The Limón Expres (Lemon Express) tourist train, apparently the first in Spain, ran from 1 June 1971 between Benidorm and Denia, later reduced to Gata de Gorgos on the FGV - the Costa Blanca tram & railway company - metre-gauge line between Alicante and Denia. The rolling stock consisted of 10 passenger cars with wooden seats and 2 saloon bar cars built in the 1920s and 1930s. Power consisted of 3 diesel-hydraulic "Batignolles". In July 1988, the "Batignolles" were replaced by 2 Alstom, BB diesel-electric type. In 1994 a third such locomotive followed.
It ceased running in 2005 because the bogies (trucks) and wheels of the cars needed maintenance and alteration to fit the new track which is being improved and electrified by the FGV. The old train has remained in a siding at Benidorm Station covered in graffiti. The expected cost of the upgrade is about 1.2 million Euros and the idea has been shelved, perhaps permanently.
this car should be set up in Benidorm as an info booth as it was a magor attraction in th 70s shame
ReplyDeleteIn the past, this train was used for freight, which is why the stations in the villages are often located far from the town centre.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the reasons why tourists don't travel by train, but by rental car and transfer. In fact, if you land and want to get to your holiday home or hotel, it is best to use an Alicante airport transfer. We will recomend it