Bilbao to Portugalete railway tunnel

Description of events

Date : –
Address :  –

One of the tunnels used as shelters was that of the Bilbao-Portugalete railway as it passed through Barakaldo. This fact caused many annoyances to the transit of the aforementioned train, as can be deduced from a letter addressed to the mayor of Barakaldo dated January 4, 1937 from the Department of Public Works of the provisional Government of Euzkadi:

“We have the satisfaction of participating to you that on this date FC de Bilbao is authorized to Portugalete to circulate on one track in the way it has been doing until December 28, in order that it can continue using as a refuge the tunnels located in the jurisdiction of that Municipality, the conditioning of which we leave in your charge.

However; It would be convenient for that City Council to seek other shelters, since we must not hide from it that complaints were continuously being directed to this Department, of the shortage of service on said railway, which cannot be as intense as required by the volume of passengers to be transported when one of the routes cannot be used ”.

The tunnel is still active.

SOURCES :
Municipal Archive of Barakaldo
– Box 650, file 20