Project currently at the research and development stage.

The route’s conceptual origins date back to 1873, when Eleuterio Maisonnave was granted the licence to build a railway from Alicante to Alcoi. This project was never brought to life, and similar permits granted subsequently met the same fate. Only the plans presented by famous engineer Próspero Lafarga in 1911 materialised partially, though the construction works were eventually abandoned. 

The greenway’s physical history began in 1926, thanks to a plan for the urgent construction of certain railway routes (the ‘Plan Preferente de Ferrocarriles de Urgente Construcción’). The plan was created to organise Spain’s railway infrastructure, and one of the routes it incorporated was the Iberian gauge (1668 mm), the Alcoy-Alicante line: 66,200 km of railway which would be the culmination of an idea that had already been around for over half a century. In addition, it would become an extension of the existing Xàtiva–Alcoi connection. This project – remains of which can be seen on three greenways, including the Alcoi greenway – was drawn up in 1927 by civil engineer José Roselló Martí: he planned for general earthworks, masonry works and tunnels, drawing inspiration from past solutions designed by Lafarga, but he replaced some metal viaducts with other, cheaper, more functional ones made from reinforced concrete. In 1927, the press reported that the railway would definitely be opened. This was not the case.                                                                                     

Not long before the Civil War, once the earthworks were done and the masonry structures built (bridges and tunnels), only a couple of stations had been created (Alcoi and Agost) and the line had not been electrified yet. After the war, the construction of the remaining stations was put out to tender. However, various difficulties meant the works went on until the 1980s, at which point the project was definitively abandoned, without a train ever having travelled on its tracks. In 2001, a section that started near the neighbourhood of Batoi (Alcoi) and ended at a place known as La Canal was converted into a greenway by the Ministry of Development.

The complex local orography makes this greenway a real gem in terms of infrastructures. It boasts spectacular bridges, like the Pont del Salt and the Pont de les Set Llunes, and numerous galleries of varying lengths up to one kilometre; all examples of the importance of engineering solutions within an area’s scenery.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The Carcaixent–Dénia railway has the honour of being the oldest narrow-gauge (1 m) rail route in Spain. The 37.5 km tram line from Carcaixent to Gandia was opened in 1864, before being extended by 19 km to reach Dénia in 1880. 

After using only animal traction since its creation in 1881, the transformation of the tram route into a low-cost railway was authorised, marking the beginning of steam power and passenger transport. In 1965, the line started to be operated by the public company FEVE. However, in 1969, the section between Carcaixent and Gandia was closed. The same fate awaited the Gandia–Dénia one in 1974.

The Vía Verde del Antic Trenet is 14.35 km long, split into three separate sections. Work to connect the three stretches and extend the greenway to Tavernes de la Valldigna is currently being carried out. With these changes, led by various institutions, the greenway should reach a total length of 25 km.

From an infrastructure point of view, this greenway includes a train shed and railway workshops in Carcaixent, the Barraca de Aigües Vives Station (the only one remaining on the greenway route), crossing keepers’ houses, and more.

A cutting compensates for the slope at the Portitxol port. There, the most eagle-eyed visitors will spot two lineside refuges created so that linesmen and watchmen had a safe place to wait as trains passed.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

Set up in 1882, the company Ferrocarriles Económicos de Villena, Alcoy, Yecla y Alcudia de Crespins was granted the licence for the Villena–Alcoy line and two branch lines (one to L’Alcúdia de Crespins, the other to Yecla) almost immediately. However, financial difficulties – reflected in the construction work’s slow progress – led to the company being seized by the state in 1893. At that time, only 53 km of the line had been built (31 km from Villena to Bocairent and 21 km between Villena and a temporary station in Yecla) and its service capacity was very limited. 

Not long after, the company re-emerged as Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Económicos de Villena a Alcoy y Yecla (VAY), and by 1906, the route had been extended from Yecla to Jumilla and from Bocairent to Agres. Three years later, the section between Agres and Muro was created: a significant development because it provided a connection to the Alcoy–Gandia line. Despite the company’s name, the line built by VAY never reached Alcoy. In 1965, Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha was granted the licence for this route, which was closed for good in 1969, at the same time as the Alcoy–Gandia line.

With the turn of the century came calls to convert the route into a nature path, giving rise to a series of changes that, bit by bit, would create the greenway we know today. It stretches from Las Virtudes to Biar, in the province of Alicante: a sixteen-kilometre cycle or walking route that can be extended to almost fifty kilometres, thanks to works carried out by various institutions. Halts, huts and abandoned or converted stations are scattered along this greenway, which is also crossed by numerous bridges.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The Carcaixent–Dénia railway, with which this greenway is connected, has the honour of being the oldest narrow-gauge (1 m) rail route in Spain. The 37.5 km tram line from Carcaixent to Gandia was opened in 1864, before being extended by 19 km to reach Dénia in 1880.

After using only animal traction since its creation in 1881, the transformation of the tram route into a low-cost railway was authorised, marking the beginning of steam power and passenger transport. In 1965, the line started to be operated by the public company FEVE. However, in 1969, the section between Carcaixent and Gandia was closed. The same fate awaited the Gandia–Dénia one in 1974.

This unused section of railway was converted into a greenway thanks to a collaboration between the Dénia City Council and the Ministry of the Environment, Rural Areas and the Sea, as part of the Caminos Naturales (Natural Paths) Programme. On its route, a crossing keeper’s building with an intact milestone from the line (marking 61.86 km) and a rebuilt halt can be found.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The route’s conceptual origins date back to 1873, when Eleuterio Maisonnave was granted the licence to build a railway from Alicante to Alcoi. This project was never brought to life, and similar permits granted subsequently met the same fate. Only the plans presented by famous engineer Próspero Lafarga in 1911 materialised partially, though the construction works were eventually abandoned. 

The greenway’s physical history began in 1926, thanks to a plan for the urgent construction of certain railway routes (the ‘Plan Preferente de Ferrocarriles de Urgente Construcción’). The plan was created to organise Spain’s railway infrastructure, and one of the routes it incorporated was the Iberian gauge (1668 mm), the Alcoy-Alicante line: 66,200 km of railway which would be the culmination of an idea that had already been around for over half a century. In addition, it would become an extension of the existing Xàtiva–Alcoi connection. This project – remains of which can be seen on three greenways, including the Alcoi greenway – was drawn up in 1927 by civil engineer José Roselló Martí: he planned for general earthworks, masonry works and tunnels, drawing inspiration from past solutions designed by Lafarga, but he replaced some metal viaducts with other, cheaper, more functional ones made from reinforced concrete. In 1927, the press reported that the railway would definitely be opened. This was not the case. 

Not long before the Civil War, once the earthworks were done and the masonry structures built (bridges and tunnels), only a couple of stations had been created (Alcoi and Agost) and the line had not been electrified yet. After the war, the construction of the remaining stations was put out to tender. However, various difficulties meant the works went on until the 1980s, at which point the project was definitively abandoned, without a train ever having travelled on its tracks. In 2001, the City Council of Ibi started the readaptation of a section (1.5 km) of the greenway but without its original infrastructures.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The origins of this Iberian-gauge (1,668 mm) railway line can be found in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when a railway connection from Valencia to Teruel and Calatayud was planned. This never came to fruition: only 30 km of the proposed route were ever operational, with the end of the line at Llíria.

In 1881, the Spanish government granted a licence to join Valencia to Teruel along the River Turia to engineer Rafael Valls David, who drew up the plans for the line, and to the Sociedad de los Ferrocarriles de Valencia y Aragón. Between 1889 and 1890, the Valencia–Manises, Manises–Vilamarxant and Vilamarxant–Llíria sections were opened.

The line was loss-making in terms of passenger transport, as the journey between Valencia and Llíria could also be made with the Sociedad Valenciana de Tranvías low-cost railway line, opened in 1888.

In 1940, Norte took over the route and the central station became the Estación del Norte in Valencia. In 1941, Iberian-gauge railways were nationalised, and Renfe was created. From 1985 until 1992, due the line’s financial losses and the emergence of new works and infrastructures, sections of the route gradually closed for passenger transport. 

Part of the Vilamarxant–Llíria stretch – Llíria–Benaguasil, specifically – is now a greenway thanks to a collaboration between the Valencian Government and Benaguasil City Council.

The railway heritage is present all along the greenway. The old Llíria and Benaguasil stations, built in 1888–89, are still standing. Further south, near Vilamarxant and off the current official greenway route, is the extraordinary 250 m railway bridge built across the Turia in the late 19th century.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The route’s conceptual origins date back to 1873, when Eleuterio Maisonnave was granted the licence to build a railway from Alicante to Alcoi. This project was never brought to life, and similar permits granted subsequently met the same fate. Only the plans presented by famous engineer Próspero Lafarga in 1911 materialised partially, though the construction works were eventually abandoned. 

The greenway’s physical history began in 1926, thanks to a plan for the urgent construction of certain railway routes (the ‘Plan Preferente de Ferrocarriles de Urgente Construcción’). The plan was created to organise Spain’s railway infrastructure, and one of the routes it incorporated was the Iberian gauge (1668 mm), the Alcoy-Alicante line: 66,200 km of railway which would be the culmination of an idea that had already been around for over half a century. In addition, it would become an extension of the existing Xàtiva–Alcoi connection. This project – remains of which can be seen on three greenways, including the Alcoi greenway – was drawn up in 1927 by civil engineer José Roselló Martí: he planned for general earthworks, masonry works and tunnels, drawing inspiration from past solutions designed by Lafarga, but he replaced some metal viaducts with other, cheaper, more functional ones made from reinforced concrete. In 1927, the press reported that the railway would definitely be opened. This was not the case.

Not long before the Civil War, once the earthworks were done and the masonry structures built (bridges and tunnels), only a couple of stations had been created (Alcoi and Agost) and the line had not been electrified yet. After the war, the construction of the remaining stations was put out to tender. However, various difficulties meant the works went on until the 1980s, at which point the project was definitively abandoned, without a train ever having travelled on its tracks. In 2001, a 22 km section of the never-used Alcoi–Alicante railway line was converted into a greenway by the Ministry of Development. Complex infrastructures, some of which are made with exceptional craftsmanship, solve the issues posed by the area’s orography. These include cuttings, viaducts and tunnels. The greenway also passes by a number of interesting engineering-related sites, such as a weir and some quarries.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

In 1851, José Campo Pérez founded the Sociedad de Ferrocarriles del Grao de Valencia a Játiva. The first section of its railway, between Valencia and El Grau, started to operate in 1852. In the same year, Valencia was connected to Silla, and Silla to Benifaió. The next stretch was Benifaió–Alzira, which opened on 26 February 1853. As it was extended to the south, its intersection with the Júcar River required the construction of a metal structure imported from Great Britain. This led to delays in the completion of the Alzira–Carcaixent section, which was eventually finished on 31 March 1854: a lengthy process given this stretch was only 3,631 m long. In July 1854, the line reached Manuel, and in December of the same year, it was extended to Xàtiva. 

The Valencia–Xàtiva railway was a real artery. Even before it was completed, the Sociedad de Ferrocarriles del Grao de Valencia a Játiva planned to extend the line to the south and link it to the Madrid–Alicante line via Almansa. José Campo’s proposal was to continue from Xàtiva along the Montesa Valley and Moixent towards Almansa. The section from Moixent to Almansa was finished in 1859.

Other lines converged with the Valencia–Xàtiva railway route: on 8 February 1864, a horese-drawn tram was introduced from Carcaixent station to Gandia, though the animals would be replaced by steam engines in 1881. The line was developed so that it reached Dénia in 1884. In August 1878, a metre-gauge railway was opened between Silla and Cullera, a route that would be widened and brought into line with the Iberian gauge in 1935. On 1 December 1896, an animal-powered tram was opened between Manuel station and La Pobla Llarga, which is now the route of the greenway.

There are no significant elements of the area’s rail heritage along this short new infrastructure developed by the Valencian Government and the Manuel City Council. Slightly further south, as the greenway is extended, it will incorporate two highly relevant structures. The first is the old Manuel station, opened on 1 July 1854 along with the Manuel–Carcaixent section. The other is the old iron bridge over the Albaida River. Now dismantled, it is made up of five ashlar pillars and acts as a viewpoint over the river.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The Mar greenway, is one of the few remaining parts of the Valencia–Tarragona railway line, converted to serve this new purpose along the Valencian territory. The Vía Verde del Mar, or ‘Sea Greenway’, is one of the few remaining parts of the Valencia–Tarragona railway line, converted to serve this new purpose along the Valencian stretch. Building the original railway route between the two regional capitals took more than 7 years, from May 1861 to 21 July 1868, when the bridge over the Ebro River in Tortosa was opened (now part of the Val de Zafán Greenway). The main driving force behind the line was the controversial José Campo, the head of the Sociedad de los Ferrocarriles de Almansa a Valencia y Tarragona (AVT), who nimbly walked the fine line that separated public service and individual interests at the time. The route between Valencia and Tarragona, a sort of historical connection between the ancient Via Augusta and the current Mediterranean Corridor project, was considered a fundamental route for the country’s economic development. Its owners and infrastructures varied over time: the AVT was absorbed by the Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España (Norte) in 1891. Following the Civil War, the railway was nationalised almost entirely, and this connection became part of the Renfe network, which gradually incorporated technical modernisations that would affect the route.

The stretch of railway that is now the Mar greenway stopped operating in 2003. It was replaced by an innovative, double-track, high-speed bypass. This was the end of a meandering single-track route that crossed through urban areas, which would be made into a greenway by the Ministry of Development in collaboration with the Valencian Government between 2008 and 2009.

On this route, the following elements are indicated:

• In green, the current greenway route.
• In red, sections of the original railway line from Valencia to Tarragona, where it deviates from the current greenway route.
• More than 27 landmarks, including the accesses to the municipalities that the railway crosses.

The Sierra Menera Railway was designed to join the rich iron mines located in the town of Ojos Negros (Teruel) to a Mediterranean port (Sagunto was eventually chosen) so that ore could be transported and exported to iron and steel mills, both in Spain – in Sagunto itself, for example – and further afield. To serve this purpose, the mining company could have utilised the services of the Central Aragón Railway, but it seems that a trivial disagreement over transport prices, which was really just used to conceal a conflict of interest, thwarted the transaction. It was therefore decided that a new, 204-kilometre-long railway route would be built — of a narrow-gauge (1000 mm) type, unlike the Central railway – practically parallel to the existing line.

Permission for construction to begin was given in 1903, and the line was officially opened on 27 July 1907, having been built without the help of any subsidies. Its design was based on the Central de Aragón railway plans, but without some of its limitations, such as the need to stop at urban centres, and with smaller curve radiuses, so that the line could skirt mountains more easily. Its route followed that of the broad-gauge railway as much as possible to save on expropriation costs, as the land along it had already been devalued. However, the proximity of the two railways was a constant source of conflicts regarding easement. Despite this, common interests came to the fore in relations between the two companies, and agreements were reached in many other areas.

The Sierra Menera Railway’s operations were always inextricably linked to the mining area’s activity, which gradually intensified, especially after the opening of the steel and iron plant in Sagunto. The narrow-gauge infrastructure became insufficient for the growing amount of traffic, so the company was forced to negotiate with the Spanish rail operator Renfe to move part of the ore mined in the area. For this to work, an Iberian-gauge branch line needed to be built to connect the mines to the Central Aragón Railway network. Eventually, the Sierra Menera company decided to dismantle the railway, shutting it down completely in 1972. The mining company itself survived until 1987, at which point it was declared in receivership. Though the tracks were dismantled, the operational rolling stock was reused on national narrow-gauge railways.

Since 2002, the route has been transformed into a greenway in the Valencian territory between the villages of Barracas (Castellón) and Algimia de Alfara (Valencia), finishing the last section in 2008. The greenway then continues into Teruel until it reaches the municipality of Santa Eulalia. The Valencian stretch is 67 km long and surfaced with asphalt between Barracas and Caudiel, then with a compacted mixture of asphalt and chippings elsewhere. Apart from some steep slopes off the original route, it is accessible for all. The original kilometre points have been preserved on its signage, with the origin in the aforementioned Aragonese village. Some of the most spectacular masonry structures on the route are a pair of viaducts: La Fuensanta (150 m) and El Palancia.

All in all, it is currently the longest greenway in Spain, and it will grow by nineteen kilometres if the works to extend it to the Port of Sagunto are completed. From there, via eleven kilometres of track through cultivated areas, it could be connected to the Vía Xurra, a fifteen-kilometre greenway that links Puçol and the city of Valencia.

On this route, the following elements are indicated:

• In green, the current greenway route.
• In red, sections of the original Ojos Negros railway line, where it deviates from the current greenway route.
• In sky blue, the section from Albalat dels Tarongers to Sagunto, currently up for tender.
• More than 225 landmarks, including entrances to the municipalities on the greenway route.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The Carcaixent–Dénia railway, with which this greenway is connected, has the honour of being the oldest narrow-gauge (1 m) rail route in Spain. The 37.5 km tram line from Carcaixent to Gandia was opened in 1864, before being extended by 19 km to reach Dénia in 1880. 

After using only animal traction since its creation in 1881, the transformation of the tram route into a low-cost railway was authorised, marking the beginning of steam power and passenger transport. In 1965, the line started to be operated by the public company FEVE. However, in 1969, the section between Carcaixent and Gandia was closed. The same fate awaited the Gandia–Dénia one in 1974.

Once the twenty-first century came along, following a long period of neglect, this section was enhanced and given its new purpose by the Ministry of the Environment, Rural Areas and the Sea, as part of the Caminos Naturales (‘Natural Paths’) programme. The route includes a bridge over the River Serpis in Gandia, the biggest bridge on the whole Carcaixent–Gandia–Dénia line. At the moment, only the original bridge’s impressive piers and abutments can be seen. A new deck has been built so that greenway users can cross the bridge. In addition, the water tower and urinals at the old Oliva station have been restored and showcased.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

The railway line that was converted into this greenway dates back to 1884, when the Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Andaluces opened a dual route. The first part was the Murcia–Alicante line. The other was a 27.3 km branch line starting at Albatera that connected this route to nearby Torrevieja, an economic hub, thanks to its famous saltworks. The goal was to transport the salt to the Port of Alicante so that it could be exported, though in the end, the line would never link up with this port. The Albatera–Torrevieja route was an Iberian-gauge (1,668 mm), non-electrified, single-track branch line. For decades, it served various villages and towns in Vega Baja: Almoradí, Dolores, Benijófar, Rojales and Torrevieja. 

Signs of decline appeared in the 1960s, with the closure of several stops. In 1970, the passenger service was eliminated and all the stations along the route were closed. It continued to transport salt for a while, with one journey every two weeks from the saltworks to the Port of Torrevieja. Following its closure in 1986, the Albatera–Torrevieja branch line was dismantled in 1990. Later on, Torrevieja City Council requested control over the stretch that passed through the town in order to revitalise the old route. Following various interventions, a 6.7 km section between Torrevieja and the Carretera de los Montesinos road (CV-945) was converted into a greenway, thanks to a public–private collaboration led by Iberdrola and the Valencian Government. The Cátedra Demetrio Ribes is trying to restore the memory of some damaged remains of the line’s infrastructures that appear next to the greenway from the old Torrevieja Station (now a natural history museum) onwards. They include a water tank, a halt and a crossing keeper’s house, amongst others.

Project currently at the research and development stage.

In 1894, the Compañía del Ferrocarril Central de Aragón began work on a train route between Calatayud and Valencia, through Teruel. The first station on the line was Calatayud-Jiloca, while the terminus was Valencia-Alameda, known as the Central de Aragón station. The railway strated its service as far as the sections were being completed: Sagunto-Segorbe (1897); Segorbe-Jérica and Jérica-Barracas (1899); Barracas-Puerto Escandón (1900); lastly, Sagunto-Valencia (1902). 

As the route developed, an issue arose. In Horta Nord, there were two practically parallel broad-gauge lines: the Central de Aragón one, along its Sagunto–Valencia section, and the Valencia–Tarragona line, where it leaves Valencia to head towards Castellón. This double route, which was controlled by Renfe from 1941 onwards, was illogical and unsustainable. Traffic from the Central de Aragón line gradually got diverted onto the Norte route. In 1968, Valencia-Alameda station (Central de Aragón) was closed to both commercial traffic and passengers, before being demolished in 1974. In the end, the construction of a double track along the first section of the main Valencia–Tarragona line would lead to the Calatayud–Valencia railway being dismantled in 1985.  

Years later, the section between Valencia and Puçol would be converted into the Xurra greenway by the Valencian Government. This institution is planning to connect this greenway with the Ojos Negros one, the longest greenway in Spain. This link will provide around 200 km of greenway, 107 of which will pass through the Valencian Community. On top of that, the Xurra greenway will be part of EuroVelo 8: a unique, long-distance cycle route across ten countries, between Nicosia (Cyprus) and Cádiz.