Villaluenga-Yuncler – Algodor

In 1876, the railway company Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro de Ciudad Real a Badajoz (CRB) was awarded the contract for the construction of the railway between Madrid and Ciudad Real. The work was carried out quickly, as there were no major geographical obstacles to face during its execution. [1] [2] [3]

Three years later, the Madrid-Ciudad Real line was opened, offering a mixed passenger and freight service. At Algodor station, the line connected with the Castillejo-Toledo branch line, thus facilitating the connection between Ciudad Real and Toledo. [2] [4]

In 1880, due to the precarious financial situation of the CRB, the Madrid to Zaragoza and Alicante Railway Company, MZA, merged with it, taking control of this line. [2]

In the 1920s, the Compañía General de Asfaltos y Portland ‘Asland’ built a railway branch line just 13 kilometres long, connecting its new factory in Villaluenga de la Sagra with the Madrid-Ciudad Real and Madrid-Cáceres lines. This short stretch, which ran from Villaluenga-Yuncler station to Villaseca, had intermediate stops at Villaluenga-Asland and Villaseca de la Sagra. [5]

In 1941, RENFE took over the line when it was nationalised, like the rest of the Iberian gauge railway lines in the country.

Due to low demand, at the end of the eighties, most of the Madrid-Ciudad Real line was closed and dismantled, the section between Parla and Ciudad Real, with the exception of the segment between Villaseca-Mocejón and Algodor, which remained in use.

Currently, the only trains that run on the line go to the Villaluenga-Asland cement factory, which belongs to the company Holcim España S.A.U. Furthermore, Adif has recently awarded the Port Authority of Cartagena the contract to lease space and facilities at Algodor station, considered a strategic point for traffic heading south and along the entire east coast. This space will be used as a private loading bay by the Port Authority of Cartagena for loading and unloading grain. [6]

With the exception of Algodor station, which is now closed and boarded up, the line, which runs through a landscape characteristic of the Spanish central plateau, is not of great interest or potential for tourism.Algodor station, built in 1858 and renovated in the 1920s, is a beautiful example of Mudejar architecture, similar to the nearby Toledo station, and both its railway facilities and the village, with low houses arranged in rows next to the tracks, are well preserved. The rest of the line runs through dry farming areas, mainly cereals, interspersed with areas of natural vegetation, with the notable absence of wooded areas.

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