In the years 1902 to 1927 a rail connection was created between Spain and France, the connection point of which should be Canfranc station. The route was opened in 1928 in the presence of the Spanish King and the French President. At that time, Canfranc was the second busiest railway station in Europe. Here the standard-gauge French tracks met broad-gauge Spanish ones, which is why a transfer could not be prevented. The hoped-for number of travelers was never reached. Firstly, the route through the Pyrenees was too slow, then came the Spanish Civil War, and finally the differences between Franco-Spain and France. In 1970, a bridge collapsed on the French side and was not rebuilt, bringing border traffic to a standstill. During the Second World War, the station was a transhipment point for Nazi gold. Parts of Doctor Zhivago were also filmed here.
Nowadays, Canfranc ekes out an existence as a regional train station. The building looks totally out of place for this purpose and is mostly empty.