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Mallorcan railways have changed since my last visit, some 32 years ago. Then, services were provided by Spanish-built railcars running on 3' gauge tracks and with all the old Mallorcan Railways wooden-bodied coaches still lined up in the yard. Since then, the system has been abandoned, re-gauged to metre and mainly reopened (though the stretch from Manacor to Arta hasn't as yet re-opened) using modern railcars. Initially the line was only opened to Inca: the stretches to Sa Pobla and Manacor only opened fairly recently. A great deal of time effort (and money) has been spent diverting roads under or over the railway, to avoid level crossings.
Some of the units were only built very recently - this one had a 2002 build date. The ride quality is almost as good as standard gauge (at least it was until I rode back in a different car of the unit from the one I went up in - this one had all the bounces and lurches one would expect of the narrow gauge, but I suspect faulty suspension rather than poor track, given the modern track machines I observed.)
This is the new Sa Pobla station.......................
....................... and this is the view down the line. Note that this is a Modern Railway and therefore all platforms are at floor height - no climbing up steps on THIS railway!
All the station buildings are new......................
... but as the stations have all been moved slightly, the old buildings all survive and some are in use. This is Santa Maria. Note the double track, which runs from Palma to Arta and is to be relaid, starting in late 2004.
The "new" Palma station a fine modern structure, handy for one of the main bus stopping areas. The fare to Sa Pobla was only 4.90 Euros return, rather less than on the other railway........ |
