This coastal railway (the furthest point from the coast of this line is just over 1500 m) was a late-built line, fully inaugurated in 1898. It is a truly strange line, as even contemporaries were surprised that a railway was being built parallel to another already in service, the Jerez to Sanlúcar and the Puerto de Bonanza line. This one belonged to the "Ferrocarriles Andaluces" network, was located about 12 km inland, and had already yielded disappointing economic results.

Its origin was lengthy, as its promoters were capitalists based in Portugal, who soon gave way to the Belgian company "Compañía Belga de los Caminos de Hierro Vecinales de Andalucía." Such a long name barely referred to a modest 37 km line that, as announced, was unprofitable almost from its inception.

It barely generated any freight traffic, and the passenger services outside the summer season were poor. The owners attempted to sell the line as quickly as possible, which they did to their powerful neighbor, the Ferrocarriles Andaluces, a company that took over the management of the line in 1919. Under this brand, it remained until it was incorporated into Renfe in 1941.

This very modest line had a spectacular rise in the mid-1950s. The construction of the Rota Naval Base, used by both the Spanish and American navies, made this simple railway play an important role in transporting construction materials. In fact, the line runs through the middle of this military base, making it a unique case in Spain. But once the construction work ended, the line returned to its usual decline. Despite being in such a touristy area, as with many other Spanish stations, the last train on this railway ran on the last day of 1984. There has been talk several times of reopening it, but the reality is that Sanlúcar de Barrameda, which once had two railway lines, today only retains the memory of its trains.