Mataró Station

This station was put into operation on the day the railway line between Barcelona and Mataró was inaugurated on October 28, 1848. There is a statue commemorating this event with a monument dedicated to Miquel Biada, the promoter of the line, located right in front of the station.

We say it is the first route on the Peninsula because the first Spanish line was built on the island of Cuba to transport sugar cane from Gines to the Port of Havana in the year 1837.

From this Cuban island, a Catalan emigrant, Miquel Biada, was the one who saw the benefits of this means of transport and wanted to create one in his hometown, Mataró. He sought support from the bourgeoisie but found nothing. A contact of his in London, Josep Maria Roca, helped him in the search for British investors.

In 1854, Biada founded the Company of Railways from Barcelona to Mataró, which expropriated the land and had the necessary means for the construction of the route.

Four locomotives were acquired from the United Kingdom, which were named with local names: Barcelona, Mataró, Besòs, and Catalunya.

Before seeing his dream come true, Biada passed away, just a few months before the inauguration. The first trips took 55 minutes to make the journey to Barcelona.

The train was very well received and filled its 1,900 seats; it was a significant change, and everyone wanted to travel on it.

It was the first step toward the modernization of Catalonia, and many companies were dedicated to the construction of railway lines throughout the country.

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