Trains have a magic all their own, especially foreign ones! Here in Andalucía we are in a rail enthusiast’s heaven, from the old trains running on their original wide gauge rail tracks to the ‘up to the minute’ streamlined new AVE trains.

Who has not felt the excitement of the train journey from Bobadilla to Málaga through the gorges of El Chorro? Bobadilla just missed being chosen as the main AVE interchange station, this honour having eventually been destined for Antequera Santa Ana, but it is still the main junction at present for journeys to most destinations.

Bobadilla has always been a railway town, and it is worth taking a train from here just to see the booking office with its ornate Andalucían ceramic tiles! Right across on the opposite side of the station you may notice a long low cream coloured building. Now becoming derelict, it is interesting to know that this station building was originally constructed by the British for the old Gibraltar railway line - which once passed through here.

It is curious to note that the platform arrangements seem rather unusual at Bobadilla station. Platform 1 is not the first platform you step on to after emerging from the booking office. Instead you’ll find yourself on platform 3! Here you may notice an interesting ceramic plaque on the wall dated 1990, to commemorate 125 years since the inauguration of the railway line in 1865. If you are going to Málaga or Seville from platform 1 or 2 expect to cross to the platform under the subway first. Added to this the fact that there really isn’t a lot of shelter from the elements on platforms 1 and 2, Bobadilla sometimes feels like the coldest station in Winter and the hottest in Summer! But once on board your train it’s all worthwhile.

Whether or not you’re a rail enthusiast, a familiar sight may catch your eye just between Bobadilla and the little station of ‘Las Maravillas’ (now a station no more but lived in as a very ‘des res’!) Check out several British diesel locomotives in the sidings here, helping the Spanish railway authorities with the ongoing laying of new tracks. I understand that some of these are old class 37 locos from the Sixties, old but very reliable; and more up to date class 58’s from the Eighties, very efficient, but all of them now ‘retired’ from service in the UK. They are painted yellow and blue because they are on loan here. The story has it that one of the older ones will remain forever exiled here in Spain, and will sadly never return home after damaging itself by crashing too hard into the buffers!

Leaving Bobadilla towards Málaga you reach the mountains within 20 minutes. Quite suddenly the relatively soft hills and plains give way to dramatic mountain scenery and unexpected gorges. Craggy peaks rise startlingly above you while the train rushes in and out of tunnels. One minute you are looking up at towering mountains and the next minute the ground falls heart-stoppingly away, to reveal a gushing stream lined with wild pink oleander bushes right at the bottom of a deep gorge.

The famous wooden walkways featured in the film ‘El Caminito del Rey’ and along which King Alfonso XIII is said to have walked, cling precariously to the rock face and are now dilapidated and dangerous. Needless to say, access to them is forbidden since more than one person has unfortunately met an untimely end trying unsuccessfully to negotiate them! But just as your adrenalin levels are rising, the train emerges from another tunnel into El Chorro station. The delight of intrepid walkers, this is the starting point for many exciting routes through pine-clad mountain scenery with magnificent views. You can relax after your exertions over a snack and a drink at the El Chorro station bar, or enjoy a meal and a night’s rest at the nearby ‘La Garganta’ hotel restaurant.

But on from El Chorro into Málaga, where you will arrive in the new and stylish María Zambrano station. You will catch your breath at the sight of the gleaming new AVE trains lined up in the platforms, waiting to speed their lucky passengers to distant destinations! Security has been stepped up here and changes have been made since the transformation from the old Málaga station. Before, you had to go down the escalator into the old ‘Málaga Renfe’ station for the Cercanías train to the airport or to Fuengirola etc. Now the Cercanías stop right here in the María Zambrano station, along with all the other trains, old and new. But some people may regret the fact that for the moment the Cercanías no longer go on into Málaga Centro Alameda station. As well as being convenient, it was lovely to be able to step out right opposite El Corte Inglés departmental store, or straight into the atmospheric Alameda Principal. Maybe when the line has been restored that pleasure will be ours again. Not only this, but an extension of the Cercanías line from Fuengirola and all along the coast to Estepona is currently being planned. How convenient that will be!

In the new Maria Zambrano station at Malaga, you don’t need to enter your ticket into the turnstile to gain access to the trains. You show it on entry to the platforms. But an English lady once told me of her confusion on trying to enter her ticket into the turnstiles on the ordinary Cercanías stations. Just enter your ticket into the slot, arrows facing forwards (away from you), and Hey Presto! Gurgle-groan, the ticket pops up again from the next slot, and Open Sesame! The barriers fly open. ‘Thanks for that!’ she said; a handy tip to remember. Don’t forget to hang on to your ticket as you’ll need it to exit through the turnstiles at the end of your journey. Also useful to know is that the ticket machines give change, but will not accept notes any higher than 20 euros. Vital knowledge if you are rushing to catch a train.

Living out at Campillos near Antequera, we are on the Algeciras-Granada line. The journey from here through the mountains up to Granada is breathtaking and takes only two hours. The route to Algeciras in the opposite direction takes you through Ronda and some truly stunning scenery.

You can catch what must be Spain’s shortest train ever from Ronda through Campillos to Málaga every morning except Sunday. Consisting of a single diesel unit, the ‘train’ (all one coach of it!) chugs its way to Bobadilla where it crosses over on to the Seville-Málaga line. Trundling on down through spectacular El Chorro, it eventually takes its modest place next to the shining AVE trains in the platforms at María Zambrano station. Every evening, the same train goes chugging back the along the same route to Ronda, having given its passengers a convenient day out in Málaga.

So, speedy and reliable, old and new, let’s hear it for the trains in Spain!