Linarejos Cruz.
Aznalcázar: a forgotten town nestled between the mountains and the marshes.

Nestled between Seville’s Sierra Morena and the Doñana marshes, along the Guadiamar River, the town of Aznalcázar, in the province of Seville, saw its fortunes change with the arrival of the railroad in the late 19th century. The railway line from Seville to Huelva was built between 1876 and 1878; it originally had ten stations, one of which was established three kilometers from Aznalcázar. The station was inaugurated on March 15, 1880, and features, among other facilities, a passenger building constructed in a sober Neo-Gothic style, preceded by a canopy that lends a unique beauty to the complex.
From that moment on, this new form of transportation opened up a world of opportunities: speed was joined by comfort and the ability to transport large quantities of goods from one place to another; it also facilitated the movement of people. Progress—and with it changes in the landscape, the economy, and ways of life—began to take shape.
This project not only connected territories but also activated social and labor networks that shaped the daily lives of local residents. Emerging markets and job opportunities linked to the demand for railway services and maintenance sprang up. Thanks to the railroad, various industries—such as the timber and agri-food sectors—flourished, finding a pathway to broader markets and boosting the local economy. The station served as a hub for community life and local progress, becoming a landmark for generations who saw the arrival of the train as a promise of modernity, cohesion, and prosperity.
Today, the track remains operational, but the station has been abandoned, sparking citizen movements calling for it to be restored to service, for its cultural value to be recognized, and for it to be designated a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC). PDF

Christopher Mellusi (Utrecht University).
Emotional Infrastructure: Heritage and Emotion in the Washington, DC and Madrid Metro Systems.

This paper, the result of ongoing research, aims to explore the role that underground metro systems—as heritage spaces—play in evoking emotions in their users that are linked to culture, politics, and local identities. Subway systems are not merely transit hubs but also conduits of tangible and ephemeral heritage that represent the city and its inhabitants. Drawing on Brian Larkin’s infrastructure studies, this paper will examine subway systems from their cultural and political dimensions. Using Monique Scheer’s practical theory of emotions, it will explore how subway heritage generates and regulates social and cultural participation.
The presentation will focus on case studies of the metro systems in Washington, D.C., and Madrid and will explore how metro infrastructure evokes and reflects identity and emotional experience. These spaces, shaped by diverse actors such as commuters, tourists, heritage institutions, and governments, present different heritage narratives emerging through formal channels (museums, academic work) and informal ones (social media, street art), producing diverse emotional responses such as nostalgia, pride, and exclusion.
By bringing emotion to the forefront as both a product and a driving force of heritage creation, this research contributes to studies on heritage, infrastructure, and urban anthropology, reframing metro systems as emotionally charged spaces where memory, identity, and power are negotiated on a daily basis.
Ultimately, this research offers a new framework for understanding metro systems not only as infrastructure, but as emotional and symbolic spaces that shape urban life and cultural meaning. PDF

Javier Romero Jiménez and Adelaida Martín Martín (University of Granada).
From Industrial Relic to Territorial Resource: A Methodological Proposal for the Inventory and Enhancement of the Built Railway Heritage in the Province of Granada.

The railway heritage of the province of Granada stands as a local testament to more than a century of industrial, technological, and social history. However, it is currently in a state of serious vulnerability, characterized by general ignorance and the progressive deterioration of its elements. Although studies exist on some emblematic elements, a review of the current state of the art reveals a clear gap: there is no systematic inventory covering all built assets—from lines and stations to engineering structures—nor a reliable assessment of their state of conservation from a regional perspective.
The research presented addresses this gap by compiling an exhaustive catalog of Granada’s immovable railway heritage and proposing strategies for its conservation and enhancement. The methodology employed combines the analysis of historical, technical, and academic sources, fieldwork with detailed photographic documentation, and a comparison of different architectural and engineering typologies present in the province.
The result is an inventory that highlights the richness and diversity of this legacy, including broad-gauge rail networks such as Bobadilla-Granada, Linares-Almería, and Murcia-Granada; tram systems such as TEGSA and Sierra Nevada; as well as unique solutions such as the Dúrcal-Motril Aerial Cableway. The assessment reveals a mixed picture, with assets ranging from ruin and demolition to outstanding examples of adaptive reuse.
It is concluded that a rigorous catalog is an essential tool for territorial management. It allows us to move beyond a passive view of heritage and understand it as an active resource capable of generating sustainable cultural and socioeconomic development. Initiatives such as the creation of cultural itineraries and the rehabilitation of buildings for new public uses emerge as concrete proposals to safeguard this legacy, contributing to the historical memory and the future of the province. PDF

Ana Cabanes Martín (Spanish Railways Foundation).
Trenes Hoy (1987–1991): A Documentary Analysis of a RENFE Corporate Publication and Its Historical Value.

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive review and analysis of the magazine *Trenes Hoy*, published by RENFE between 1987 and 1991. Initially published by the Office of Information and External Relations (GIRE) and later by the Office of Internal Communication (GCI), Trenes Hoy was conceived as an internal publication intended for the Network’s employees, with the aim of strengthening corporate communication, publicizing the company’s achievements, plans, and decisions, and fostering a sense of belonging.
To carry out this documentary analysis, several AI tools were employed to facilitate the cataloging process; the methodology used is outlined in this paper to serve as an example of AI use in libraries and documentation centers. The results of this journal harvesting will be available in the Railway Library catalog, accessible via the portalwww.docutren.com
The harvesting of Trenes Hoy not only preserves and organizes its content but also offers a valuable source for studying RENFE’s corporate history, its organizational culture, and the evolution of internal communication in the Spanish railway sector in the late 20th century. PDF

Aurora Martínez-Corral (Polytechnic University of Valencia) and Domingo Cuéllar (Rey Juan Carlos University).
The RENFE computing center (1967). A setting of modernity.

The RENFE computer center building, located next to the Madrid-Delicias station, was constructed in the late 1960s to house the world’s first system for reserving and selling train tickets, utilizing the most advanced computer technology available at the time. The building’s design and materials were intended to reflect this innovation, showcasing some of the architectural elements, materials, and styles imported from the American version of the Modern Movement, which the regime had embraced. Having inherited the admiration that the industrial development of the United States had already inspired during the Republican era, the regime viewed this architecture as the one that should represent the “shift” toward modernity steered by the Dictatorship following the autarkic period. The underlying ideology was to distance itself as much as possible from the Central European version of the Modern Movement which, as the magazine AC (GATEPAC, 1931–1937) clearly demonstrates, represented ideas diametrically opposed to the regime. The then-Central University of Madrid (now Complutense University) and, specifically, its IBM electronic computing center designed by Miguel Fisac in 1966, could be one of the most recognizable examples of this “official” version of the modern movement during the dictatorial period, which may have inspired the building in question.
The most recognizable characteristics of this modern version—though modest and moderate when compared to similar American buildings, due to our context of industrial and economic scarcity and restrictions on design freedom—lie primarily in the use of metal, particularly in prefabricated and standardized panels for both facades (curtain walls) and interior glass partitions; the use of an open floor plan with structural and compositional separation from the facades and the spatial fluidity that allows for the creation of flexible, open spaces, facilitating functionality; the structural honesty evident in the use of exposed materials such as concrete and in the transparency of the construction, which allows one to observe the assembly of components or the combination of different materials without concealment; in the continuous suspended ceilings, the installation of complex and innovative electrical or HVAC systems, uniform overhead lighting, and the use of linoleum as continuous flooring in keeping with that spatial fluidity, allowing for the creation of that modern American office setting.  The creation of environments, as well as the concept of a comprehensive and complete project with the design and definition of all parts and details of the building, are two features of the Modernist movement also present in the RENFE building. The abandonment of brick, the predominance of modularity, the prominence and presence of standardized elements, and spatial fluidity stand out in what is arguably the company’s most genuinely modern building, showcasing the modernity of the sales system and, by extension, that of the company itself—whose architectural value we aim to highlight in this presentation. PDF

Vanesa García López de Andújar (University of Valencia).
The La Encina Railway Settlement: Heritage at Risk and Citizens in Action.

The historic railroad town of La Encina is the only “pure railroad town” in the Valencian Community and one of the 14 that still exist in Spain. It boasts a rich heritage that has shaped the town’s character and is currently at risk. Born around the station built in 1863, the town became one of the country’s main railway hubs. Over the years, the modernization of transportation led to a decline in its activity and progressive deterioration, drastically reducing the population and local railway life.
Despite this, the community of La Encina continues to consider its railway heritage an essential part of its identity. Citizen initiatives have always been ongoing, incorporating railway elements into the local landscape and promoting efforts to raise awareness of it. In recent years, a series of coordinated initiatives have been developed to influence its protection and enhancement, ranging from workshops, guided tours, and participatory roundtables to activities with schoolchildren recognized with the European Heritage Makers award in 2021. In 2022, the process began to designate the site as a Property of Local Significance, and in 2023, a temporary, participatory installation was created to encourage community reflection on the conservation and social value of the facilities. The most recent step has been the project “El eco del vapor” (The Echo of Steam), recognized by the Council of Europe, which reinforces the local and European dimensions of the commitment to its conservation and enhancement.
This paper presents the current state of La Encina’s railway heritage and highlights the role of citizens as active agents in its protection and management. PDF

Javier Rodríguez Méndez (University of Salamanca).
The Puebla de Sanabria Railroad Station: A Project by Architect Miguel García-Lomas

The railway connection between Zamora and La Coruña required a major effort by the government between 1927 and 1958. To facilitate the construction work, the route was divided into four sections, with the town of Puebla de Sanabria in Zamora marking the boundary between the first two. Because it marked the end of a section, and despite its small population, the Sanabrian municipality received a station of some importance, which was built between 1930 and 1934. From very early on, it was considered “out of the ordinary and very much in harmony with the natural landscape where it is situated,” and even today it is a regular feature on lists of “Spain’s most beautiful stations” alongside its larger counterparts in Aranjuez, Canfranc, Toledo, Valencia, Atocha, etc.
There is currently a general consensus that the passenger terminal building at the Puebla de Sanabria station was designed by civil engineer José Luis Tovar Bisbal. However, challenging this prevailing view—first proposed by Natividad González Gómez in 1999—is journalist Mikel Iturralde, who in 2013 suggested the involvement of an architect who had remained unknown until now.
The aim of this study is to shed light on the contribution and identity of the architect who designed the Puebla de Sanabria railway station—and several others along the Zamora-La Coruña line—as well as the circumstances and individuals that shaped his involvement in the project. PDF

Teresa Moreira Correa (University of Salamanca).
The documentary series “Estampas del Ayer” from the Historical Railway Archive, a source for understanding the visual history of the railway in Spain.

The documentary series “Estampas del Ayer,” housed in the Photo Library of the Historical Railway Archive (AHF), originated in the magazine *Vía Libre*, a publication launched in 1964 by the state-owned company RENFE and published by the Spanish Railways Foundation since 1986. The uniqueness of this collection lies in the fact that it was created from contributions made by the magazine’s readers—many of whom were active or retired railway workers, and even their family members—who kept photographs of railway scenes they had taken themselves at stations across the national railway network. These photographs were sent to the magazine’s editorial staff for publication in the “Estampas del Ayer” section, the name by which this AHF photographic collection is known today. The number of photographs collected over the years has provided a highly significant source for understanding details of working and daily life on the railways in Spain.
The purpose of this paper is to present the descriptive work carried out on this collection, outline its characteristics, and propose strategies for its future dissemination through the documentary portal www.docutren.com. PDF

José Luis Esparcia Gil (Friends of Miguel Hernández).
The Railroad in the Life and Work of Miguel Hernández.

Since the advent of the railroad in Spain, literature has found in this mode of transportation a way to expand its horizons of knowledge, experience, and inspiration. Very soon, the use of the railroad began to be associated with literary works of great significance, both in terms of their themes and the personal experiences of many writers, linking their biographies to the use of this mode of transportation at decisive moments.
This paper examines the impact of the railroad on the life of the poet Miguel Hernández and the focus he placed in his work on the train as a means of transportation and as a symbol of literary expression from 1930 until 1942, the year of his death. This influence was decisive for the poet, both due to his economic and family circumstances and his personal experiences beginning in 1930, when he first used the train. PDF

Isell Guerrero Bermúdez (University of Évora), Sheila Palomares Alarcón (University of Granada / University of Évora – CIDEHUS), and Ana Cardoso de Matos (University of Évora).
Sugar Industry Heritage and Railway Branch Lines: An Analysis Through Historical Photography.

Photography is a key tool for studying the railway heritage associated with the sugar industry, and is particularly important for reconstructing the architecture and industrial processes of infrastructure that has been demolished or transformed.
Furthermore, these images allow us to identify physical connections between production sites and railway branch lines, while also providing information on the technologies, materials, and spatial scales linking rural areas, industries, and ports.
This visual approach not only contributes to expanding knowledge about the railroad in agro-industrial contexts but also opens new avenues of research to explore case studies where written documentation is limited and material traces have been erased by territorial transformation.
In this context, this paper proposes a methodological reflection on the use of historical photographic archives and contemporary photographs to document the relationship between sugar complexes and the railway networks that served them, particularly through several case studies located in Spain and Portugal. PDF

Matteo Jarno Santoni (Scuola superiore di studi avanzati – Sapienza Università di Roma). Preserving the heritage of local private railways: rolling stock and fixed installations beyond the Italian State network.

Just as in Spain with the Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles, in Italy the Fondazione delle Ferrovie dello Stato preserves and enhances the national railway heritage—rolling stock, fixed installations, and archival materials—while promoting initiatives of national relevance and making use of the infrastructure of the state railway network.
In the Italian context, however, a significant portion of the railway heritage consists of lines historically granted to private entities, operated by private companies, and more recently taken over mostly by regional authorities. These lines, which often serve the country’s inland and most scenic areas, exhibit extremely diverse characteristics and frequently preserve intact important examples of the railway history of the past century. Their exclusion from the state network has—
—shielded them from the homogenization that affected the national system in past decades, particularly with regard to rolling stock classes and infrastructure solutions adopted for traffic management, signaling, and electric traction. For example, the regional line from Rome to Viterbo, opened in 1932, still retains the original mechanical signaling system (the last of its kind remaining in Italy), along with the original overhead line poles, some of which were installed in 1913 for the preexisting tram line.
For private lines, the heterogeneity of rolling stock is often attributable to corporate vicissitudes or financial constraints, which encouraged the acquisition of secondhand vehicles and frequent reconstructions or adaptations. As a result, they now offer an exceptionally diverse array of equipment, itself a testament to the complex history of Italian private railways.
This heterogeneity, however, leads to the central issue this study focuses on: the widespread difficulty in identifying effective strategies for the conservation, restoration, and enhancement of this invaluable historical heritage. Unlike the state railways, no central coordinating body exists, leaving such responsibilities to the discretion of individual companies or to local initiatives. The study therefore aims to provide a general perspective on potential solutions capable of safeguarding such a delicate heritage, while also addressing the longstanding issue of preserving fixed installations.
Indeed, while the preservation of rolling stock is a well-established practice, the conservation of signaling equipment, traffic-management systems (such as interlocking systems, telegraphs, etc.), and, more broadly, railway superstructures remains largely unexplored. While acknowledging the necessity and urgency of modernizing minor networks, it is argued that viable approaches can and should be developed to ensure the effective preservation of significant examples of railway engineering history. PDF

José María Muñoz Sánchez (University of Valladolid).
The “Bajo Aragón” tourist train: a model of sustainable tourism and a driver of economic and social revitalization.

The Bajo Aragón Tourist Train offers a unique experience that showcases the railway and cultural heritage of the Historic Bajo Aragón region. Its revival as a tourist attraction is part of an effort to revitalize the economy of a region historically affected by the decline of the railway following the closure of mining operations and depopulation. Analyzing this initiative helps us understand how rail travel can be reinvented as a tourism product, contributing to the diversification of the local tourism offering and the strengthening of regional identity.
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the relevance of the Bajo Aragón Tourist Train as a driver of local and tourism development. The aim is to identify the factors that explain its appeal, the opportunities it creates for revitalizing the service sector, and the promotion of the image of Historic Lower Aragon as a cultural and nature destination. PDF

Álvaro Gil González (Complutense University of Madrid).
RENFE’s film production: industrial cinema and propaganda under the Franco regime.

Research into the relationship between railways and cinema in Spain has traditionally focused on the realm of fictional film, analyzing the train as an aesthetic or narrative device within the audiovisual imagination. However, there remains a significant gap in studies related to industrial or corporate cinema. The railway, especially following the creation of the National Network of Spanish Railways (RENFE), established itself as one of the fundamental pillars of Spanish industry, which led to the production of a wealth of audiovisual material intended to document, disseminate, and promote its functions as a company and public institution.
This paper aims to provide an initial exploration of this field of study, with the goal of laying the groundwork for future research on RENFE’s own film production, distinguishing it from its collaborations in the realm of fiction. To this end, we propose an analysis of an initial corpus of productions made between 1948—the year of the Centennial of the Spanish Railway, from which the first identified production originates—and the late 1960s, a period marked by the work of José López Clemente in relation to the Newsreels and Documentary Films (NO-DO).
As part of this work, an inventory of the audiovisual and documentary records preserved in the archive and the Railway Library (FFE) will be compiled, in conjunction with the catalog of the Spanish Film Archive. Likewise, the main narrative elements of these productions, their motivations and intended uses, as well as the historical and social context surrounding them, will be analyzed, in a period characterized by profound transformations in Spanish society. PDF

Giulio Pappa (IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca).
Railway Heritage and Reuse in Sicily (Italy): Forms,
Criteria, and Questions.

This research aims to investigate recent developments in the reuse and revitalization of railway infrastructure in Sicily, with particular attention to the various ways in which former lines, stations, and related elements have been incorporated into public projects or local initiatives. The project begins with a review of the existing literature on railway heritage.
The investigation will situate the Sicilian case within the broader Italian context, including the 2017 national law on tourist railways. It will focus on the three Sicilian lines designated under that law—Agrigento-Porto Empedocle, Alcantara-Randazzo, and Noto-Pachino—which retain their original function in a limited form. These examples are examined alongside other types of interventions involving disused railway infrastructure in the region. The aim is to outline a range of recent experiences and to observe how former railway lines and related elements have been reused in different ways. PDF