Sessions
Session I: Railway Corridors in Historical Perspective: The Case of the Mediterranean
Railway transportation has historically established itself as a major artery within national territories and across large continental regions. The creation, development, and consolidation of the European Union as a political, economic, and social space have been driven by the accessibility resulting from the gradual expansion of territories by the various member states. Consequently, the so-called corridors have come to play a fundamental role in planning the future of rail connections within the Union. The Peninsular Mediterranean Corridor is one of the most significant. Historical understanding of how it took shape is essential to explaining and revitalizing its enhanced continuity for the future, in order to strengthen this territorial axis within the European Union’s territorial framework. This session features research that sheds light on the historical development of the primary and auxiliary rail networks along the Spanish peninsular Mediterranean axis. The study of other examples of corridors in the Mediterranean basin—especially in the south and east of Europe—and in other parts of the world demonstrates that historical knowledge of the formation of rail corridors is essential for articulating the unified space of any territory affected by them.
Session II: Regional and Autonomous Community Railways
One of the most notable characteristics of the Spanish railway system is that it has always had a regional rail network which, following the establishment of the State of the Autonomous Communities, came under the management of the governments of the Autonomous Communities. The purpose of this session is to examine the management practices of regional administrations, with a special focus on FGV, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The session’s objectives center on analyzing the institutional evolution of the companies responsible for its operation, taking into account changes in their key socioeconomic indicators as well as the service provided over the years.
Session III: The Railroad During the Second Republic and the Civil War
One of the periods to which railway historiography has contributed the least is that of the Second Republic and the Civil War. This session aims to advance the analysis of this period by examining the railway policies that were designed and implemented, as well as the corresponding management systems used between April 14, 1931, and the nationalization of 1941, with an emphasis on the growing role of the state and competition with road transport. To broaden our understanding, similar processes in other countries will also be analyzed.
Session IV: Engineers and the Railroad, 19th and 20th Centuries
In the context of the formation of the liberal state and the rise of the bourgeoisie to power, it became necessary to establish a new professional corps specializing in the planning and execution of public works: civil engineers. Their role was decisive in the design of the railway network, as well as in the creation and management of railway companies. In line with this approach, this session will address topics such as the technical and practical training of civil engineers; their contribution to the development of the Spanish and Portuguese railway networks; the role they played within various public administrations regarding railways in particular and transportation in general; the role they played in railway companies and within RENFE itself; the contributions to railway history made by other categories of engineers, as well as the export of their knowledge and expertise to other regions of the world, particularly Latin America. For this reason, based on the topics covered, the session aims to present new research findings in order to foster academic debate on a particularly relevant issue: the development of human capital and its contribution to economic development through infrastructure—in this case, rail infrastructure.
Session V: Railroads and the City
The spatial dimension of railway history—as has long been the case with urban history—is becoming increasingly relevant. Just as urban history is often urban planning history, railway history can also be approached from an urban-territorial perspective. There are many possible approaches here: urban morphology, urban and territorial structure, the system of cities, and so on.
For the 8th Valencia Congress on Railway History—2017, we have accepted six paper proposals on the topic outlined above. Three of them focus on the urban-metropolitan and regional scales, and their areas of study are the metropolitan areas of Barcelona and São Paulo, and the region surrounding the city of Campina Grande (Brazil). The other three papers, which are of a geographical-urban planning nature, focus on the urban system (territorial accessibility) or general comparisons (railways and urban growth). Their scope of study is Spain during various periods of the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
Session VI: Heritage
Although often overlooked, our railway heritage encompasses much more than just the passenger terminals at train stations—of which only a few are protected or even listed. A station or a railway line encompasses not only material aspects but also intangible ones, such as the spirit of the place, collective memory, and the configuration of unique spaces. Without these elements, the meaning disappears or becomes distorted; they are therefore key aspects that must be protected. This involves not only architectural or technical issues—such as style, space, the structural or unique characteristics of the buildings, and their specific materials and technology—but also functionality, collective memory, the writings and libraries that served as a foundation for the engineers and architects who designed them, and the shaping of the spirit of the place, among other factors.
Thus, this session draws on various academic disciplines with the aim of highlighting the vast material and immaterial dimensions of this rich, unique, and singular heritage—often with the goal of contributing to its proper and necessary appreciation.
Session VII: Economic Policy, Socialist Ideology, and Union Action in the Railway Sector
The objective of this two-part session is, first, to explore—for the first time—the role attributed to railroads in socialist economic thought and their influence on the policies implemented throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, the session will address the utopian socialists—and, in particular, the Saint-Simonians—given the role they played in the construction of railway networks in southern Europe; and second, it will encourage the presentation of papers that analyze the role assigned to railways in major socialist theories and how these were incorporated into the platforms of social democratic parties. Finally, papers that examine the socialist programs that underpinned the nationalization of the railways, and how these were subsequently adapted to the liberalization policies promoted by the European Union.
Session VIII: General
The conference aims to serve as a forum for the discussion and dissemination of new studies and research on railway history. To this end, the General Session features papers that, while meeting the established standards of scientific quality, cannot be included in any of the previous sessions. On this occasion, the Scientific Committee has accepted thirteen paper proposals covering a wide range of topics: the design, construction, and operation of rail lines; technology; public subsidies; mining railroads; railroad legislation; and tourism.