Camoruco railway station

Camoruco is a suburb of Valencia 3 km from the city centre. While the railway line was in operation, there was a tram service from the station to the Plaza Bolivar in the centre. Initially the trams were horse-drawn.[2]

The building respects Spanish Colonial tradition, although the structure was advanced for its time in making use of cast iron imported from England,[3] Traditional materials were also used.

• 
  Colonial architecture, as in this courtyard at Coro, presents a parallel with the railway station
• 
  The Casa del Congreso de Angostura, an 18th century building in Ciudad Bolívar

Guzman Blanco, the president of Venezuela, gave a concession to a British company to build a railway between Valencia and the Caribbean coast at Puerto Cabello. The 55 km route of the Puerto Cabello and Valencia railway crossed a range of mountains.[4] The railway was inaugurated in 1888. The railway was known locally as the English railway, distinguishing it from the Great Venezuela Railway, a slightly later German-built line.[note 1] However, the Puerto Cabello Valencia line was not the only British-built railway in the country, and the line from Caracas to La Guaira was also known as the English railway.

The railway was nationalised in 1916.[5] Rail transport in Venezuela was neglected and went into a major decline from the 1950s, with bus and road transport taking its place.

In the 21st century a metro system opened in Valencia as a north-south route passing near the old terminus. One of the stations is called Francisco de Mirando (Rectorado).[6] The metro system is planned to connect to a new railway line to the coast at an interchange in Naguanagua Municipality.