The 40 Days Train Greenway
They say that this railway, also called the Negrín Line, was built during the Civil War in just forty days to supply Madrid, then under siege by Franco’s troops.
It was a strategic railway with a fleeting life; today part of its route provides an escape from nearby Madrid and a pleasant walk or bike ride through the farmland southeast of the city.
TECHNICAL DATA
CONDITIONED GREENWAY
From the Tajuña river lowlands to the river Tajo
LOCATION
Between Carabaña and Estremera MADRID
Length: 14 km
Users:
Type of surface: Asphalt
Natural landscape: Countryside and moorland in the southeast of Madrid. Tajuña Vegas and Carrizales Cuenca del Tajo. Cut gypsum.
Cultural heritage: Church Estremera, Mills Tajuña
Infraestructure: Greenway with many trenches and two overpasses
How to get there: Carabaña: Bus Argabús Estremera: Bus Ruiz
Conection: Madrid: 52 Kms.from Carabaña
Cartografía: Militar Maps of Spain. Scale 1:50.000 Sheets 139, 171 y 172
DESCRIPTION
Km. 0 / Km. 4 / Km. 7 / Km. 12
Km 0
There are two ways to get to the start of the 40 Day Train Greenway, developed by the Autonomous Community of Madrid. One on foot, by bike, or by wheelchair from the Tajuña Greenway, which forms a continuation of the 40 Day Train Greenway (together they total 63 kilometres). The other way to arrive is from Carabaña, a rural town famous for its medicinal waters. Beside the M 204 road you can still see the remains of the various facilities that grew up around the saline springs: the baths, the bottling plant (now a youth hostel), and the attractive Chávarri electricity plant built on what was once a flour mill. As we leave Carabaña, about 200 m from the town centre the road which goes to Estremera crosses the river Tajuña over a historic 16th century bridge and, immediately afterwards, also crosses the Tajuña Greenway. We join this Greenway (on our left) and 300 m further on the red tarmac identifying the trail divides. The left hand lane, belonging to the Tajuña Greenway, continues to make its way through the Tajuña river lowlands as far as Ambite, while the right hand lane, part of the 40 Day Train Greenway, starts to climb. Halfway up, the trail turns sharply to the right and joins the original route of the 40 Day Railway.
Climbing upwards, our Greenway makes its way along the mountainous slopes which confine the Carrizales stream, whose scant (sometimes non-existent) waters, bordered by reed beds and deciduous trees, wind between small plots of land planted with cereals, vines and vegetables. We are in an area of rugged, solitary beauty, a landscape ever awaiting spring when it can show itself off in its best light and surprise us with its aromas and flowers. In order to make headway over such a difficult terrain, it was necessary to dig a series of cuttings which cleave the hills of soft marl, limestone, clay or gypsum, revealing their multicoloured layers. And on a sunny day you might want to hold out your hand to catch the sun glinting off the mirrors of crystallized gypsum in the cuttings.
Km 4
And as if that wasn’t enough, the birds nesting in these cuttings take flight at dusk, offering walkers and cyclists a spectacular sight. When the silhouette of the San Juan Bautista Church (km 3,5) comes into view on the horizon, the Greenway meets the M 221 road to Valdaracete. and runs parallel to it for a short time. At km 4.5 the road takes its leave of the Greenway and we return to the peace and quiet of before. From here the red trail continues to ascend the Carrizales stream lowlands, now broad and gently rolling and mostly under the plough for cereals, but dotted here and there with pine and oak groves. The only movement comes from partridges and rabbits.
Km 7
At the underpass under the M 221 road (km 7) we reach the end of the Carrizales stream lowlands. Here the incline, too steep to be tackled directly, forces the railway to make a 180º turn, taking our route out of the lowlands and into an open landscape dominated by cereal crops. At a strategic halfway point we reach the rest area (km 8.2) where the road to Valdaracete, the Greenway, and the Cañada Real Soriana Oriental, a drovers’ road where there are a number of information boards, all meet. After the rest area the route passes through a cutting dug into reddish clay. In this cutting we finally pass over the watershed between the Tajuña valley and the river Tajo basin; we switch from the tributary to the mainstem river, and from climbing to descending.
Km 12
The rolling countryside which drops down into the Tajo basin takes us to an olive grove which stretches as far as the town of Valdaracete, whose name comes from the Arabic Val Dar Az-Záit, meaning “valley of the house of olive oil”. At km 12 the trail reaches the M 221 road. The original route of the railway, which we never regain, crosses the tarmac and becomes a rural track. Meanwhile, the Greenway itself continues to lose height as it runs alongside the road between olive groves and dryland crops. Two kilometres further down (km 14), the Greenway reaches its end in the town of Estremera, very close to the regional border with the Castilla La Mancha Autonomous Community.
MAPS
PROFILE
RAILWAY HISTORY
The railway line, which was popularly known as the 40 Day Railway, only operated for a brief but intense period during the Spanish Civil War. Its route connected Torrejón de Ardoz with Villacañas, providing a railway link between besieged Madrid and the Republican held Levante coast,along tracks that were out of range of Franco’s howitzers.Its name reflects the haste with which this line was built, after the battle of Jarama cut the Madrid-Alicante railway line. This primitive railway line, which was also called the Negrín Line after the Republican minister who launched the project, barely outlasted that sad civil conflict.
Once hostilities had ceased, the section from Torrejón to Tarancón (which includes the stretch which has now been converted into our Greenway) was dismantled almost entirely: only the first section, from Torrejón to Mejorada, was saved to provide access to a sugar plant at La Poveda. The Santa Cruz de la Zarza to Villacañas section was rebuilt to provide commercial services. The route was improved and stations were built and it was finally reopened in 1954, before closing down definitively a little over 10 years later.
INTERESTING DATA
1. Festivals and holidays 2. Accommodation 3. Eco-tourism 4. Managing Authority 5. Town Councils 6. Emergencies 7. Coaches & buses
Festivals and holidays
Carabaña Easter Live representations of the Passion of Christ
September 14 Cristo de la Paz y la Salud
December 13 Fiestas patronales for Santa Lucía
Valdaracete September 14 Fiestas patronales for Cristo del Ecce Homo
Estremera First weekend in October Fiestas patronales for Virgen de la Soledad y el Santísimo Cristo Sepultado
Note: The term 'fiestas patronales' refers to a local festival held in honour of the patron saint of the town or village
Accommodation
Carabaña Balneario Aguas de Carabaña Tel. 639 174 335
Casa Rural del Encargado de Aguas de Carabaña Tel. 91 323 77 20
Casa Rural del Guarda. Aguas de Carabaña Tel. 91 323 77 20
Estremera Hostal El Rincón de Higuerlop Tel. 91 872 16 56 www.higuerlop.com
Casa Rural La Botica. Tel. 699 21 98 09 www.laboticacasarural.com
Pensión El Convento Tel. 91 872 15 94
Brea de Tajo (a 4km de Estremera) "La Casa del Polvorista" Tel. 609 71 36 70 / 91 894 09 89 www.lacasadelpolvorista.com
El Zumaque Tel. 91 872 10 13
Eco-tourism
Aranjuez-Comarca de las Vegas Rural Development Association Tel. 918 929 062. www.comarcalasvegas.es
Tourist Information for the Community of Madrid Tel. 902 100 007. [email protected] / www.madrid.org
TOURIST OFFICES IN THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID: Tourist Office - Duque de Medinaceli Tel: 91 369 70 70 - 91 369 70 71 – 91 369 70 72 Tourist Office - Estación de Chamartín Tel: 91 315 99 76 Tourist Office - Estación de Atocha Tel: 91 528 46 30 Tourist Office - Aeropuerto Barajas Terminal Internacional T1 Tel: 91 305 86 56 Tourist Office - Aeropuerto Barajas Terminal Internacional T4 Tel: 91 333 82 48
Intermunicipal Commonwealth for the South-West of the Community of Madrid www.turismo-misecam.com
Aranjuez-Comarca de las Vegas Development Association (ARACOVE) Tel. 91 892 19 28 www.aracove.com
Managing Authority
Dirección General de Carreteras Belén de Diego Comunidad de Madrid c/Orense, 60 28020 Madrid Tel. 91 580 28 18 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.madrid.org
Town Councils
Carabaña Tel. 91 872 10 13
Estremera Tel. 91 872 16 48 www.aytoestremera.org
Valdaracete Tel. 91 873 95 90
Emergencies
EMERGENCIES: Tel. 062
Coaches & buses
Empresa Argabús Tel. 91 871 25 11 www.argabus.com
Empresa Grupo Ruíz Tel. 91 680 33 15 www.gruporuiz.com
LINKS www.madrid.org Página Oficial de la Comunidad de Madrid. Información sobre los pueblos y otras rutas cercanas a la Vía Verde. www.turismomadrid.es Página Oficial de la Sociedad Pública Turismo Madrid, S.A.