Oviedo railway station ( es, Estación de Oviedo or ''Estación del Norte'') is the main station in the Spanish city of Oviedo, capital of the province of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

. It opened in 1874 and was reconstructed after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. The station provides a wide range of long- and middle-distance services, in addition to regional and suburban (''

cercanías The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...

'') services operated by Renfe, and the narrow-gauge

Renfe Feve Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...

lines. These services connect Oviedo with the other main centres of Asturias and the remainder of the

Cantabrian sea The Cantabrian Sea; french: Mer Cantabrique, gl, Mar Cantábrico, ast, Mar Cantábricu, eu, Kantauri. is the term used mostly in Spain to describe the coastal sea of the Atlantic Ocean that borders the northern coast of Spain and the southwe ...

board, and with other parts of Spain including the inland plateau, the Levante and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

. The station is located at the end of ''calle de Uría'', a main commercial thoroughfare. It is adjacent to the bus station (''Estación de Autobuses de Oviedo''), built in 2003.

Location on the rail network

A number of railway lines start from or pass through the station, carrying long- and medium-distance, regional and suburban services. It is on the

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

Venta de Baños–Gijón railway The Venta de Baños–Gijón railway is a Spanish railway linking Gijón, Asturias to the rest of the mainline Spanish rail network. Route The line branches from the Madrid–Hendaye railway at Venta de Baños, and serves Palencia, León and Ov ...

, providing a connection to the

Madrid–Hendaye railway The Madrid–Hendaye railway, also known as the Madrid-Irún railway, General del Norte Line or Imperial Line, is a 641.6 km railway line linking the Spanish capital of Madrid with the French border at Irún and Hendaye, serving important northe ...

route. The "radial configuration" of regional services in Asturias has Oviedo station as its centre. It is also the starting point of the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

line to Trubia, and it is on the line between Ferrol and Aranguren.

History

The station was opened on 23 July 1874, upon the opening of the Gijón- Pola de Lena stretch of the line between Gijón and León which aimed to link

with the inland plateau.Basic chronology of the narrow-gauge Spanish railways
, ''Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles.'' The works were commissioned by the Railway Company of Asturias, Galicia y León (''Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Asturias, Galicia y León''). The station was planned to handle both passengers and freight. In 1883 it was enlarged with the opening of the line to Trubia, built mainly to carry coal which was brought there by a mining railway from the mines of

Quirós Quirós is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. To the southeast is the municipality of Lena, to the south lies the Autonomous Community of León, to the northeast Riosa and Morcín, to the north is ...

Teverga Teverga ( Asturian: Teberga) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Belmonte de Miranda, Grado, Yernes y Tameza, and Proaza; to the south by León province, to the ...

and

Proaza Proaza is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Santo Adriano and Grado, on the south by Teverga and Quirós, on the west by Yernes y Tameza and Teverga, and on the east ...

, and also to serve the armaments factory (''Fábrica de Cañones'') at Trubia. In 1885 the original Railway Company failed, and the station passed with its other property to the Railway Company of Northern Spain (''Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España''). This company in turn was absorbed into the state-owned RENFE undertaking in 1941. The station was damaged in the

and its reconstruction was planned by the architect Agustín Ballesteros. The station was re-opened by José María Fernández Ladreda on 14 October 1946. In 1998 an overhead pedestrian area was constructed above the station. Then in 1999 the

FEVE Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...

services were transferred into the station upon the closure of its two other stations in the city, Jovellanos and Económicos. In 2013 the FEVE company was amalgamated with Renfe, which became the sole operator of services using the station, while Adif became responsible for all the railway plant, both broad-gauge and narrow-gauge lines.''FEVE desaparece este lunes'' (FEVE disappears this Monday, 31 December, combining with RENFE and Adif)
''La Nueva España'', 31 December 2012.

The station

The main facade is at the end of ''calle de Uría''. Its main features are those of the 1946 design. The two-level central canopy lies between two towers and is prolonged on both sides by two lateral wings. At ground level is a long portico made up of semicircular arches, all of the same size except for the three central arches which are somewhat larger and provide the main access to the enclosure. Despite the frontage's sober and functional appearance, the large centrally placed clock attracts the viewer's attention. While the main passenger terminal has not undergone major changes since the 1946 reconstruction, the platform area and the incoming railway tracks have since then been covered over by the imposing paved precinct, designed by Leonardo Fernández Troyano, which rests on 220 columns.''La Losa: El Tesoro de Oviedo''
Ayuntamiento de Oviedo This covers an area of around 38,000 sq.m. and is about 700m across. It provides access to the station itself. The large ''plaza'', known as ''Plaza de los Ferroviarios'', is decorated with fountains and a variety of sculptures: ''Paz'' and ''Libertad'' ("Peace" and "Liberty"), by :es:Luis Sanguino, and ''Hombre sobre delfín'' ("Man on a Dolphin"), by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

. Facing the old building is another sculpture, ''

'', by :es:José Noja. There are four platforms serving 13 tracks. The main platform, adjacent to the terminal area, gives access to track 2 which passes through, and to tracks 4, 6 and 8 via bay platforms to the sides. Across a bridge is the central platform, giving access to tracks 1 and 5. All these are broad-gauge tracks, of which there are three more without platform access. A further four tracks are reached from another central platform and a side platform. Facilities provided at the station include a foyer, ticket office and machines, information points, business premises, cafetería and restaurant, kiosk, car hire, luggage store and toilets. Designated parking places are located outside the station.

Rail services

Long-distance

The major long-distance rail connection is provided by the

Alvia Alvia is a high-speed train service in Spain used by Renfe Operadora for long-distance service with a top speed of . The trains have the ability to use both Iberian gauge and standard gauge, which allows them to travel on the recently constructed ...

trains on the Gijón-Madrid route. These run several times each day and connect Oviedo with

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

and Madrid-Chamartín, calling at León or Valladolid-Campo Grande. Other cities reachable direct by train from Oviedo include Albacete-Los Llanos,

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, Córdoba, Seville-Santa Justa, Valencia-Nord, Zaragoza–Delicias and

Barcelona Sants Barcelona Sants is the main railway station in Barcelona, owned by Adif, the railway infrastructure agency of Spain. It has become the most important transport hub of the city - being the centre of Rodalies de Catalunya including Barcelona sub ...

Medium distance

Renfe medium distance services connect this station with León, Oviedo and Gijón, with one train continuing to Valladolid. There are two trains daily in each direction - one of these using long-distance trains but offering middle-distance fares. During the summer months frequency is often increased by "beach trains" (''trenes playeros''). Oviedo station (FEVE)

Under the ''Feve'' brand, Renfe operates regional services on narrow-gauge lines, connecting Oviedo with

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

and Ferrol.

Suburban

The broad-gauge

Cercanías Asturias Cercanías Asturias is a commuter rail service operating in Autonomous Community of Asturias, mainly in the central area of the region. Lines with Iberian gauge There are three lines, all of them managed by Renfe Operadora: Lines with Me ...

lines C-1, C-2 and C-3 provide a high-frequency service between Oviedo and San Juan de Nieva, Gijón, El Entrego and Puente de los Fierros. Oviedo and Llamaquique are the only stations served by all three lines. The narrow-gauge Feve lines also connect Oviedo with San Esteban de Pravia and Infiesto, formerly known as lines F-6 and F-7.

Tourist trains

Some of the narrow-gauge former Feve lines, attractive to tourists in themselves and in the scenery they pass, are used by tourist trains, previously run by Feve, and by Renfe since 2013. These are the ''Estrella del Cantábrico'' between Oviedo and Covadonga, and the ''

Transcantábrico The Transcantábrico is a metre-gauge tourist train service, crossing northern Spain along the Bay of Biscay. It is the oldest of Spain's tourist trains, managed by the Spanish public company FEVE since its inauguration in 1983 until 2012, when ...

'' between León and Ferrol vía

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. The latter is a ''de luxe'' or super-''de luxe'' train. These trains run on certain dates, mainly in summer, and include museum visits and gastronomic tourism.