Lleida–La Pobla Line

The Lleida–La Pobla Line (Catalan: Línia Lleida-La Pobla) is a 89.4-kilometre-long (55.6 mi) railway line linking Lleida and La Pobla de Segur, in Catalonia, Spain. Most of its users concentrate between Lleida and Balaguer, where a frequent service is offered, with few trains continuing to La Pobla de Segur. Since 2009, a heritage railway service branded Tren dels Llacs (English: "Lakes Train"), in reference to the number of reservoirs skirted by the line north of Balaguer, has been running on the railway.^[5] The line is part of the ATM Àrea de Lleida fare-integrated public transport system between Lleida and Àger.^[6]

Lleida–La Pobla Line
A Renfe Operadora 592 Series train at La Pobla de Segur station in 2009.
Overview
Native name	Línia Lleida-La Pobla
Status	Operational
Locale	Segrià, Noguera and Pallars Jussà comarques
Termini	Lleida Pirineus La Pobla de Segur
Stations	17
Website	lleidalapobla.fgc.cat
Service
Type	Commuter rail, regional rail
Services	Lleida Pirineus–Balaguer Lleida Pirineus–La Pobla de Segur
Operator(s)	Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC)
Depot(s)	Pla de Vilanoveta (temporarily)[1]
Rolling stock	Regular service: 2 Stadler GTW 2/6 (FGC 331 Series) DMUs Tren dels Llacs: 5 RENFE 6000 Series passenger cars hauled by two RENFE 308 Series diesel locomotives
Ridership	Regular service: 251,843 passenger journeys (2019)[2] Tren dels Llacs: 6,703 passenger journeys (2019)[2]
History
Opened	3 February 1924 (1924-02-03) Adif (access line to Lleida Pirineus station) Government of Catalonia (rest of the line)[3]
Technical
Line length	89.35 km (55.52 mi)[4]
Number of tracks	1
Character	At-grade
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Minimum radius	300 metres (980 ft)[4]
Route map

v t e Lleida–La Pobla Line
Legend
PK 0 Lleida Pirineus Segre River Madrid–Barcelona HSR (Lleida branch) Madrid–Barcelona railway 2 To Vilanoveta Junction Pla de Vilanoveta Lleida–Manresa–Barcelona railway to L'Hospitalet de Llobregat Autovía A-2 6.7 Alcoletge C-13 11.8 Vilanova de la Barca 16.4 Térmens 22.2 Vallfogona de Balaguer C-53 26.1 Balaguer Segre River 30.3 Gerb 35.9 Sant Llorenç de Montgai 41.7 Vilanova de la Sal Camarasa Reservoir 44.8 Santa Linya C-12 55 Àger 63.4 Cellers-Llimiana 68.2 Guàrdia de Tremp 72.4 Palau de Noguera-Talarn 77 Tremp C-13 84.2 Salàs de Pallars 89.8 La Pobla de Segur

On 3 February 1924, the line's first stretch opened between Lleida and Balaguer, initially as part of a planned international rail line through the Pyrenees mountains between Lleida and Saint-Girons in France. Between 1949 and 1951, it was extended to the current northern terminus in La Pobla de Segur. The line was targeted for closure by the Spanish government in the 1980s, with great opposition from regional and local administrations. This led to the eventual transfer of the line to the Catalan government in 2004, though operations continued to be carried on by the national rail operator Renfe Operadora.^[3][7] In 2016, the line's operation was fully taken over by the regional company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) following the introduction of new rolling stock and service improvements.^[8][9][10]