Built in the 1890s principally to transport ore from the iron mines between Baza and Lorca to the port at Aguilas for export by ship. Only the Lorca to Aguilas section is still in use (mainly for passenger traffic, the mines being long closed). There are some remain of structures and civil engineering along the route of the line between Almendricos and Baza but the track was lifted by the end of the 1990s. However, the Town Council at Zurgena have restored the station there (actually situated across the valley at La Alfoquia) and this is illustrated in the accompanying photographs. Zurgena was an important point on the railway as the weight of the iron ore freight meant that eastbound trains needed doubleheading and banking from here due to the steep gradient.