La Calzada – Guardo-Apeadero

The section between La Calzada and Guardo Apeadero constitutes the central part of railway line 790: Aranguren – La Asunción-Universidad. The two ends of the line currently belong to the suburban network, specifically the Aranguren – La Calzada section to the Bilbao suburban hub and the Guardo Apeadero – La Asunción-Universidad section to the León suburban hub.

The line between Aranguren and La Asunción, popularly known as the ‘Ferrocarril de la Robla’ is the longest narrow-gauge line in Western Europe, between La Robla (León) and Bilbao (Vizcaya), at 335 km.

The project was motivated by the need for coal for the booming metallurgical industry in the Basque Country, especially the Altos Hornos de Vizcaya (Blast Furnaces of Biscay) at the end of the 19th century. The region had no deposits, and coal arrived mainly by sea from Asturias and England at a cost that was considered high for industrial development. Between 1889 and 1890 there was a sharp rise in the price of English coal, so alternatives were sought in León and Palencia, where coalfields existed. The problem lay in the isolation of the mining areas, which meant that efficient and economical transport had to be set up to connect them with the Basque steelworks. The option chosen was the railway, which was considered the most advantageous mode of land transport. [1]

The possibility of building a line with Iberian gauge was considered, but in the end it was decided to use narrow gauge to reduce the cost. The fact that the owners of the mining and railway operations were the same meant that the La Robla railway was one of the first in Spain to be built entirely with Spanish capital. [1] [2] In 1890, authorisation was given for the construction of the line, for which the Hullero de la Robla a Valmaseda Railway Company was created, which in 1905 was renamed Ferrocarriles de la Robla

In October 1892 the section with the greatest differences in level, from Valmaseda to Espinosa de los Monteros, with a length of 45 km, was inaugurated. In September 1894, just four years after work began, the section between Valmaseda and La Robla was completed.The main project was finished, as it was planned that the Cadagua Railway would be used from Valmaseda to Bilbao. However, disagreements between the companies led to the decision to extend the route of the Robla Railway to Bilbao. Initially it only went as far as Aranguren because in 1898 various railways, including the Cadagua, joined forces to establish the Santander-Bilbao Railway, whose route the Robla Railway would use from 1902 onwards to access Bilbao. However, disagreements between railway companies once again led to the construction of an independent route from Aranguren to Iráuregui, which separated the two railways. In 1923, the León-Matallana auxiliary branch line was put into service, establishing the direct Bilbao-León service. [3] [4] [5]

Although during the first years of operation demand was low, from 1910 onwards it grew  [1] [6] becoming a driving force for the revitalisation of the mining regions of northern León and Palencia. In addition, the Ferrocarril de la Robla or the Hullero, as it was popularly known, provided a link with the Iberian gauge railway lines Venta de Baños-Gijón in La Robla and Palencia-Santander in Mataporquera. 

With the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) the mining regions were left inactive and the trains were used for military purposes, causing serious damage to the railway infrastructure. In 1958 the La Robla railway reached its record for coal transport, with more than 900,000 tonnes, the starting point of its decline. [‘8’] In 1972, the La Robla Railway Company went bankrupt, and the management of the line was taken over by the public company FEVE. In the following years the situation worsened and passenger services were suspended in 1991. Thanks to various agreements with the public administration, services were re-established in 2003 between León and Bilbao, while the sections between La Robla–Matallana and Iráuregui–Luchana continued to be used exclusively for the transport of goods. [5]

Since January 2013, within the framework of the State’s grouping of the management and operation of national public railway infrastructures, Adif is the owner and manager of the infrastructure and Renfe is responsible for the operation.

Currently, there is a tourist service on the line, the so-called Expreso de la Robla [9], which offers different tourist routes.

In 2024, major modernisation works are being carried out on the León suburban railway line, including work on the infrastructure, stations and facilities.

The line runs mostly through very sparsely populated areas, crossing some valleys at right angles. In the Guardo – Mataporquera section there is no significant tourist potential, perhaps for cycle tourism towards the Palencia mountains, but it is too far away for hiking activities. In Mataporquera, part of the metre-gauge station building has been converted into a railway museum of the La Robla railway.

The line’s perceived tourism potential could be divided in two, with the Guardo–Mataporquera section being low or low-medium, while the Mataporquera–Balmaseda section would be high. From Mataporquera it crosses areas with greater tourist potential, borders the Ebro reservoir to the south (Las Rozas de Valdearroyo – Arija – Cabañas de Virtus), with the factory bridge over the river Ebro in Arija standing out, and to the north the Ojo Guareña Natural Monument (Sotoscueva – Redondo area), but with stations far away. Likewise, the town of Espinosa de los Monteros is not only of cultural interest but also of interest to cycle tourists, with the nearby mountain passes of Portillo de la Sía, Picón Blanco and the descent towards Vizcaya through the Mena valley, which combines hiking and Romanesque heritage.

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