The Algeciras-Bobadilla railway was built for the benefit of British officers stationed in Gibraltar wanting to travel to Spain and the rest of Europe.[2] To avoid offending Spanish sensitivities, the line was built concluding in Algeciras, a town in Spain on the opposite side of the Bay of Gibraltar, rather than at the Gibraltar border. Despite it having no direct connection to the European railway network at the time, a chapter was devoted to Gibraltar in the 1913 guidebook.[3]
So impressed were the inhabitants of Algeciras that they named two streets after people related to the project: one after John Morrison a Scottish engineer ("Juan Morrison"), and one after Alexander Henderson, who had funded the project.[4]
Current situation
The Spanish government is looking to build a high-speed line to Algeciras as part of its Mediterranean Corridor infrastructure, However, the route has been the subject of discussion. When Michael Portillo was filming for his 2013 series Great Continental Railway Journeys the Bobadilla-Algeciras line was under theat.
In 2019 Spanish government progressed plans to renovate the ageing infrastructure of the Bobadilla-Algeciras line at an estimated cost of €159 million.[5]
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