The Tudela–Bilbao railway (also known as the ''Casetas to Bilbao railway'') is a Spanish railway from

Casetas Casetas is a borough of Zaragoza (Spain) located 15 km west of the city. Management Casetas is a population entity that is 14 km (9 mi) from Zaragoza, its administrative capital. From July 1, 1879 by decision of the City Council o ...

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

History

The citizens of the city of

Tudela, Navarre Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second largest city of the autonomous community of Navarre and twice a former Latin bishopric. Its population is around 35,000. The city is sited in the Ebro valley. Fast trains running on two-track electrif ...

had planned a direct railway to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1845, but this was not built. After the Northern Railway ( Compañía del Norte) planned a railway from Madrid to

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, bypassing Tudela, it was decided to build a railway to Bilbao and outline permission was granted in 1856. The necessary finance was raised and

Charles Vignoles Charles Blacker Vignoles (31 May 1793 – 17 November 1875) was an influential British railway engineer, and eponym of the Vignoles rail. Early life He was born at Woodbrook, County Wexford, Ireland in May 1793 the son of Capt. Ch ...

appointed Engineer. Work started in 1857 and the line completed in 1863. However the railway struggled to cover costs and declared bankrupt in 1866. The line was damaged during the Carlist War and closed from 1873 and 1875. In 1878 the railway was absorbed by the Compañía del Norte.

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...

built forty-one

2-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. The notation 2-4-0T indi ...

steam locomotives for the railway in 1861 and 1862, followed by eight

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...

tank engines A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomo ...

. One of the later tank engines is preserved outside

Bilbao Abando railway station The Abando Indalecio Prieto railway station ( eu, Abandoko Indalecio Prieto geltokia, es, Estación de Abando Indalecio Prieto), usually known simply as Bilbao-Abando and previously known as ''Estación del Norte'' (''North Station'') is a termi ...

Services

The Cercanías Bilbao

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

service operates to Orduña from Bilbao-Abando; along with regional services along various stretches of the line. At Casetas, the line joins the

Madrid–Barcelona railway The Madrid–Barcelona railway is the conventional railway line linking the Spanish capital Madrid with the country's second largest city of Barcelona, Catalonia. It now primarily serves local commuter rail services and regional traffic since th ...

. The line also serves as the only rail link from Bilbao to

and the rest of the Spanish mainline network. Once the Basque Y opens, journey times will decrease significantly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudela-Bilbao railway Iberian gauge railways Railway lines in Spain Railway lines opened in 1863