On October 28 of this year it will be 175 years since the first train on the peninsula was put into operation. Mataró, which has served as the capital of the anniversary celebration, will host an intense day full of activities on the same day of the anniversary. One of which is an event never seen in the city until now: a drone show that recreates the historic milestone promoted by Miquel Biada from Mataroni. From October 25 to 27, Mataró will host the IX Railway History Congress with the participation of experts from 12 countries.
On January 5, 2023, the train float of the Mataró parade mentioned that this year marks the 175th anniversary of the first train on the peninsula, which left Barcelona and arrived in Mataró. That was the starting signal for the commemoration of this historical milestone that became a turning point in the history of the country: it was the beginning of the transportation of goods and people.
The capital of Maresme, together with other administrations, companies and entities, has since been organizing a set of activities to celebrate the anniversary, with a joint image provided by the Mataró City Council that has been used in different cities in Catalonia and also in the State (at Atocha station, at the Madrid Railway Museum, the Spanish Railways Foundation, etc.).
So far a total of 95 activities have been carried out (60 of them in Mataró) such as concerts, family activities, theatrical visits, gastronomic routes, exhibitions, an escape room organized by the NEM and which is still in operation, a special tapas route Organized by the Mataró Hospitality Guild, the city’s pastry shops did their best to celebrate the anniversary… among others.
The climax of the celebration will be next October 28, the day of the anniversary, and Mataró proposes a day full of activities for all your tastes.
The events will begin in the morning with the institutional part of the celebration. At 10:30 a.m. from Barcelona a special train will leave for Mataró with the Mataró image of the celebration and with a photography exhibition inside. Various authorities from the Honor Committee will travel on the train: the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez; the Minister of Territory, Ester Capella; the mayor of Barcelona, ??Jaume Collboni and others. The mayor of Mataró, David Bote, will receive you at the Mataró station.
From the morning of October 27 until October 28 at night on track 4 of the station you can see the Mataró locomotive. The Mataró, as it is popularly known, was the locomotive that was used during the first journey on October 28, 1848. The machine was scrapped after suffering an accident, and in 1948 a replica of the original was made, which is currently exhibited in the Catalan Railway Museum located in Vilanova i la Geltrú.
At 11:30 a.m. it will be time to make the traditional floral offering at the Miquel Biada monument, which for the occasion will have musical accompaniment from the La Joya de Alella choir.
In the afternoon the bulk of the activities commemorating the 175 years of the first train will take place. At 6 p.m. with the inauguration of the 1st Train Festival and the visit of the ‘Racons del Tren’ spaces, on the ground floor of the Town Hall. It will be a tasting in the railway past with different historical elements related to the railway such as lampposts that were previously in the stations, the model of the Mataró locomotive, a section of a train track and historical photographs, among others.
In two locations of the Mataró Museum you can see exhibitions related to the train: “Barcelona – Mataró 1848. The Maresme train” which opens on October 20 in Can Serra and also in Can Palauet, thanks to the collaboration of the Regional Archive of the Maresme and the exhibition of railway models in Can Marfà. Knitwear that opens on October 28.
At 6:30 p.m. from City Hall there will be a call for citizens to go to the Paseo Marítimo, the main area of ??the events, to the rhythm of drums. There until 8:30 p.m. there will be family activities such as storytelling, face painting and games for the little ones in the house, with the collaboration of the El Maresme Foundation. At 8 p.m. the renowned comedian Peyu, perched in a van with the back box open, will invite people to go to the port and the Paseo Marítimo
The music will sound on the main stage, with a recital by the Maresme Musical Group, to give way to the big moment of the night: “El Sueño de un Mataroní.” This show consists of two parts: an interview teat
The music will sound on the main stage, with a recital by the Maresme Musical Group, to give way to the big moment of the night: “El Sueño de un Mataroní.” This show consists of two parts: a dramatized interview with the character of Miquel Biada and a drone show that recreates how that historical moment for the peninsula was created. This is the first show of its kind to be held in Mataró and will be put on by the company Flock Drone Art, a Catalan company specialized in drone montages, which has made a custom show for the occasion. 175 drones will take off in the Mataró sky to make figures 100 meters high and with a special soundtrack for the show where there will be no shortage of train sounds, Cuban sounds and images such as the train station, the figure of Miquel Biada and La Mataró, among others. It can be seen from the Paseo Marítimo, the port and other points of the city.
The celebration will end with a concert of covers from the 80s and 90s by The Sneakers Music Band.
Organized by the Opportunities Office of the Mataró City Council, the party is sponsored by the companies Vera and Anma and the support of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Barcelona Provincial Council, RENFE, ADIF, the Spanish Railways Foundation, the Puerto Consortium of Mataró, the El Maresme Foundation and Flock Drone Art.
On October 28, 1848, the first train on the Iberian Peninsula left Barcelona bound for Mataró. This first train was a turning point in the history of the country: it was the beginning of the transportation of goods and people. The train boosted imports and exports, reducing travel times and improving communications technology. Likewise, it facilitated the mobility of people and ideas, represented an interconnection in the region and an approach to the French border.
With the first train also arrived the first vacationers: the bourgeoisie of Barcelona who invested in the Maresme region.
The first train from Barcelona in Mataró was the beginning of a path towards progress and the rise of industrialization towards the future. One hundred and seventy-five years later, that first route has become the current line R1, the first commuter line in terms of number of passengers.
Based on the Mataró project “175 years of Train, Barcelona Mataró”, a commission was created to work on the proposal of activities to be carried out during this year 2023 throughout Catalonia, coordinated by the Railway Museum of Catalonia and the Mataró City Council. The Spanish Railways Foundation, the Maresme Regional Council, RENFE, FGC, TMB, ADIF, the Miquel Biada Historical Circle and the Catalan Federation of Friends of the Railway also participate in this commission, under the name of the Sants Group. Activities will be carried out until mid-2024.
One of the most notable activities this year is the IX Railway History Congress, organized by the Iberian Association of Railway History (ASIHF) and the Mataró City Council, which will be held in Mataró from October 25 to 27. During the three days of the Railway History Congress to be held at the TecnoCampus, the participation of experts from 12 countries is expected. The program offers the possibility of attending around 80 communication proposals organized in six sessions, and the workshop “Logistics and development. The Barcelona Mataró railway and economic growth.”
On the same day, October 28, the ONCE raffle coupon will be a tribute to the arrival of the first train to Mataró, thanks to an agreement signed last March by the mayor of Mataró, David Bote, and the president of ONCE, Miguel Carballeda.
The Mataró City Council and the Miquel Biada Historical Circle have organized six exhibitions that will travel through different spaces in Mataró to remember the history of the railway in the city from different aspects.
The capital of Maresme has contributed to the entire celebration of the anniversary with the logo and the campaign image created for the occasion and the web platform that concentrates all the events: https://175tren.com/
