José Luis Torrecilla Cubero.
The original site of the Madrid station for the Madrid-Zaragoza line: a forgotten strategic decision.

This study examines the site originally planned for the Madrid station on the Madrid-Zaragoza line, as part of Spain’s mid-19th-century railway planning. Initially, the plan was to locate it near the old bullring at Puerta de Alcalá, which would have facilitated a more direct connection to the northeast of the peninsula.
This seemingly pragmatic decision entailed significant technical interventions, including the renovation of the Tres Ojos Bridge over the Abroñigal stream, which had to be adapted to support the passage of trains. The grading work from that point marked the physical start of the line, which diverged there from the route of the Mediterranean Line (Madrid-Aranjuez).
The urban context of Madrid in the 1850s was marked by the coexistence of agricultural areas, military installations, and zones of urban expansion, which shaped decisions regarding infrastructure. Within this framework, the initial project was guided by a logic of centrality and accessibility. The subsequent choice of Atocha, although more peripheral at the time, benefited from the existence of prior facilities and greater availability of land for future expansions.
The study draws on specialized primary and secondary sources. It analyzes the technical, urban planning, and strategic criteria that motivated the change in location and reflects on the consequences of maintaining the original site. This paper aims to shed light on a little-known episode in Spanish railway history, highlighting how seemingly minor logistical decisions can have a lasting impact on the configuration of transportation networks and urban development. PDF

Federico Meneghini Sassoli.
Railways, Beltways, and the City. Railway Lines Surrounding European Cities: Paris, Milan.

Often relegated to the margins—literally, in some cases—of urban history, belt railways have been described in various and often contradictory ways: as vectors of expansion, restrictive chains, a necessary evil, or a great opportunity. Despite this, these infrastructures have played a central role in the urban networks of numerous major European cities.
This research aims to analyze one aspect of the complex relationship between the city and the belt railway, examining the processes of construction, expansion, and transformation of these structures through three case studies: Paris, Madrid, and Milan. In particular, the following will be compared: the two Paris Ceintures, from 1852 and 1883; Madrid’s Circumvalation Railway, beginning in 1864; and Milan’s railway ring lines, with special attention to the first semi-circular line of 1864 and the various solutions proposed during Milan’s railway reorganization in 1906.
These infrastructures, studied over the course of approximately half a century, represent a fundamental stage in the construction of urban railway infrastructure and its relationship with major European cities, in the midst of transformation and expansion. The presentation will focus on a comparative analysis of their similarities and differences, with the aim of reconstructing common dynamics and local specificities in the ways cities have embraced, managed, or resisted these ring lines.
Although it involves the use of archival sources, this research will primarily rely on secondary literature—both contemporary and current scholarly works—to reconstruct these complex phenomena. PDF

Luis Santos and Ganges (University of Valladolid) and Doralice Sátyro Maia (Federal University of Paraíba).
An overview of the history of railway technical facilities in Recife (Pernambuco, Brazil).

The port city of Recife was the second city in Brazil to have a railway, when, between 1858 and 1862, the Recife to São Francisco Railway Company Limited built the section between Recife and Vila do Cabo, heading southwest. The terminal station in the capital was named “Cinco Pontas.”
Between 1879 and 1882, The Great Western of Brazil Railway Company Limited (GWBR) built the railway from Recife to Limoeiro, heading north. The terminal station in the capital was named “Brum.”
In 1885–1896, the Recife–Caruaru Railway built the line from Recife to Caruaru, which was gradually extended and came to be known as the Central Railway of Pernambuco, heading west. The terminal station was named “Central.”
The three lines were gradually built and extended throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Between 1901 and 1904, GWBR took over the operation of all these concessions, thereby forming a network with its nerve center in Recife but with three stations. In 1951, when the GWBR network exceeded 1,600 kilometers of track and diesel traction was being introduced, it was transferred to the company Rede Ferroviária do Nordeste (RFN).
There were several changes to reorganize the network in the city, leading to the creation of a commuter train service; in 1934, passenger service was centralized at Central Station, and Recife’s terminal stations were repurposed.
In this context, this paper aims to identify how, between 1904 and 1949, GWBR specialized the stations and reconfigured the technical facilities (depots and workshops) in Recife and its surrounding area. We will focus in particular on the technical facilities at Edgar Werneck and Jaboatão, on the central line: their design and subsequent transformations. PDF

Maria Simone Moraes Soares (Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Sergipe (IFS)), Tiago Cargnin Gonçalves (Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB)), Elizângela Justino de Oliveira (Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Federal University of Santa Catarina).
Urban Network and Railroad: The Centrality of Caruaru on the Pernambuco Central Railroad (1895–1912).

Caruaru’s (Pernambuco, Brazil) centrality within the regional urban network has been developing since the late 18th century, primarily due to its initial status as a “gateway to the hinterland.” Throughout this process, its traditional cattle market played a prominent role in attracting economic and population flows. To contribute to the debate regarding Caruaru’s integration into the regional urban network, we discuss how this centrality has been established since the late 18th century, with the emergence of the urban core, up to the early 20th century, when the arrival of the Pernambuco Central Railway (EFCP) in 1895 introduced a new technical element that accelerated the urbanization process. Thus, this study aims to analyze how Caruaru’s incorporation into the railway network contributed to the consolidation of its centrality within the regional urban network.
As a time frame, we have chosen the period between 1895, the year of the inauguration of the Caruaru railway station, and 1912, the year of the railway’s expansion into the Pernambuco hinterland with the inauguration of the Arcoverde station. To address the proposed objective, we outline some characteristics of the colonization of the Pernambuco territory and how this process contributed to the urbanization of the captaincy/province; we then present Caruaru’s centrality based on the various flows of the EFCP between 1895 and 1912. Using the collected data, we analyzed the general and individual revenues of the stations, taking into account their different types—passengers, goods (sugar, cotton, rum, grains, etc.), baggage and parcels, animals, telegraph, and storage—which helped reaffirm Caruaru’s centrality within the regional urban network. PDF

Tomás Domínguez Rodrigo and Alfonso Irnán Reino (R&D&I Department, Torrescamara y Cía de Obras S.A.)
The railroad, urban planning, and the port in the city where the riverbed became a garden.

The urban development of Valencia and El Grao has been marked by a structural tension: the city grew up along the Turia River, far from the port, which established itself along the coastline. The river, acting more as a barrier than a waterway, historically hindered the development of a viable river route of interest to the city. This configuration necessitated planning the city–port connection through land-based infrastructure, particularly the railroad.
The arrival of the train in the mid-19th century altered the urban layout. The Valencia–El Grao line (1852) was conceived as a logistics corridor to the docks, the embryo of the later Valencia–Xàtiva connection and its extension to Almansa and Tarragona. Its straight route between the city and the port was the first effective attempt at functional integration between the two. However, this integration was designed with a commercial focus: the Grao Station handled freight, not passengers, so it did not serve as a social link betweenthe city centerandthe outskirts. Today, the historic building, dating from 1852, is listed as a Site of Local Significance.
The cycle of historic Turia River floods, culminating in the flood of October 14, 1957, triggered a profound replanning of the riverbed: the Plan Sur diverted the Turia and freed up the old riverbed—today the Turia Gardens—which has come to function as a scenic and civic axis. The city gained continuous public space, but the rail link with Grao continued to perpetuate the historical functional segregation between freight and passenger traffic.
In the 21st century, the Port of Valencia is strengthening its role in long-distance rail logistics. The improvement of the freight rail connection with Madrid and its extension toward Lisbon, along with investments in the Mediterranean Corridor (standard-gauge conversion, 750-meter trains, electrification, and capacity upgrades), reopen the opportunity to integrate urban and rail planning with contemporary criteria: interoperability, decarbonization, and intermodal transfer. These initiatives enhance the port’s competitiveness and help rebalance the city–port relationship.
In short, the railway has been and remains Valencia’s pivotal infrastructure: first, it enabled a functional link to the port; later, despite the transformation of the Turia Gardens into a major landscape and recreational axis, it maintained a separation of uses; and now, with the Mediterranean Corridor and the rail highway, it offers the opportunity to definitively integrate the city and the port. The key to the coming decade lies in how these network improvements translate into solutions for metropolitan accessibility, modal interchange, and urban treatment of the logistics front, including the preservation and reuse of the Grao’s railway heritage as a cultural asset and a record of the integration itself. PDF

Ana Cardoso de Matos (University of Évora) and Maria Ana Bernardo (University of Évora). *
Railways and Cities in Southern Portugal (1856–1945)*).

The construction of the railway network was a key factor in the development of the region and had a significant impact on the growth of urban centers. In fact, areas that benefited from the passage of the railroad became population magnets, as this mode of transportation facilitated spatial mobility. The existence of a railroad line also fostered commercial transactions and industrial development, which naturally served as a factor in attracting rural populations toward cities.
The installation of railway lines, in addition to influencing the economy and society of the urban centers through which they passed, also had an impact on their morphology, with cities in many cases growing toward the railway stations.  This expansion of the urban fabric resulted, in many cases, in the emergence of new neighborhoods, some intended to house railway workers and others designed for more affluent social groups.
The very area where the station was built also underwent significant change due to its integration with the new facilities and infrastructure necessary to support the people and goods traveling via this mode of transport.
In this paper, we aim to analyze the changes that the arrival of the railroad brought about in some cities in southern Portugal, particularly from the perspective of their urban fabric. PDF

Stefani Fabricio Cristoiu (TPTI – Erasmus Mundus).
Ferrocarril Mauá (1854-1962): la modernización del territorio y el desmantelamiento ferroviario en Brasil. 

This study aims to examine the creation, influence, and decline of the Mauá Railway, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was Brazil’s first railway, conceived in the first half of the 19th century through a partnership between the Empire of Brazil and Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, known by his title Baron of Mauá, a prominent Brazilian merchant and industrialist. The Baron of Mauá was the main driving force behind this project, a pioneer in the country’s railway and industrial sectors, and possessed a deep understanding of European industrial advancements thanks to his investments in an efficient railway system. The visionary foresaw significant progress in the Brazilian economy through the introduction of rail lines in the country and, leveraging his wealth and influence, founded the Mauá Railway in 1854. This enabled an efficient flow of agricultural products from the Paraíba Valley—in the state’s interior—to the Port of Mauá, at the head of Guanabara Bay. In this way, railway development spread throughout Rio de Janeiro—and later across all of Brazil, with greater intensity in the Southeast Region—establishing general conditions for production in the country, thereby fostering the emergence of the first Brazilian industries and boosting territorial connectivity. This railway line constitutes a milestone in the circulation of capital and the mobility of people in Brazil, and its period of existence, from 1854 to 1960, reflects the dismantling of the railway system as a consequence of changes in transportation policies following the arrival of the automotive industry in the country. This historical-geographical article will be developed using documents from the National Library of Brazil, censuses and charts from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, as well as documents and projects from the National Land Transport Agency of Brazil. PDF

Bruno Gilmar Silva de Medeiros (Federal University of Paraíba) and Vinicius José da Costa Rodrigues (Federal University of Paraíba).
From Underutilization to Redevelopment: Spatial Dynamics in the Vicinity of the Caruaru-PE Railway Station (1990–2024).

Since the 1990s, Brazilian urban centers have come to be seen as spaces conducive to the implementation of projects focused on heritage preservation and urban renewal. In recent years, such initiatives have gained broader scope, incorporating a discourse on the revitalization and appreciation of industrial and railway heritage. This context has implications for Caruaru (PE), where the downtown area, centered around the old railway station, is notable for the activities that once took place there, such as rail transport and the processing of cotton and leather. With the decommissioning of the railroad in 2000, the area began to suffer from underutilization and degradation. In response, a comprehensive redevelopment project was launched in 2019, which restored the train station and created a linear park stretching over 19 km along the former railroad right-of-way. The current proposal aims to transform this space into a leisure and cultural area, promoting uses such as exhibitions and community festivals. In light of this process, several questions arise: does the redevelopment effectively preserve the station’s historical content? Does the current use meet the needs of the local population? What interests and actors are behind this intervention? It is suspected that the discourse of historical preservation, combined with the creation of a pleasant, safe, and accessible space for all, is contributing to an alignment of the railway heritage with the interests of the state and the private sector, transforming it into a vehicle for urban reconfiguration with strong economic, cultural, and real estate appeal. The methodological procedures adopted include a literature review, documentary analysis (with an emphasis on records from the Caruaru City Council), on-site observations, and the use of geoprocessing tools. The study presents an analysis of the impacts of the redevelopment and discusses its relationship with heritage preservation and the interests of the agents shaping the city’s urban fabric. PDF

María Paula Santiago Martín from Madrid (Polytechnic University of Valencia).
The impact of the railroad on urban life from the perspective of the visual arts.

This text examines how numerous visual artists throughout history have viewed the impact and influence of the railroad on urban life and phenomena. Works by seminal artists such as William Turner, Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte, Honoré Daumier, and Edward Hopper have helped document changes in spatial and temporal perception, as well as those related to social and territorial aspects, interpreting the railroad as an icon of a new urban experience. PDF

Shraddha Bhatawadekar (Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany).
Port, railway, and urban integration: A history of the Brindisi railway stations and the Port of Bombay throughout the 19th century.

Port railway stations, serving as interchanges between sea and rail travel, hold a special place in railway history. This paper examines two port railway stations: Brindisi Marittima in Italy and Ballard Pier Mole in Bombay, India. Both ports were connected as part of the Indian Mail Route from England to India in the late 19th century. The paper studies the historical trajectory of these two port stations and their contribution to their respective urban settings. By analyzing the interplay of local and global processes, it aims to critically explore their role in facilitating transnational mobilities and connectivities during the long 19th century.  PDF