Cartagena-Los Nietos Line

Cartagena-Los Nietos Line
Los Nietos Viejos Station.
Overview
Locale	Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia, Spain
Termini	Cartagena Los Nietos
Stations	15
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Operator(s)	Renfe Feve
History
Opened	October 14, 1874
Technical
Line length	19.6 km (12.2 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	No
Operating speed	80 km/hr

Schematic of the Cartagena-Los Nietos Line

The Cartagena-Los Nietos Line is a narrow-gauge railway in the Murcia Region of Spain, connecting the city of Cartagena with smaller satellite towns to its east.

History[]

The railway line was first developed in the late nineteenth century to serve the  [es] and associated mining communities east of Cartagena. The first section of the line completed in 1874 connected Cartagena with La Unión with a number of spur lines directly serving independent mines. In 1931 during the Second Republic period, the railway line was nationalized and in 1965 the operator was transferred to FEVE.^[1] The entire railway line, originally built at a 1,067 mm gauge, was switched to a metre gauge. In 1976 the railway was extended to its current terminus at Los Nietos.

Service[]

Trains run between the Cartagena FEVE Station and Los Nietos Station every 30 minutes and they take approximately 28 minutes to traverse the entire route. The Cartagena FEVE station is approximately 250 m (820 ft) away from the main Cartagena railway station. There are 22 daily weekday services in each direction.^[2]

Proposals have been made^[when?] to extend the line to the resort community of La Manga del Mar Menor but no funding has been committed.^[3]

References[]