The Poblete Greenway makes use of a small section of the former Madrid–Ciudad Real–Badajoz railway line, a railway with a rather peculiar history. French investors were the first to show interest in building a line between Badajoz and Ciudad Real.

Its profitability was expected to grow thanks to its connection at Almorchón with other lines serving the rich coalfields of the Guadiato valley in Córdoba. The line between Badajoz and Ciudad Real was completed in 1866, but it soon became clear that the truly profitable venture would be to extend the line northwards, linking Ciudad Real with Madrid.

All efforts and capital were poured into this new section, which ran from Ciudad Real to the new Madrid-Delicias station, specially built as the company’s grand terminal. But by the time the works were completed in 1879, the company was financially exhausted, and the line was absorbed by the much more powerful MZA (Madrid–Zaragoza–Alicante Railway Company). From then on, trains from Ciudad Real and Badajoz terminated at Atocha station.  Apart from having a new terminus, Ciudad Real also gained a new southern station, shared with trains from Manzanares, as part of a diversion that bypassed the town centre.

The line underwent its final upheaval in 1988. Under Renfe, the Madrid–Ciudad Real section was transformed into the first stage of the AVE Madrid–Seville high-speed railway. The old tracks were dismantled almost entirely, and on their former bed was laid a futuristic line over which, since 1992, high-speed trains have sped between Andalusia and Madrid. 

The Poblete Greenway is a direct outcome of this process. The southern exit from Ciudad Real was substantially altered, with the conventional network realigned to run parallel to the new high-speed line, while the old station was abandoned. This left out of service the short stretch between the city and its first stop, Poblete. From there, however, the original 19th-century line is still in use, running parallel to the AVE until Puertollano, where the routes part ways: the AVE line continues south to Andalusia, while the veteran Iberian line heads west towards Extremadura, through the beautiful Alcudia Valley.