Infrastructure

Viaduct over the river Nela

In the middle of the 20th century, the works of one of the most important railway projects in our country came to a standstill: the Santander-Mediterranean Sea railway.

Stations, tunnels such as La Engaña, bridges and many other constructions were abandoned to their fate. Today, some of these infrastructures have become witnesses to what this pharaonic project could have brought about, but never actually did.

This is the case of this bridge over the river Nela, one of more than 40 bridges built along the route, all of them of metal structure. This particular viaduct, 42 m long and close to the village of El Vado, was intended to allow the train to cross the Nela riverbed, an important tributary that rises in the mountains of Somo in the Merindad de Valdeporres and flows into the river Ebro near Trespaderne. With a river basin surface area of 1,081.20 km² and an average flow of 16.70 m³/s, it is the main river collector in Las Merindades.

During the rehabilitation of the Santander-Mediterranean Sea railway line as a Nature Trail, the old metallic railway bridges, which were in different states of conservation, have been rehabilitated and commissioned. The restoration process of this infrastructure aimed to ensure its use by pedestrians and cyclists. Once the original structure was restored, auxiliary structures, new metal railings and a wooden deck were installed to adapt the bridge to its new use.

The Santander-Mediterranean Sea line, designed to link the ports of Santander and Valencia, was in operation for more than fifty years from Cidad-Dosante in Burgos to Calatayud, where it connected with the Ferrocarril Central de Aragón (Aragon Central Railway). The project was conceived at the end of the 19th century, but materialised in 1920 when the State Government took over the preliminary studies. The line opened between 1927 and 1930, although the connection with Santander never took place, despite the construction of the La Engaña tunnel that crossed the Cantabrian mountain range. In addition, the line underwent shut downs and abandonment, and finally closed in 1985.

Otros puntos de interés

• Bilbao - La Robla mining railway
• Old Dosante - Cidad station
• Cidad Tunnel
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Puentedey tunnel
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Old Brizuela station
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Old Escaño halt
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Viaduct over the river Nela
• Old Horna-Villarcayo Station
• Old Medina de Pomar station