the last few months, including train rides to Ronda for local schools. The last of these took place yesterday for the kids from the Reina de los Ángeles primary school, which they evidently enjoyed. This, of course, is the very best time of year for the (inexpensive) trip, but hurry before the absolutely awesome spring flowers turn brown in just a few days!

Two overpasses to be built to supplant pedestrian railway crossings

CASTELLAR (Agencies) Mayor Francisco Vaca recently signed an agreement with the railway infrastructure administrator, Adif, and the contractor whereby two pedestrian passes are to be builtat two spots in the municipality. One of them at the crossing near the Almoraima station, and the other linked to the road that leads to the cemetery. The agreement comes after improvements to previous plans were approved, and they are scheduled to begin in approximately 6 weeks time. These are part of the Adif plans to eliminate dangerous crossings for vehicles and pedestrians on the Algeciras - Bobadilla line.

Railway station loses 30,000 passengers in 2010

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) The railway station, administered by Adif, 'lost' close to 30,000 passengers over last year. What this means is that that number of passengers did not come through the station. The reason is perfectly simple, despite our headline, which we got from EuropaSur: the Algeciras-Ronda line was closed for the first four months of the year, and re-opened on April 23. The actual figures for 2010 are: 160,635 passengers, against 190,591 for the year before. Not surprisingly, numbers took off again as soon at it re-opened, although it took a couple of months to return to year-on-year figures.

France supports central Pyrenees tunnel for Algeciras-Paris railway

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) A meeting held last week in Paris was aimed at moving ahead with work, plans and projects on the Algeciras/Sines-Madrid-Paris railway that is to run though Spain and is included in the TransEuropean Transport Network under the number 16 (there are other planned connections). Known as the Central Axis, it is to connect the eight provinces of Andalucía with the rest of the continent via existing lines. The meeting included representatives from Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland and Moroco, as well as the EU. One of the important conclusions coming out of the meeting was that >

Jimena railway station is 120 years old

JIMENA The railway station at Jimena is 120 years old this year. As we announced here, celebrations for this significant event in the history of Jimena are taking place tomorrow. The Algeciras-Ronda railway was built by British engineers as an R&R facility for troops stationed in Gibraltar. It is still one of the most attractive train rides in Spain, especially in the Spring when the wild flowers are out. Several of the stations on the line have been transformed into restaurants, which make the ride a great day out. You can see a history of one of the hotels built for the purpose in the 3rd edition of our DominGo magazine (which may be revived next year if there's financing).

Estación celebrates 120 years of the railway station

JIMENA Estación de Jimena, now poignantly if slowly changing its name to Los Ángeles, is about to celebrate the arrival of the railway to this distant corner of the Campo de Gibraltar. Celebrations for its 120th anniversary are to take place on November 20 next although the station itself was actually inaugurated on October 6, 1890. The central event of the celebrations is scheduled to be held at the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre at 5pm with talks by historian Juan Carlos Pardo, José Manuel Sampedro representing the Friends of the Algeciras Railway association, and local researcher Juan María Moreno Vega, whom we happened to run into yesterday doing some research on the subject, particularly as it affected the life of Jimena as a whole (we pointed him to an item we ran last February). We will be publishing our own little item about the Algeciras-Ronda railway that was built by the British - watch this space!

No online booking for rail travel over Christmas

ALGECIRAS/SPAIN (Agencies) RENFE, the railway company, has stopped allowing online purchases for travel on the Algeciras-Madrid line (called Altaria) over the Christmas period, one of its busiest. Bookings are being taken at the company's website (English here) only up to December 12 and for the Algeciras-Granada up to December 18. This affects passengers who had planned to book early and take advantage of discounts offered to those who do. The reason given is that "there are many schedule changes then". Having received innumerable complaints from customers, Renfe added, "We are working on trying to unblock sales."

Railway loses 2000 passengers per month since reopening

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) Figures for passengers travelling via the Algeciras railway station show that there are some 2000 fewer of them each month since the Algeciras-Bobadilla line was reopend in April. Year on year numbers show an average of 17,401 for May and June 2009, compared to 15,382 for the same period this year, according to the rail authority. Figures for January to June are even more negative: 58,396 passengers came through this year - an average of 9,732 per month - as compared to almost double, 96,980, last year.

24-hour train strike today

We might not have noticed it at the local level, as the Algceiras-Ronda line is not due to re-open until April 23, but there is a national train strike on right now.  (Yes, in Spain, not only in the UK.) The union puts the compliance figure at between 75 and 80%, while ADIF, the rail managing company, and RENFE, the national railway operator, says it's at 3.5%. The unions complain that the companies 'have not respected the beginning of the strike' because they allowed 'forbidden traffic' of cargo trains. The companies say that the union calling the walkout, CGT (Confederación General de Trabajadores), is in the minority as it only has one representative on the negotiation board. Other unions, such as UGT  (union General de Trabajadores) and CC.OO. (Comisiones Obreras) have not come out on strike. For further information on train schedules: www.renfe.com or on the phone at 902 320 32.

Algeciras - Ronda railway line to re-open on April 23

According to ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias), the railway line administrator agency, the connection between Algeciras and Ronda is to be re-opened to traffic on April 23. They report that  over 85% of the work is completed and the remaining 15% or so can be carried out without closing the line to passenger or cargo trains. Modernization included work on the infrastructure and superstructure of the line 'in preparation for electrifying' it at a later date. Forteen tunnels had to be reinforced  (photo: EuropaSur)and all the wooden sleepers have been replaced. The line has been closed since October 26 last year and some delays occurred due to inclement weather.

Algeciras train station to get €5.5m facelift

(Agencies) The train station at Algeciras is to get a €5.5million facelift, according to an announcement made yesterday by Adif. The renovation is to include extending platforms for better access to new trains, a lift to the upper level, remodelling of toilets, repairs to roofs and general painting, among other things. Work is scheduled to finish in 12 months. Meantime, Adif also announced recently that the Algeciras - Ronda line will be re-opened at the end of this month or at the beginning of April (See CP item here).