CANFRANC INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY STATION, SPAIN

 

Canfranc International Railway Station, Spain

The station, which was opened during July 1928, was constructed on a grand scale to serve as a major hub for cross-border railway traffic. The station's platforms had a length of 200 m (220 yd). Ex­ten­sive infra­struc­ture was present to ser­vice and trans­fer tran­sit­ing passengers, baggage and freight between Spanish and French trains, because the French rail standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8-1/2 in) was incompatible with the Spanish gauge of 1,668 mm (5 ft 5-21/32 in) at the time, and hence prevented through traffic.

Canfranc In­ter­national rail­way station was often re­fer­red to around the time of its open­ing as the "Titanic of the Mountains", in part due to its large size, being the sec­ond largest station building in Europe at the time of its completion. Architecturally, it was deliberately designed with prominent symbolism: the exterior features an eclectic Beaux-Arts style that was reportedly inspired by French palatial architecture, while the interior was adorned with elements drawn from classical Roman architecture. Large quantities of glass, cement and iron are present throughout the structure, which is adorned with 365 individual windows.

During the Sec­ond World War, the sta­tion and the sur­round­ing area acquired a reputation as the "Casa­blan­ca in the Pyre­nees" due to its serv­ing as a key cross­ing point for goods, as well as being a center of espi­onage for Nazi and Span­ish authorities. Officially neutral Spain had formed an operational agreement with the Wehrmacht, which saw freight trains carrying mined tungsten northwards while French grain, as well as trans-shipped Swiss gold, was borne southwards. Passenger services also continued during the conflict, which provided an escape route into Spain for both Jews and Allied soldiers alike. Aware of these movements, Nazi agents frequently sought to intervene against passengers of interest.

The station's principal purpose of operation came to an abrupt halt on 20 March 1970, when a train derailment on the Pau-Canfranc railway line demolished the L'Estanguet bridge on the French side of the Pyrénées Mountains. Under financial pressure from its national railway company SNCF, the French government decided not to rebuild the bridge, which effectively forced the closure of the cross-border line. Despite this, the station remained open, served by just two daily Spanish trains and a handful of rail replacement buses from the French side. As a consequence of the through route's abrupt termination, the population of the village declined sharply over the following years.

After decades of neglect, the Canfranc International railway station, with its grand archi­tecture reminiscent of a French château, is being converted into a 5-star, 104-room hotel by the Barceló hotel chain, in partnership with the regional government of Aragón. The station will also house a 200-seat conference center, a railway museum, shops, and a pilgrim refuge, as Canfranc is located on one of the routes to Santiago de Compostela.
A new station will be built behind the old and connected through the hotel's vestibule.

The Most Extreme Railway in the World 22NOV18

I love trains, always have. I have taken train tips in the U.S. and Germany and I think one of the dumbest things this country ever did was abandon passenger trains for the Interstate Highway System. Even the freight rail system we have is just a little better than third world systems. Here is a beautifully produced video on what really may be the most extreme railway in the world, from the Atlantic.....

The Most Extreme Railway in the World

The Most Extreme Railway in the World

Nov 22, 2018 | 686 videos

Video by Miguel de Olaso

At 430 miles long, the formidable Mauritania Railway, nicknamed the “backbone of the Sahara,” boasts some of the longest and heaviest trains in the world. Its journey begins in Zouerat, Mauritania, where 22,000 tons of iron ore are mined daily and transported across the searing desert to the port city of Nouadhibou, on Africa’s Atlantic coast. Sometimes the train also carries passengers—merchants who travel illegally atop the train to transport food and supplies to remote Saharan communities. The ride is treacherous. Many die en route.

Malick, a 27-year-old merchant, takes his chances. He relies on the train for his livelihood, as do the many people who live along the train’s route. Miguel de Olaso and his four-person camera crew, disguised as fellow merchants, made the 30-hour trip with Malick in the train’s open-top wagons. The resulting short documentary is a deeply immersive, cinematic glimpse into a way of life that exists nowhere else in the world.

“If the train goes through a sandstorm, you feel like you want to die,” de Olaso told The Atlantic. “All you can do is just close your eyes and let it pass.”

The train ride was so unbearable that de Olaso vowed never to return. But he was moved to come back time after time to film the resilience he saw in the Mauritanian merchants, whose grueling journey plays out against the backdrop of one of the Earth’s greatest and most unforgiving vistas.