The Canfranc Railway Station

This week I bring to you yet another amazing construction that has been left empty due to the fortunes of time.  The Canfranc railway was once an ambitious project meant to link France and Spain.  To accommodate the railway, the station was built on the border of the two countries, just a small ways into Spain.  And though the building of the railway would prove to be less than successful, the Canfranc Estacion remains as a symbol of what might have been.

The railway’s construction began in 1904 and took more than 20 years to complete, being finally finished in 1928.  The station was built near the end of that time frame.  But building the railway was no easy task.  In order to complete this marvel of engineering and innovation, more than 80 bridges, two dozen tunnels and four viaducts were needed.  There was also a massive deforestation project to clear the necessary amount of land.  The French side of the railway was so complicated as to require that more than 50 percent of their portion of the route needed to be engineered in one way or another.

Though the railway and the station were completed, disaster after disaster struck, making the line less viable over time.  The Spanish civil war saw a tunnel bricked up to prevent French forces from coming in.  During World War II, the Nazis used the railway strategically, but French resistance blew up more than a few bridges in retaliation.  The line was opened once more in 1948, but by 1970 it was clear there was no profit in it and yet another accident drove the point home.

Today, the station stands as testament to the grandeur that once existed.  It is a huge and extravagant structure that at the time was the largest rail station in all of Europe.  The building is three stories high, measures nearly 800 feet in length and makes use of hundreds of windows and doors.  The station also houses a number of amenities for travels, including bars, restaurants, customs and other offices, and even a luxury hotel.

Unfortunately, the building has seen serious decay over time.  Between people defacing it and there being no upkeep, it is a pale comparison to what it once was.  It’s a bit hard to access these days, so you have to be sneaky to get in.  There is also some talk of the building be renovated, so it may not be a place of exploration for that much longer.  For a more extensive look at the station, check out this photo gallery.

Canfranc train station photo courtesy of Dummy via Wikicommons