Puntos de Interés
Infrastructure
Old Sotopalacios station
This is what remains of an old construction that was part of the unfinished Santander-Mediterranean railway line, which served the Burgos municipality of Sotopalacios. The aim of this service was to connect the Cantabrian coast from Santander to the Mediterranean at the port of Sagunto.
In 1920, the provincial councils of Burgos, Santander, Soria and Zaragoza supported the construction of the central sections of the Santander-Mediterranean railway. In 1930, the section between Calatayud and Cidad-Dosante, of which this station forms part, was completed.
However, technical problems, as well as the low profitability of the line, together with the political instability of the early 20th century meant that, in the end, the complete route of this ambitious project never saw the light of day. In fact, the connection to Santander was never completed, with 35 km of track missing. Nevertheless, some stretches were inaugurated, such as the one that ran through the small village of Sotopalacios, in the heart of the province of Burgos, which has remained as one of the vestiges of this grand railway that never was.
The line was closed definitively in 1985 and the facilities on the sections that had been inaugurated up to that time were condemned to their fate. In the case of Sotopalacios station, the structure of the building is quite similar to that of other stations in the area of the province of Burgos. This building is currently abandoned and in the process of ruin, which is why a fence has been installed around its perimeter. However, the surroundings of this station have been brought back to life thanks to the rest area belonging to the Nature Trail that follows the railway route.