The Ferrocarril de Sóller (; en, Railway of Sóller), acronym FS, is an

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

railway and the name for the company which operates the electrified

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 ...

tracks running between the towns of

Sóller Sóller () is a town and municipality near the north west coast of the Balearic Island of Mallorca, Spain, 3 km inland from Port de Sóller, in a large, bowl-shaped valley that also includes the village of Fornalutx and the hamlets of Biniar ...

and

Palma Palma or La Palma means palm in a number of languages and may also refer to: Geography Africa * Palma, Mozambique, city ** Palma District * La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain ** La Palma (DO), a ''Denominación de Origen'' for wines from ...

on the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

island of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

(stopping at various smaller towns such as Bunyola and Son Sardina). The historic electric train takes a route north from the capital across the plains, winding through mountains and 13 tunnels of the

Serra de Tramuntana The Serra de Tramuntana (, es, Sierra de Tramontana) is a mountain range running southwest–northeast which forms the northern backbone of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is also the name given to the comarca of the same area. On 27 June 2 ...

, finally ending in the large

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

of the northern town of Sóller. Work began on the railway in 1911 on the profits of the orange and

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

trade, which at the time was booming. For this reason, it is sometimes known as the Orange Express. The train is now not only a mode of transport between these two key Mallorcan settlements, but also an attraction in itself, as of 2019 carrying over 1 million passengers a year. At the official prices charged at the station, single tickets from Palma to Sóller or vice versa cost €18 (2018), and returns are €25. The return ticket from Palma can be extended with a return ticket on the Sóller tram for an additional 7 Euros, which represents a 50% saving since the onboard tram fare is 7 Euros each way.

Palma railway station

Palma Railway Station (Coordinates: ) is a subtle, relatively small brown brick building with a large "Ferrocarril de Sóller" sign on its

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

, partly given up to a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

, cleverly renovated so that the large glass windows reflect the railway tracks to make them look as if they go on into the rooms. The station is just off the ''Plaça de Espanya'' and borders a large and popular

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

which lies on top of the underground Estació Intermodal. Several old railway buildings (one with a large brick

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...

) lie untouched in the park and there are several train-themed play structures, each one a carriage named after a settlement along the line.

Sóller railway station

Sóller Railway Station (Coordinates: ) on the other hand is much larger, developed from a fortified house dating from 1606, Ca'n Mayol. The station is also home to the

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

which runs from Sóller to

Port de Sóller Port de Sóller () is a village and the port of the town of Sóller, in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Along with the village of Fornalutx and the hamlet of Biniaraix they combine to form Sóller. The combined population is around 12,000 ...

and (inside the building) a museum dedicated to the works of

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

2019 anonymous takeover bid

In 2019 an anonymous group of investors launched hostile €25m takeover bid for the railway, represented by Goros Investments. Most of the 172,000 shares in the private company are owned by about 800 local people. a local tour operator and restaurateur and a company that runs boat trips around the north-east of the island are the two largest shareholders.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

*
Homepage of Ferrocarril de Sóller

Video of Ferrocarril de Sóller
on travelchannel.co.uk.
''El Tren De Soller: Mallorca's Vintage Electric Railway''
on 'Tim Traveller' (

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrocarril De Soller Railway lines in Spain Rail transport in the Balearic Islands Sóller 3 ft gauge railways in Spain