Vía Verde de la Sierra de la Demanda

The Vía verde de la Sierra de la Demanda is a greenway that extends over most of the path of a short-lived mining railway of the early 20th century, which carried minerals from the mines of Monterrubio de la Demanda and Barbadillo de Herreros to Villafría, in the outskirts of Burgos, Spain.LocationNowadays, the rail trail runs between Arlanzón (where the only station of the line was located) and Monterrubio. The possibility of extending the route from Arlanzón to the archaeological sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca, which were discovered by the mining railway works, had been considered.HistoryIn 1896 the British company "The Sierra Company Limited" got permission from the Spanish government to build a narrow gauge railway to transport iron from the mines of the Sierra de la Demanda to Burgos, and once there to the Basque steel mills through the Burgos-Bilbao railway line. In 1901 the line was opened. Shortly after, a license to transport passengers was granted, but the company only performed freight services. Nevertheless, the line remained loss-making due to high operating costs to Bilbao, and was closed in 1910. In 1947 the line was dismantled and fell into disrepair. Earlier this century, the idea of converting part of the railway line into a greenway for walkers and cyclists came into reality, being finally opened in 2004.