Although the first attempts to lay a railway through the provincial capital of Jaén date back to 1881, it was not until 1893 when the first trains travelled through this city on their way to Puente Genil. With this new track, the Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Andaluces created a new transversal axis in Andalusia starting from Linares, linking in Puente Genil with its routes that, from Cordoba, reached as far as Malaga and Algeciras. This track competed with the main railway access from the plateau that, operated by the all-powerful MZA company, ran through the Guadalquivir Valley.

One of the main functions of this new railway was to transport bulk oil by means of tank cars. Such was its prominence that the railway was nicknamed the "Oil Train," a name that was inherited by current greenway. However, in addition to oil, coal from the Belmez basin, lead, and other metals from the Linares deposits were also hauled to the port of Malaga. But the economic history of the railroad was never buoyant. Thus, except for the temporary upturn it experienced at the end of the 19th century during the war in Cuba, its accounts were in the red year after year. Then, in 1936, this line and all those that made up the extensive "Andaluces" network were taken over by the State. Another war, the Spanish Civil War, gave new life to the railway, a period in which this route served as an alternative to the frequently bombed Espeluy-Seville line. But when the guns fell silent, so did the locomotives, which were less and less visible on its tracks, and at average speeds of 30 km/h! In this languid situation, the railway remained precariously active until 1985. That year, along with hundreds of other kilometres of tracks scattered throughout the Spanish countryside, the entire section between Jaén and Puente Genil was closed.