Canfranc Station TV Programme

[STEVIEBOY1]

I just saw that there will be a programme, tonight at 20.00hrs on the "Yesterday" TV Channel, about Canfranc Station near the French / Spanish Border in the Pyrenees. It used to be a huge / busy station at one time. Not so busy now, but possibly getting better services again in the future?

 

[Struner]

Rumour has it that they will turn it into a hotel - btw, it's Canfranc.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Rumour has it that they will turn it into a hotel - btw, it's Canfranc.

Oh, Ok, thanks for that.

 

[Struner]

 

[PeterC]

I would guess just a rehash of the material repeated time after time on Abandoned Engineering among other shows.

Don't worry if you miss it, there will be a seemingly infiniate number of repeats.

 

[Gordon]

Rumour has it that they will turn it into a hotel - btw, it's Canfranc.

This statement made me chuckle (sorry) because it always was a hotel!

As a young lad aged 9 in 1969 we travelled from the Midlands to Zaragoza by train (two nights in hotels on route). The second night was at Canfranc station, where we, ironically, didn't stay in the hotel as it was full, but my parents pleaded 'look we've got two young children' and the hotel / restaurant arranged for us to kip down as best as we could in a 'snug' lounge just off the main restaurant (although we only had access to it after 'last orders' and had to be up early for the first train out in the morning (A Renfe Renault ABJ type railcar)


There is more to the story in that the through route closed just a year after our trip after the train derailment that destroyed a bridge south of Bedous, so I was lucky to get the track.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I recorded the programme and will watch it later. I also noticed, next Tuesday 25 June at the same time/channel, there will be a programme all about the Harz Narrow Gauge system, which I have traveled on a few times.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Watched it last night, and it wasn't just a rehash. There was some interesting stuff about the engineering of the line and the station environment (massive tree planting and other avalanche protection). Plus plenty of interviews with involved and informed locals, including the chap who found (in the early 2000s) evidence of Nazi-era German gold shipments to Spain, and someone with a pickaxe finding some of the tungsten that was transported in the other direction.
Worth a look, and looking forward to the Brocken/Harz episode.

 

[Struner]

This statement made me chuckle (sorry) because it always was a hotel!.

Should have said reopened

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Watched it last night, and it wasn't just a rehash. There was some interesting stuff about the engineering of the line and the station environment (massive tree planting and other avalanche protection). Plus plenty of interviews with involved and informed locals, including the chap who found (in the early 2000s) evidence of Nazi-era German gold shipments to Spain, and someone with a pickaxe finding some of the tungsten that was transported in the other direction.
Worth a look, and looking forward to the Brocken/Harz episode.

I just watched it and it was very interesting, (Apart from the irritating music they kept playing). At least there is still a train service there from the Spanish Side and part of the route seems to operate from Pau in France along some of the line, with a bus connection onto Canfranc. It would be good if they could reopen it as a hotel / museum etc.

 

[AndrewE]

I just watched it and it was very interesting, (Apart from the irritating music they kept playing). At least there is still a train service there from the Spanish Side and part of the route seems to operate from Pau in France along some of the line, with a bus connection onto Canfranc. It would be good if they could reopen it as a hotel / museum etc.

When I went about 25 years ago the buses were in the railway timetable (maybe the Cooks) and FIP coupons were accepted...

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

When I went about 25 years ago the buses were in the railway timetable (maybe the Cooks) and FIP coupons were accepted...

Yes, I just looked in Cooks/ERT and train/bus connections are still shown.

 

[scarby]

The route was cut back to Pau - Oloron-Sainte-Marie many years ago but in 2016 it was reopened a further 25km to Bedous, which was a significant development given that the line is so lightly used.

 

[daikilo]

And a study is launched for the remainder with scrub clearance work completed end 2018 and apparently cores taken.
3 clips on Youtube of the result of the clearance work

I'd love to have enough optimism to believe it will reopen!