~ Ferrocarriles de
Mallorca ~
Newsletter - Autumn 2008
Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange changed their hosting arrangements and completely
wiped out the original version of my website. I've still got almost all of the
original files and images but all the links need to be updated to this new
location and so you may find that some links don't work. Please let me know if you find any
so that I can make the necessary correction.
As I reported last year, the brand new Metro line from the brand new
intermodal station at Plaza D'Espanya in Palma to the University was flooded
by unexpected (!!!) rain which exposed the fact that drainage of rainwater
from the underground railway and its stations had apparently been almost
entirely overlooked. A number of the stations were very seriously flooded to a
depth of more than 2 metres and the operator realised that rain DOES happen in
Majorca. The electrically-powered line to the University was promptly closed
again and work eventually began to install pumps and drainage. This work was
finally completed in Summer this year and the Metro opened again at the end of
July. I travelled on it last week and it is certainly an efficient little
railway, in my own view more a tramway than a railway. The two-coach units run
at 15 minute intervals from the new Intermodal station which is
huge.
Whether you buy your ticket from the ticket office or a machine, you
get a fairly flimsy paper receipt/ticket which has a barcode printed on it
which you show to one of the little windows on the gates leading to the
platforms to gain access. It appears you also have to go through the same
procedure at the end of your journey, to get through the exit gates.
The seats in the trains are of moulded plastic and
are situated along the sides of the coaches, leaving plenty of space for
standee passengers during rush hours. The journey from end to end of the line
takes less than 15 minutes so comfortable seating isn't really a
priority.
I travelled in the front of the train, just behind
the driver's compartment and I was leaping out at all of the stations in the
tunnel with my industrial-strength digital camera to take photos. I was
particularly impressed that there is hardly any gap between the door sill and
the platforms, made easy because none of the stations is on a curve.
The driver must have seen me in his large
rear-view mirror because he beckoned me through the interior door to his
compartment to join him in the front of the train, which was most
enjoyable.
After emerging from the tunnel the next stop
is Son Sardina, which has the Sóller Railway station alongside to which it is
connected by an underground subway which can be accessed at both ends by
lifts. On the Sóller Railway station building can be seen the badge of our
friends AAFB (Associación de Amigos del Ferrocarril de Baleares - link below).
Soon after leaving Son Sardina the line
crosses over the Sóller Railway and the main road to Sóller then dips down to
enter a tunnel again before arriving at the terminal UIB station. The station
is enormous and I can't really see any good reason for it's huge size other
than the aggrandisement of the people who commissioned the line. The same, I'm
sorry to say, has to go for a great deal of the infrastructure. In my opinion,
the amount of traffic on the line doesn't justify double tracking - a single
line with doubling/passing loops in the stations would have been sufficient
and would have reduced the costs considerably. Thousands of cubic yards or
rock wouldn't have had to be excavated from the tunnels and the bridge over
the Sóller Railway and the main road to Sóller would surely have been much
cheaper if it had only been a single line. The catenary overhead also looks
rather heavy when compared to those used by standard-gauge railways in the UK
and metre-gauge railways in Switzerland.
So far I don't think there has
yet been doubling of track between Inca and Empalme and I saw no evidence of
the "new" trams on the Sóller Railway and I don't know whether the new
computerised control units have been fitted to the existing units.
I
am, however, regretfully of the opinion that the Sóller Railway, my favourite
railway in the whole world, has sold its soul. The fare on the tram has gone
up to €4 which would be OK if the ride was enjoyable. However, due to what
appears to be a huge increase in the amount of traffic from the boat cruises,
you almost always have to stand in a crush reminiscent of rush-hour on the
London Underground, with little opportunity of seeing any scenery apart from
the back of the neck of the person crammed in in front of you ! When you
arrive at the station in Sóller, you may find, as I did, that you can't travel
in the rear coach which would have allowed you to get good photos from the
rear balcony. No, the rear coach had been reserved for a gang of people from a
cruise liner who transferred to a coach at Son Reuss, beyond which there's
very little you'd want to photograph anyway. The single fare on the train has
also been increased (to €10), meaning that a trip from Puerto de Sóller into
Palma by tram and train now costs €14, compared to €3.65 on the much-quicker,
air-conditioned TIB bus on which you could take your luggage. If you're in
Sóller, looking at the huge queue for the tram, remember you can take a taxi
to Puerto de Sóller for only €8 so, if there are two of you the choice is very
simple.
The Sóller Railway, in my opinion, needs to give serious
attention to its fares for the tram and/or else improve the service to justify
a charge of €4 for a journey of only 3Km. They also need to realise that the
train is now a tourist attraction only and possibly consider the introduction
of an open car, similar to those used on many alpine tourist railways, so that
people who really want to see the scenery have a chance of realising their
wish. Ideally, there would be one at each end of the train, so that there was
always one at the rear but I can see that would be a problem but not one which
couldn't be overcome.
