Majorca Page 3: Other Railways

This is one of a series of pages devoted to postcards and photographs of Majorca railways and tramways. This page covers the modernised diesel railways, originally the Ferrocarriles de Mallorca (FCM). They later passed to FEVE, followed by devolution to local control as SFM (Servies Ferroviaris de Mallorca) in 1994. They now run in the colours of TIB (Transports de le Iles Balears). I have no pre-modernisation images.

The Palma-Inca line was opened in 1875 by the English-owned Majorca Railway Company, built to 3 foot gauge. The company merged with the Majorca Central & South Eastern Railway in 1876 to form the Spanish-owned Ferrocarriles de Mallorca (FCM). By 1921 they owned 216 km of track with four main lines:-
     Palma-Santa Maria-Inca-Empalme-Artà - 94 km
     Empalme-La Puebla (later known as Sa Pobla) - 13 km
     Santa Maria-Felamix - 43 km
     Palma-Santañy - 62 km

The railway was nationalised in 1951 and passed to FEVE in 1961. The lines to Felamix and Santañy were closed in the 1960s, Empalme-Artà in 1977 and Empalme-La Puebla in 1981, leaving just the Palma-Inca line remaining. This section had been doubled in 1931. Between 1981-1983 one line was re-laid to metre gauge, to allow standard Spanish stock to be used. The second line followed later, although initially services would have easily been accommodated on a single line.

Steam locos originally powered all trains (a total of 67 were owned at different periods), but the first railcars arrived before the war. 25 bogie diesel railcars were delivered in the 1950s, plus two B-B diesel-hydraulics. Non-driving trailers were also acquired. Some of these railcars and trailers were re-gauged to operate metre-gauge trains after 1983. FEVE also imported other railcars from the mainland. All were replaced from 1995 when six CAF-built 2-car diesel-hydraulic units were purchased, numbered 61-01+61-02 through to 61-11+61-12. Centre-cars were later acquired for some of these sets.

In 1998 it was announced that the Inca-Sa Pobla section (closed in 1981) would be re-opened, which was achieved in 2001. The railway achieved an increase in traffic of 18.6% in 2000, the year before the extension opened, and 25.4% in the year following opening. By this time there were varied proposals to re-open other sections and also to build new tramways and metros. Six more DMU sets were ordered from CAF, 61-13 to 61-24, and the six centre cars (62-01 to 62-06) were transferred to these sets. 61-06 was scrapped after hitting the buffers at La Pobla in February 2002. 61-05 now runs with 61-26.

Work started on rebuilding the Empalme (now renamed Enllaç) to Manacor section in 2002. Manacor is the second largest town on the island. Public services began in May 2003 but the hurried construction had created problems, causing deformed tracks in hot weather and landslides in heavy rain, one landslide resulting in the derailment of unit 61-19 on 13th March 2004. A new contractor was called in to improve matters and the line re-opened throughout on 10th September 2004. Further huge traffic increases followed, and another batch of DMUs was ordered in September 2003, numbered 61-26 to 61-46 with deliveries continuing until 2006. There does not seem to have been a 61-25 (61-26 being used to replace 61-06).

A new electric Metro was built from Palma to to the University (UIB). This line is a double-track metre-gauge electrified line, in tunnel for the first 4 km of its 7.3 km length. There are also proposals to electrify the current system. A substantial flyover allows the Metro to cross the Sóller Railway, which was almost complete in August 2006. Six 2-car EMUs will be ordered for the Metro, which will be Line-1 of a proposed four line network in Palma. Four tramway lines are also planned, plus new railways to Artà and Santafini (which may use some existing closed routes). Majorca is a small island with too many cars, and the authorities have realised that efficient public transport is the only answer. I hope that most of these ambitious plans are realised.