Alex Trelinski
A deal has been struck that confirms Alicante as a new branch of the National Railway Museum based in Madrid.
The new ‘sub-museum’ will be based in a warehouse next to the Casa Mediterraneo in the city.
It will become the first nationally-linked museum to open in Alicante.
An 11-year lease for the building and adjoining land is planned to take effect from January 1, 2022.
The facility will be branded as a Valencian Community museum with a partnership between the national and regional government in addition to Alicante City Council and the Fundacion de Ferrocarriles Españoles(FFE).
FFE’s Madrid museum houses one of the largest historic railroad collections in Europe in a former railway station.
To kick off the Alicante enterprise, the FFE will lend it a historic Mikado steam locomotive built for rail operator Renfe in the 1950s.
It’s one of the last steam trains constructed in Spain which were in service until 1975.
All of the Alicante project backers agreed that other historic railway vehicles should be loaned out to the new centre over coming years.
Valencian Public Works and Transport general director, Roser Obrer, said: “This initiative shows that this mode of transport is part of our history but must also be an essential mobility element in the future.”
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