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

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

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 (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

tracks running between the towns of Sóller and Palma 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

island of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

(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 Serra (Latin for " saw") may refer to: People and fictional characters * Serra (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Serra (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Serra (footballer), Portuguese footballer Jos ...

, finally ending in the large

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

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 €23 in 2025 (2018: €18), and returns are €30 (2018: €25). The return ticket from Palma can be extended with a return ticket on the Sóller tram for an additional €8 (2018: €7), which represents a 60% saving, since the onboard tram fare is €10 (2018: €7) 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 or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

, partly given up to a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, 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 urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

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 typical ...

) 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 (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

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 Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. 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 an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrocarril De Soller Railway lines in Spain Rail transport in the Balearic Islands Sóller 3 ft gauge railways in Spain 1200 V DC railway electrification Regional rail in Spain