The Historical Railway Archive dates back to 1979 when Renfe's Board ofDirectors created the Historical Studies Service which, being answerable to its Secretary, was entrusted with the principal duty of preserving railway documents of a historical nature. A few years later the Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (Spanish Railway Foundation)was created, taking over the management of these assets and regarding this duty as one of its fundamental tasks, as was clearly stated in its articles of association:

"In order to fulfil its purposes, the Foundation shall carry out the following activities: preserving, maintaining and enriching the Spanish Railway Historical Archive, facilitating access to the general public".

Over the these last 20 years it has performed a task which has guaranteed the conservation of a significant documentary legacy which has been one of the greater contributions to the progress of research during this period, thus fulfilling another of its objectives,  

		Classification table (in spanish) General information and services