4 million spent on a greenway that ends at a sealed tunnel

4 million for a greenway that leads nowhere

The regional government of Cantabria has invested 4 million euros in building a greenway between the Engaña tunnel and Yera station. The problem: the 6-kilometre tunnel has been closed since the 1990s due to rockfalls. The new pedestrian and cycling route ends at a bricked-up entrance. The next phase of the project, a cable car to a viewpoint, does not address the underlying issue: the original railway line will never be completed.

A doomed tunnel with 4 million worth of make-up

The Engaña tunnel, built for a railway that never arrived, has become a sinkhole for public funds. The Cantabrian investment allows the first few kilometres to be refurbished, but the Burgos side remains abandoned. Meanwhile, the government of Castilla y León, according to critics, keeps its commitments unfulfilled. The result: a dead-end greenway, where you can stroll to the tunnel entrance and turn back.

Anecdote from a traveller who walked through the tunnel

Before its closure, the tunnel could be crossed on foot. Local residents remember walking through it: "You enter from Burgos, you can see the exit 100 metres away, but you walk and walk for more than 6 kilometres." The name "Engaña" comes from that mirage. Today, the passage is closed due to the risk of collapse, and the 4 million seem destined to decorate a dead end.

Is the spending worth it?

Supporters of the project argue that the greenway will boost rural tourism in the Pas Valley. Sceptics point out that, without a connection to the Castilian side, visitor numbers will be limited. The question remains: is it sensible to invest 4 million in a path that leads nowhere, or are we looking at another monument to the lack of coordination between Spain's regional governments?