- The work carried out is part of the refurbishment process of these facilities inaugurated in 1963.
- Inside this group of buildings is the collection of historic rolling stock of the state-owned company.
The Generalitat has completed the restoration works on the structures, roofs and facades of the buildings that make up the old railway workrooms of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) located in Torrent.
The budget for these structural remodelling works on the site amounts to 758,639.41 euros, VAT included. The proceedings have made it possible to restore the most deteriorated parts of this architectural complex built in 1963, such as roofs, facades and some auxiliary elements such as tanks, doors and exterior enclosures.
These workrooms in disuse for the railway service and closed to the public, occupy an area of 26,659.78 square meters, of which 7,579.96 correspond to buildings such as the main building and depots.
The managing director of FGV, Anaïs Menguzzato, has checked the state in which the restored areas have been left, after the work carried out during the last eight months, with the aim of guaranteeing the adequate conservation of the space.
Menguzzato explained that “these actions are part of the set of works planned for these facilities, with the aim of using them in the near future to set up an exhibition space in which to display the collection of FGV’s historic rolling stock”.
After this proceeding, as highlighted by the managing director, FGV aims to continue refurbishing the areas. The Torrent workrooms and depots were designed by the engineer Santiago Castro Cardús and put into service by the Compañía de Tranvías y Ferrocarriles de Valencia in 1963. They were used for the maintenance of the rolling stock that the company used on the line between Valencia and Villanueva de Castellón, which is now part of Line 1 of Metrovalencia.
When the current FGV headquarters in València Sud, which consists of workrooms and depots, began its activity, the Torrent facilities were converted into auxiliary facilities dedicated to workrooms and storage in 1992.
Currently, this complex of industrial warehouses, together with its railway depot, also serves as a depot for the collection of FGV’s historical rolling stock. These facilities, currently closed to the public, house more than 70 historic trains and trams from the 19th and 20th centuries, 13 of which have been fully restored.
Among the pieces preserved are the 19th century horse tram, the last one that ran in Valencia before the closure of the service in the 1960s, trains such as “Los portugueses” and the car Salón Break.