Ferrol–Gijón Railway (Ribadeo – Viveiro)

The route

The Ferrol–Gijón railway is a single-track, one-metre gauge line that runs about 320 km along the north coast of Galicia and Asturias, with 47 stations. It was first planned in 1886, mainly to link the artillery barracks at Ferrol with the arms and explosives factories of Asturias, and a law of 1906 classed it as a strategic railway. The Spanish State began building it only in 1921, after long arguments over the route, especially around the Eo river.

Political upheaval held the works back for decades. The first section, Avilés to Pravia, opened in 1953, Pravia to Luarca in 1962, and the stretch filmed here belongs to the Vivero–Vegadeo section of 1968. The last gap, Luarca to Vegadeo, closed in 1972 and the whole line was inaugurated on 6 September that year, 86 years after the first project. Crossing this broken coastline took 110 tunnels and 27 viaducts.

FEVE, the state narrow-gauge company founded in 1965, ran the line until the end of 2012. Since 1 January 2013 the track has belonged to Adif and the trains to Renfe. Today it carries diesel regional trains between Oviedo and Ferrol, commuter trains at each end and some freight, and it forms the western part of a metre-gauge network of about 650 km along Spain's north coast.

What to watch for

1. Ribadeo and the Eo

   The film opens at Ribadeo, on the Galician bank of the Eo estuary, a port the Galician tourist board describes as keeping the mark of a noble past. The estuary lies within the Río Eo, Oscos e Terras de Burón Biosphere Reserve. How the railway should cross the Eo was one of the arguments that held up construction for decades.

2. Foz, once a bishop's seat

   Foz stands on its own ría, part of the Foz–Masma protected area. Until 1112 it was the seat of the bishopric of San Martiño de Mondoñedo, which Queen Urraca moved inland to Mondoñedo that year. Leaving Foz, the line swings north-west and keeps that heading along the coast to Burela and beyond.

3. Burela's fishing fleet

   Burela's harbour is one of the most important on the Galician coast, landing albacore and hake that are sent daily across Spain and supporting a canning industry; the town holds an annual Feira do Bonito and keeps an old tuna boat, the Reina del Carmen, as a museum. Its population grew fast from the late 1970s with workers for the alumina plant at San Cibrao.

4. Cervo and Sargadelos

   San Cibrao belongs to the municipality of Cervo, home of the Sargadelos ceramics works, founded by Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez, Marquis of Sargadelos, more than two centuries ago. The historic complex keeps the remains of his old foundry and pottery factory. San Cibrao itself has a small Museo do Mar, and the alumina plant stands near the coast.

5. Xove's hillforts to Viveiro

   Xove has Iron Age castros at Illade, Sumoas and Coto de Vela and views out to the Coelleira lighthouse. The run ends at Viveiro, on its own ría, a town entered through the old Porta de Carlos V and known for a Holy Week declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest.

What you will see

The film starts at Ribadeo, on the Galician side of the Eo estuary that divides Galicia from Asturias. Heading west along the coast of the province of Lugo, the train reaches Foz after about 20 minutes. From Foz the line turns north-west towards Burela, the direction it keeps until Vicedo, beyond Viveiro.

Burela comes at about 35 minutes. The cameraman notes that the most scenic stretch begins after it, with the Cantabrian Sea on the right-hand side of the cab as the train keeps to the coast. San Cibrao follows at about 51 minutes and Xove at about 56.

The train pulls into Viveiro at 1 hour 14 minutes. From Viveiro the line carries on west to Ortigueira and Ferrol, turning inland through the province of A Coruña.

Station by station

1. RibadeoA port town on the Galician bank of the Eo estuary, facing Asturias across the water. It is the station for the Playa de las Catedrales, and the film starts here heading west.
2. FozA coastal town on the ría de Foz, the seat of the bishopric of San Martiño de Mondoñedo until 1112. The line turns north-west here towards Burela.
3. BurelaOne of Galicia's main fishing ports, known for albacore and hake and its annual bonito fair. It became a municipality separate from Cervo in 1994 and is first recorded in 1096.
4. San CibraoA coastal village in the municipality of Cervo, with a small sea museum. The alumina plant nearby drew many workers to the area from the late 1970s, and Sargadelos is close by.
5. XoveA rural coastal municipality with Iron Age hillforts at Illade, Sumoas and Coto de Vela, and views out to the Coelleira lighthouse, on the coast between San Cibrao and Viveiro.
6. ViveiroA town on the ría de Viveiro, entered through the old Porta de Carlos V, with a Holy Week of national tourist interest. The film ends here; the line continues west to Ortigueira and Ferrol.

Riding it for real

Renfe runs diesel regional trains between Oviedo and Ferrol through this section, and commuter trains between Ferrol and Ortigueira. These are slow trains: travelling the whole metre-gauge coast from Bilbao to Ferrol takes at least 19 hours, with more than 100 stops, so it pays to plan a day around them. Ribadeo is also the station for the Playa de las Catedrales, where visiting the beach needs a reservation. The Transcantábrico tourist train has run along this coast to Ferrol since 1982.

Check Renfe for current timetables, fares and any engineering works before you travel.

The video is embedded from YouTube and remains on its owner’s channel. Views count toward the original video.