Old Castro Verde-Almodôver Train Station

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Beja > Aljustrel > Carregueiro > Bairro da Cruz Vermelha

Location:

The old station is integrated into the urban fabric of the locality of Carregueiro, which belongs to the municipality of Aljustrel. It is specifically located in the Bairro da Cruz Vermelha (Red Cross Neighborhood), being part of the daily life of this community. Although its name refers to Castro Verde and Almodôvar, important towns in the region, the station is located some distance from these centers, demonstrating how the railway network expanded and connected different points of the Alentejo.

A Testimony to the Railway

This place evokes a period when rail transport played a central role in the life and economy of the Alentejo. Inaugurated on December 20, 1870, the Castro Verde-Almodôver station was, for many years, a pivotal point of the Linha do Alentejo (Alentejo Line). It gained even more relevance with the opening of the Aljustrel Branch Line in 1929, becoming an important junction that facilitated the transport of people and goods, including the outflow of the region's mining resources. It also witnessed the time when stagecoaches departed from here to connect nearby towns to the railway network.

Features of Railway Architecture

By observing the structure of the old station, it is possible to identify the characteristic features of railway architecture of its time. The main building, platforms, and tracks, although currently without passenger services, remain as visible elements of an active past. The platforms, of different lengths and heights, and the layout of the tracks bear witness to the functionality this space once had. A recent rehabilitation of the level crossing, which replaced wood with a granite cube pavement, demonstrates how the railway infrastructure remains part of the local landscape.

Silence and Memory

Today, the Old Castro Verde-Almodôver Railway Station offers an atmosphere of quietness and reflection. It is a place that invites a pause, allowing one to imagine the bustle of other times, when trains arrived and departed, carrying stories and lives. The absence of rail traffic transforms this space into a monument to memory, a point of observation on the evolution of transport and its importance in shaping the communities of the Alentejo. It constitutes a place of interest for those who value industrial heritage and the history of land connections.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt