Empalme-La Zarza line

In the 1880s, a branch line was built to connect the La Zarza mine to the general Tharsis Railway line to transport the mined ore to the . The work, carried out by the Tharsis Sulphur and Copper Company Limited, was more complex than the general line due to the geographical features of the region. The new line was inaugurated in 1888. Its commissioning resulted in a significant increase of ore traffic on the entire railway, and the activity on this section was focused mainly on the circulation of freight trains. In May 1991, due to the serious crisis in the mines, the branch line was closed to traffic and in 1992 it was closed again. Finally, in 1996, the line was dismantled to allow the construction of a road in the area. == Layout and features ==

The line had a hard profile due to the orography of the area, with slopes of up to 22 thousandths, which made it necessary to carry out numerous masonry works and to build sections in trenches. About twenty bridges and pontoons were built, the longest being the viaduct over the Cascabelero stream (136 meters). A series of intermediate stations were built along the line—, , —whose purpose was to regulate the traffic of passing trains. The connection to the main line was made at the , which became a railway junction. The layout used a track gauge of 1220 millimeters, an exceptional case in Spain. == Notes ==