This historic Almanzora railway station, in the municipality of Cantoria, already looks like it used to be, when thousands of travellers passed through its facilities, willing to embark on train journeys that are now only part of the memories of this region.
In recent months an approximate investment of 200,000 euros by the Cantoria Town Hall has made it possible to restore the entire building and return it to its original state. In this way, the old platform of the station and the front square that overlooks Station Street have been tiled with natural stone and granite, building modern air planters that separate the street with the mentioned square and where two almond trees have been planted together with cactus. As for lighting, it has been improved using modern street lamps, making the old and the modern coexist in the area.
But not only the exterior of the building, which opened this Wednesday, has benefited from the restoration project. The new decoration is composed of pictures of photographs of the early twentieth century related to Almanzora and especially with the marquisate and the palace, as well as other images related to the railroad service itself.
The mayor of Cantoria, Puri Sánchez, has celebrated that the station "has been spectacular" and that the project was "to recover it and return it to its original state", something that "the Town Council were wishing to do". Dozens of neighbours turned up to share the re-opening of the building during its inauguration yesterday (Wednesday 14th August 2019).
In the same way as outside, inside has been given an air that combines the old with the modern, in this case using some materials such as black granite, Silestone, aluminum, furniture, and especially the lighting.
Thus, all the furniture is totally new, including an industrial kitchen. With all these elements, the building will be destined to perform the functions of bar for the elderly; facilities for use by the association of women of the Third Age of Almanzora and an office to give information to visitors and foreigners and is able to complete some procedures there without the need to visit the Town Hall in the urban center of Cantoria.
