Estación de Almería

The San José station, better-known as the Almería station, to the east of the city of Linares is — along with the Madrid station (M.Z.A,) — one of the outstanding features of the important railway legacy that has remained right up to present times. It ended up inside the city, after the great urban expansion that took place from the last decades of last century.

In 1899, the company Caminos de Hierro del Sur de España (The Gran Southem Spanish Railway) chose Linares as the starting point for a railway that allowed continuity for travellers from Despeñaperros who wanted to reach Granada and Almería region. In fact, the line from Linares to Almeria was conceived to take the mineral lead from Linares to the port of Almería. The kilometres of railway that link Linares-Baeza station with Linares - San José, were not completed until 1904.

After years of neglect, only the façade, made of cooked red brick and a stone base in three sections, was able to survive. Protected as a heritage asset, in 2010, recovery and restoration works began and it now houses the Town Planning Offices.

Other information

The large slope between Linares and the Linares-Baeza station meant that a very long and winding layout was required, which — over the years — meant the ruin of the line due to the length of time spent making it. It took over half an hour to climb the slope: double the time it would take on another means of transport. The mining crisis in this region meant that this section gradually lost traffic and it finally closed down in 1961. The route of the circuit to Linares-Baeza station can be remembered along the Vía Verde of Linares.