Cabezón de la Sal – Infiesto Apdro.

The section between Cabezón de la Sal and Infiesto constitutes the central part of the 770 Santander-Oviedo railway line. The two ends of the line currently belong to the local network, specifically the Oviedo-Infiesto section to the Asturias local network and the Cabezón de la Sal-Santander section to the Santander local network.

The idea of building a railway line along the Cantabrian coast, between Santander and Oviedo, dates back to the mid-19th century and was motivated by the significant volume of goods transported by sea between Gijón and Santander by coastal vessels, in addition to the limited load capacity of the river jetties used for the transport of minerals in Asturias.
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In 1887 and 1890, the Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Económicos de Asturias (Asturias Economic Railway Company) was created in Oviedo and the Compañía del Ferrocarril del Cantábrico (Cantabrian Railway Company) was created in Santander [3], with the aim of connecting both cities by means of a narrow-gauge railway. This objective was achieved in 1905 when the two lines reached Llanes station, which became the meeting point for both projects. In 1907 the branch line to Torrelavega station was built. Although there were agreements between the two companies to establish a joint service, they always remained independent until their integration into FEVE, Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha (Spanish Narrow Gauge Railways), in 1972.

In 1912, the companies Ferrocarril del Cantábrico, Ferrocarriles Económicos de Asturias, Ferrocarril de Santander a Bilbao and Ferrocarriles Vascongados established a direct service between Oviedo and the French border, which began operating in 1914, covering a corridor of 473 km.
During the Civil War, the infrastructure of the line, as in general with the rest of the country, suffered serious damage, which, added to the lack of economic support, triggered financial problems. At the end of the 1950s, work began on doubling the line between Torrelavega and Santander, which was not carried out due to lack of funding. In 1972, due to their inability to overcome the economic problems they had been dragging around for years, the various companies handed over their management to the state organisation FEVE, which had been created in 1941. [4]

In January 2013, as part of the Spanish Government’s plan to unify the state-owned railway companies, all FEVE infrastructure, including the Santander-Oviedo line, was transferred to Adif and is now part of the RFIG, while its operation has become the responsibility of Renfe Operadora.

In 2024, Adif is working on improving the signalling and traffic control systems on the Infiesto-Cabezón de la Sal section, for which it tendered in 2022 for the installation of an Automatic Block System (ABS) and in 2023 for the construction project and execution of the works to modify the automatic protection functionality of the level crossings affected by the ABS installation. Automatic Blocking on Single Track and in 2023 the construction project and the execution of the works to modify the automatic protection functionality of the level crossings affected by the installation of the BAU.

In terms of existing traffic, the regional services between Oviedo and Santander stand out, with four daily services in 2024, two in each direction and stopping at the stations along the route. In addition, the Transcantábrico, a luxury tourist train, runs one day a week in each direction.

The perception of the tourist potential of this line is high. The initial section from Cabezón de la Sal to Unquera crosses areas of certain scenic interest, perhaps more for hiking. The more touristy areas on the Cantabrian side are far from the line’s stops (Comillas, San Vicente de la Barquera and the mouth of the Escudo river). From Unquera to Ribadesella the line runs closer to the coast, with places of interest such as Colombres (Indiano architecture), Llanes or Ribadesella in terms of architecture, and also for natural interest – hiking and beaches – such as Gulpiyuri beach or the blowholes of Pría. It is worth noting that this section follows the coastal route of the Camino de Santiago and there are maps (made of tiles) of the Camino outside several stations. In fact, at one of the stations we found some Irish pilgrims waiting for the Regional to Oviedo and from there back to Ireland. The stretch from Ribadesella to Arriondas following the river Sella is interesting in several respects: for the sporting activities related to the descent of the Sella, for facilitating access to the Cuevona de Cuevas (access limited to cars), and for connecting with the regional hospital of Arriondas.

Category C1.
Non-electrified track with wooden sleepers in need of repair.