2013 PRESENTATION BOOK
GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
Contents 1.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ____________________________________________________________________ page 3
1.1.
An Approach To The History Of Railway Communication Between Oporto And Salamanca _______________________
1.2.
Facts On Tranport Between Oporto And Salamanca ______________________________________________________
1.3.
Tourist Interest And Cultural Atraction: For The Recovery Of The Railway __________________________________ page 4
2.
OUR CROSS-BORDER ASSOCIATION TOD@VíA FOR A SUSTAINABLE RAILWAY ____________________________ page 5
2.1.
Legal Entity ______________________________________________________________________________________
2.2.
Members _________________________________________________________________________________ page 6
3.
PROPOSAL ON COOPERATION AND INTERVENTION ________________________________________________ page 7
3.1.
The Need For Intervention __________________________________________________________________________
3.2.
The Need For Cooperation __________________________________________________________________________
4. AN APPROACH TO INTERVENTION AND COOPERATION
______________________________________________ page 8
4.1.
Proposal _________________________________________________________________________________________
4.2.
Direct Actions ______________________________________________________________________________ page 9 Complex Actions ____________________________________________________________________________ page 10
4.3
5. FUNDING, COOPERATION AND INTERVENTION
_____________________________________________________ page 11
5.1.
Funding Of Direct Actions ___________________________________________________________________________
5.2.
Funding Complex Actions ____________________________________________________________________ page 12
Action Events 2010/2013__________________________________________________ page 13 Put yourself on the track and get hooked to life with us! ______________________ page 21
GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
1. Historical background
1.1.
Historical background of railway communication between Porto and Salamanca
The construction of the Douro railroad was finished in 1887. It was a very important part of a socio-economic development framework for the Northern Region of Portugal (Oporto). This framework considered the possibility of an international communication network between Portugal and Europe, via Salamanca, for the transport of goods. For Castilla and León it also meant a good chance to get to the Atlantic Ocean via the port of Leixôes (Oporto) and being able to distribute also their own goods. Twenty-five years after the closing of the international stretch of the Douro railroad – Jan. 1, 1985 – the Spanish Ministry of Cultural Affairs declared those 78 km between Vega Terrón (Barca d´Alva) and La Fuente de San Esteban “Cultural Heritage” (Spanish “Bien de Interés Cultural- BIC), with the category of Monument (B.O.E. 298 Dec. 14, 1999).
1.2.
Facts on transport between Porto and Salamanca: present situation
The Douro railway for the exchange of goods and trade has been set aside in the short-to-medium term, in spite of the excellent conditions of the river port of Pocinho. Today, heading for the ports in the Atlantic, the axis Salamanca-Aveiro has been confirmed and reinforced for that type of transport, via Vilar Formoso. A modernized transport of goods on this line would mean a great effort of investment, not only to rebuild the platforms, but also to reform the gauge of the tunnels and to strengthen the metal bridges, and to assess the maximum loads. All this intervention is very expensive. Today all that seems a very difficult task to carry out, due to economic and environmental sustainability and because of the high financial investment that all those changes would require.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
1. Historical background
1.3.
Tourist interest and cultural attraction: for the recovery of the railway
Nowadays, there is a growing interest for the Valles del Duero - Douro vineyards- and its tributaries - Archeological Sites of the Côa and Águeda rivers, Siega Verde, with its recent Museum, its Archeological Park and its Workshops. Besides, the city of Salamanca has been a great attraction. All those sites have been declared World Heritage by the UNESCO. For all that, in recent years, there has been a new interest for the revitalization of the Douro railroad on both sides of the border between Spain and Portugal, and of the city of Salamanca, as a cultural attraction for all those who go on a cruise on the Douro river. The dead stretch of railroad between Pocinho (Vila Nova de Foz Côa) - Vega Terrón and la Fuente de San Esteban, represents a unique privileged cultural resource for this region. All experts agree that the stretch between Barca d´Alva - Vega Terrón, in Portugal, and the railway station in La Fregeneda, Spain, are the most spectacular and singular of all. In just 17 km, 13 metal bridges and 20 tunnels were built, which carry us away to the age of the pure engineering genius of Gustave Eiffel. We can be fascinated by a panorama that is unique in Europe. For all that, this stretch requires and claims viable tourism operations in accordance with its value and importance. In 2003, the Provincial Administration and the Ministry of Environmental Affairs planned a Project of “Vía Verde”-Green Way- from the railway station of La Fregeneda to the International Bridge over the Águeda river. This would have meant the destruction of part of the infrastructure. It would have cut out new and multiple opportunities to generate resources for a population with very few. In that stretch, a greenway is not possible for legal reasons. Only the first 61 kilometers, where the international line starts in La Fregeneda, would have been removed (RENFE got that permission from the Cabinet October 10, 1995), but, to build a greenway, it is mandatory that the whole length of the railroad (77,565km) be removed. In December, 2005, the Civil Society, through its representatives in the Senate, unanimously approved an Act that forced “the reopening of the traffic, for touristic purpose, of the railway La Fuente de San Esteban-Barca d´Alva, in a progressive way until its complete realization” (nº 661/170, registered in the Senate nº 31209, 2005). This petition has not been put into practice by the Ministry of Public Works, due to the fact that a lot of financial investment would be required for the reopening of the traffic and because it is in a very small region.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
2. OUR CROSS-BORDER ASSOCIATION TOD@VíA FOR A SUSTAINABLE RAILWAY
2.1.
Legal Identity
The Cross-Border Association TOD@VIA for a Sustainable Railway was registered as a charity on July 23, 2010, Register nº 39421st Section, in the Registry of Associations of Castilla y León, with the Taxpayer Identification Number: G37502077 and its address is: c/ La Cuesta, 1-4, 4º izquierda, Postal code: 37001 - Salamanca (ES). It is a socially-oriented and non-profit association. Its aims and objectives according to its statutes are: 1. To preserve and recover the stretch of the railway La Fuente de San Esteban-Barca d´Alva-Pocihno as a heritage resource, a cultural engine for economic growth, employment and development, which must be preserved and transmitted to future generations. To organize cultural, sport and community- oriented activities to enhance a sustainable development of the region, creating employment and fostering the recuperate the region and to transform the environment according to such principles. 2. To promote and articulate the cooperation between the association and the institutions, searching a socio-economic use and exploitation of our cultural and spiritual heritage: railway, transport infrastructures, natural and intervened landscape, archeology, tradition and modernity, artistic manifestations, folklore, language and its regional variants, different means of production, etc. 3. To make part in a sustainable development, in harmony and trying to draw together the two regions of Spain and Portugal, through the promotion and cooperation with different groups, organizations, institutions that are engaged in civil society. 4. To cooperate with all those organizations and social institutions, public or private, local, regional, national or transnational, which will share their interests in all aspects mentioned above.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
2. OUR CROSS-BORDER ASSOCIATION TOD@VíA FOR A SUSTAINABLE RAILWAY
2.2.
Members
“The Cross-border Association TOD@VÍA, for a Sustainable Railway” is a non-political association joined by Spanish and Portuguese citizens who believe in a common project of economic, social and cultural development. We are commited to civil society. We come from different professions, engineers, teachers, technicians, painters, doctors, journalists, construction workers, farmers, businessmen, photographers, mountaineers, archeologists, firefighters, researchers, drivers and railway workers, retired people… Our Association is multidisciplinary and clearly cross-border: engineers and technicians that come from REFER (Portuguese Railway), ADIF and RENFE (Spanish Railway). Some other associations are also part of TOD@VÍA, Abadengo Businessmen Association (ASEMPA) and different railway associations from Zamora and Salamanca.
www.todaviasostenible.org
www.facebook.com/todaviasociacion
GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
3. PROPOSAL ON COOPERATION AND INTERVENTION
3.1.
The need for intervention
Due to the long term abandon of this cultural and heritage resource, the deterioration of the infrastructure is huge. The platforms of the railway are covered in vegetation and the stations, buildings, tunnels and bridges are rapidly deteriorating caused by the passing of time, vandalism, fires and lack of investment in the maintenance. On the other hand, these border territories on both sides are far away from any economic and political flux, within the province, the region and the country, which deepens even more the demographic and social decline of the area. The railway could vertebrate the activity of THE NATIONAL PARK OF LAS ARRIBES. It could be used as a firebreak and access to vehicles for fire extinction. At the same time, this cultural heritage can also help to preserve the natural heritage.
3.2.
The need for cooperation
The difficult present economic situation seems to condemn this unique heritage to oblivion. The lack of official financing makes us think that we must dedicate ourselves to rescuing this heritage from negligence and indolence. Our intention is to be humble, respectful with the law, flexible and open to dialogue. Our Cross-border Association TOD@VÍA is willing to work with and is at ADIF´s disposition, under whatever restrictions may be agreed and assumed, to maintain, preserve, enhance and grow business that can be reinvested in the same heritage. We also owe our work and cooperation to different institutions, Bellas Artes, Parque Natural del Duero Internacional, Junta de Castilla y León, Diputación de Salamanca and local Administrations.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
4. AN APPROACH TO INTERVENTION AND COOPERATION
4.1.
Proposal
To recover this heritage, some tasks must be carried out by experts, businesses, town halls and institutions, due to their complexity, and for security reasons. Other actions, the cleaning of the vegetation that covers the railroad and level crossings, sides, paths, are easier to carry out by non-experts, by altruistic citizens in an organized way.
In a simple way, complex actions affect all singular sites, and simple or direct actions affect the platform.
The solutions that must be implemented have to be low-cost, progressive, available and growth generating for our environment. We want a real and effective intervention on the infrastructure, providing profits for locals, making the railway sustainable, no matter if one day it will be of general interest.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
4. AN APPROACH TO INTERVENTION AND COOPERATION
4.2.
Direct Actions
Direct intervention on the platform means the cleaning of the vegetation that covers the bed of the railway. The first phase of work will be to intervene in the stretch between Lumbrales station to the bridge on the Froya river, in Valdenoguera (La Fregeneda). It has been chosen because it´s very close to the last 17 km mentioned above, because there are no risks for people and because el Parque Natural de Los Arribes agree with that. The second phase would be to intervent from the station of Hinojosa to the international station in la Fregeneda. In different steps, we would arrive at the international bridge in Vega Terrón-Barca d´Alva. All works and activities must be harmless for people, the infrastructure and nature. In that way, in the second phase, up to the international station in La Fregeneda, there are two possible solutions to minimize the risk of falling next to the Froya river: to build a second way all along the bridge, to cross it only with a safety harness, and/ or to take another way taking the dust road GR-14 to get over the pontoon-bridge. The first solution should be essential and urgent for all those who go trekking over the bridge nowadays. Some people are risking their lifes because they are crossing the viaducts without any safety. Although this solution is temporary. In some cases, it would be advisable the substitution of the sleepers and the renewal of the fastenings on the wheel tread, damaged by the lack of antislips.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
4. AN APPROACH TO INTERVENTION AND COOPERATION
4.3.
Complex Actions
We intend to restore the bridges with projects supported by expert engineers and supervised by ADIF and BELLAS ARTES. For the international bridge, we will also need supervision and cooperation from the Portuguese REFER. The intervention on the bridges must be low-priced, but with a high added value. The cleaning with sandjet and the painting of all metal viaducts, as well as the loadtesting are not going to be set aside, but they will be postponed as they are not prioritary and they are very expensive. If deterioration is high, we can assume an urgent intervention.
What is truly urgent is to make all bridges safe for the crossing of people. There are different technical solutions: - The fixing of the walkways for each viaduct, as they used to be in the past. This needs continuous maintenance to avoid the deterioration of the wood. - The fixing of one of the bridge walks, with the reinforcement of metal boards to avoid the decaying of the walk. In between the boards some steel-tipped cable may be put vertically and horizontally to fill gaps that may be a risk for people. - The safest solution is the coating of the upper board layer of the bridge to level the surface of the bridge horizontally. This is what was done to St. Luis Bridge in Porto over the Douro river. There hasn´t been any accident reported related to the pass of pedestrians over the bridge. If any vehicle may run along the railroad it will run at a very low speed, which will also be a good safety solution.
In some tunnels, it is necessary the fixing of culverts for the drain of water and the urgent fixing of vaults that may be cracked.
The interventions on stations and other buildings of the stretch are subject to its use and function, and they can be numerous and different.
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
5. FUNDING, COOPERATION AND INTERVENTION
5.1.
Funding of direct actions
What was impossible, to find a technical solution, was achieved at the end of the 19th C. Now Civil Society must achieve what is possible, civil direct action, for what it is not necessary special training, what we call “Go railwaying”, “Go railing”. This is a call to action, civic, cooperative, safe and respectful with the monument, nature and environment. It affects the cleaning and clearing of the platform and we intend to make this activity attractive and fun. This way of doing and getting organized is based on traditional ways of getting things done. Locals used to work together and do a lot of community work in common lands- “ir de Concejo”, “ir de villa”, “hacer rozadas”, “ir de facendera”. Portuguese “torna-jeira”. This gives a lot of satisfaction to people who take part in all volunteering projects, a feeling that they are useful to society. Our association wishes to contribute to pay bak this commitment and service, by offering trips on the railway between La Fuente de San Esteban (Spain) and Pocinho (Portugal)
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GOVERNMANT CLASSIFIED Cultural Heritage Railway “LA FUENTE DE SAN ESTEBAN - VEGA DE TERRÓN”
5. FUNDING, COOPERATION AND INTERVENTION
5.2.
Funding of complex actions
These actions require the help of sponsors, patronage and grants. We could minimize the cost by using the cooperation of training workshops or other schools and educational institutions. The financing goes together with some businesses that may be run by different people or associations, like ours. We may be able to expand our projects with this funding scheme. Our intention is to offer a wide range of possibilities for group trips on the railway on small and light vehicles at very low speed -20 km per hour. The safety of the wheel tread is linked to the weight- speed binomium. If both are negligible, the platform is safe enough, because it is overdimensioned for extremely restrictive conditions. These small and light vehicles, railroad bikes, train seesaw carts, velorails, rail cycles, are not considered trains, they must give way in level crossings and would respect all regulations issued for them. These modes of transportation have been widely used and assesed on railways in Spain and all over Europe. They were also used in Hinojosa de Duero in 1997 for some time. We´ll try to make it work again under very safe conditions. On the other hand, the stations and other buildings along the railroad can be used as perfect locations to open up small restaurants and cafés, small hotels or hostels, shops, workshops and interpretation centers about nature, agriculture, archeology, traditions, implementing the development of ludic and educational activities, for people who like sport, ecology, culture. All this will be complemented with routes and activities that may be temporary or permanent. The whole project must end with the creation of a true theme park about railway engineering in the area, the opening of a crossborder cultural and leisure center. With time, will and investment, the running of a small tourist train with old wagons that could run to Pocinho.
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2010 - 2013 ACTIONS & celebrations
LUMBRALES - HINOJOSA DE DUERO - FREGENEDA THE FIRST 17 KM THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS NOW COMPLETED !!!
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WORK WITH RAILWAY SOLDIERS” WHAT THEY TELL ABOUT US !!!
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NO WAY TO LOSE THE TRAIN” VOLUNTEERS WORKERS !!!
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BEFORE AND AFTER A WEEK” LUMBRALES STATION !!!
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CELEBRATION PARTY to life with us!! 19 OF JUNE 2011 La Fregeneda STATION (Valdenoguera)
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CELEBRATION PARTY to life with us!! 16 OF JUNE 2013 LUMBRALES STATION
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LUMBRALES - HINOJOSA DE DUERO - FREGENEDA THE FIRST 17 KM THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS NOW COMPLETED !!!
ACTUACIONES Y FIESTAS
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Put yourself on the track and get hooked to life with us!! I invite you to get acquanted with and take part in the different actions that our Cross-Border Asoociation Tod@vía is organizing on the railway La Fuente de San Esteban- Barca D´Alva ( Cultural Heritage- B.I.C., with the category of Monument from 1999, B.O.E. 298-14) In March 2010 we gave politics a befitting burial in a symbolic way lifting a beautiful sculpture on the Portuguese side of the International Bridge. Then, we made up our minds and thought that it was about time to make other realities exist and we started to clear the stretch of railway between Lumbrales and La Fregeneda. All throughtout the year 2011, we cleared and cleaned the railroad to make disappear the green wall that covered the railroad on the stretch between the station in Lumbrales to the station in Hinojosa (17 km). In 2012 we reached the Froya river, next to the station Valdenoguera-la Fregeneda (34 km).
In 2013, we have revised and maintained all our previous work.
We have received a national award from the Townhall of Camargo (Asturias) for our work on renewable energies, applied in our case to different viable vehicles for the railway. Furthermore, due to the lack of interest of institutions and the scarcity of fiancial resources of our association, we have decided to substitute the sidewalks of the bridges on the railroad with waterproof pinewood boards. For that reason we have tested the sidewalks on San Pedro Bridge, on the Camaces River, 5 km from Lumbrales, replacing the 290 boards, financed by members of the association. The bridge is ready to be used again. We can cross the bridge with safety and easily. We don´t need to be experts to do this type of work, but we do work with experienced people. For this Project we need the engagement and commitment of Civil Society. We need people who want to commit themselves and do cooperative work in their spare time. We will go railwaying in different ways: digging, cleaning, clearing, signaling…O en última instancia y siempre, patrocinar, comunicar, difundir…
We can also and always spread our Project, sponsor, transmit…
What we want now is to finance the boards for all bridges to Vega Terrón, 13 bridges. The first one, on the Froya River, is 165,74 m long, that is 825 boards, 20 cm wide each, financed with 10 E. each…
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CONTINUACIÓN...
Our Bank Account is 2104-0000-17-916185908 in Caja España-Duero.
The “Imposible Road to Portugal”, with 13 viaducts and 20 tunnels in our initial stretch, was once a utopia. Civil Society must fight to rescue this huge tourist and economic resource. It´s not a dream. It is something possible especially from now on.
Visit our website. You will find out more about our Project, actions and proposals. www.todaviasostenible.org
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
If you want more information about our Project, send us your email to todaviasostenible@gmail.com, with your suggestions and interests. If you want to cooparate or be a member, fill in our membership form and make the deposit. Thank you for your interest. Yours sincerely,
José Andrés Herrero President
Asociación de frontera Tod@vía por una vía sostenible
Asociación de Frontera TOD@VÍA, por una Vía Sostenible Plaza del Abadengo, 5 37240 LUMBRALES (Salamanca) España Tel: +34 659418346 | Tel: +351 966657646
todaviasostenible@gmail.com todaviasostenible.org facebook.com/todaviasociacion twitter.com/todaviasomos flickr.com/photos/todaviasostenible