Miraflores – Tarragona

El tramo más antiguo de esta extensa línea que comunica la capital aragonesa con la localidad catalana costera de San Vicenç de Calders fue el de Zaragoza-Escatrón. El objetivo de este proyecto era poder dar salida al carbón de las cuencas mineras de Gargallo y Utrillas hacia Zaragoza y desde ahí procurar su distribución mediante las nuevas líneas que se iban inaugurando hacia Cataluña y Navarra. De este modo, en 1865 se crea la sociedad del “Ferrocarril del Príncipe de Asturias, de Zaragoza a Escatrón” y dan inicio las obras. No obstante, la empresa atravesó diferentes dificultades que acabaron con la quiebra de la compañía solo cuatro años después. [1] [2]

Despite this initial setback, the project was immediately taken up again by the ‘Railway Company from Zaragoza to Escatrón and Val de Zafán to the mines of the Gargallo-Utrillas mining basin’, which would progress by building and opening sections until it was finally brought into full service in 1879. [2] [3]

At the beginning of the 1880s, the ‘Direct Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona Railway Company’ took over the section between Zaragoza and La Puebla de Híjar, with a view to implementing another project that would provide a more direct connection between Barcelona and Zaragoza via Caspe. However, the company had certain financial problems that led to its bankruptcy and its annexation in 1886 to the ‘Tarragona to Barcelona and France Railway Company, TBF’, which continued the works. [4]

Over the following years the line was extended from Reus to Fayón, winding its way through the Ebro valley. The greatest difficulty lay in choosing and constructing the crossing over the river Ebro, which finally took place in the vicinity of the town of García, near Mora de Ebro, by means of a bridge with several arched spans. The line was inaugurated in 1894. [3] [5]

It is important to mention that the TBF company would be integrated into the MZA company in 1898, which was responsible for the operation of the line until 1941. From that year onwards, the line was integrated into the National Network of Spanish Railways, RENFE, and was progressively electrified. [6]

The construction of the Ribarroja reservoir in 1967 meant that part of the route had to be modified and the station in the village of Fayón, which would be flooded, had to be moved to Puebla de Masaluca, 4 kilometres away. The station was renamed Fayón-Puebla de Masaluca. [7]

Finally, in accordance with the 2020 ADIF statement, the section between Tarragona and San Vicente de Calders belonging to the Valencia – San Vicente Calders line has been assigned to the Miraflores – Tarragona line, which has been renamed the Miraflores-San Vicente de Calders line. [8]

Medium Distance trains currently run along this line, specifically the Regional and Regional Exprés services operated by Renfe, as well as freight trains, generally coming from the Port of Tarragona.

This line, which, as mentioned, covers a very large area, passes through a wide variety of landscapes, most of which are closely related to the river Ebro. After leaving the district of Zaragoza, running parallel to the river, the route of line 210 passes through the Aragonese districts of Ribera Baja del Ebro and Bajo Martín.Between the city of Zaragoza and the siding at Escatrón the possibility of using the railway for tourism is low, either because of the lack of scenic interest in some areas or because some halts and stations are very far from population centres (the Escatrón siding is almost 10 km from the town). Once the railway enters the region of Bajo Aragón-Caspe, we see that there are towns and landscapes that could be of interest to tourists, but whose associated stations are far from urban centres, as is the case of Chiprana or Fabara. Caspe – the largest town in the region and of historical importance – is the exception, as it has a station within the town, also providing access to the Mar de Aragón reservoir (Mequinenza Reservoir, where water sports and fishing are practised).

Moving towards Catalonia and following the Ebro, the river landscape between the Faio (Fayón)-La Pobla de Masaluca siding and the Flix siding-loading bay stands out for its remarkable scenic value. It is the very experience of travelling through the Ebro river canyon, by train, that is most appreciated, in a territory in which the localities are of little interest and in which the Ribarroja reservoir, the Flix dam and the Ascó nuclear power station interrupt the longitudinal continuity of the river.

Until Tarragona there are no more remarkable landscape features, with scattered villages, some abandoned stations, others outside villages, and a territory in which, for the most part, there is no perceived potential for the development of tourism.

Category A1.
Electrified track with concrete sleepers in good condition.