Enjoy a relaxing trip on the ‘tren del llacs’ crossing lakes, traversing gorges and enjoying the spectacular limestone scenery of our area, all with the stunning backdrop of the Pyrenees.
A little bit of history:
The Lleida-La Pobla de Segur railway line is part of an old trans-Pyrenean project to connect the city of Lleida to Saint Girons in France via the Port de Salau. The line between Lleida and Balaguer was formally opened in 1924. After the Spanish Civil War, RENFE (the national railway company) was given the task of continuing the project and took the line to Cellers, in 1949, Tremp in 1950, and finally to La Pobla de Segur, in 1951.
Although preparations had already been made to take the line as far as Sort, the rest of the cross-border project was subsequently shelved.
The section of the line that was constructed runs along the right bank of the River Segre, from Lleida to Balaguer. It is a single track and follows a relatively easy route.
After Balaguer, the line follows the course of the River Noguera Pallaresa and its path is much more interesting crossing the mountains of Mont Roig and Montsec, where the spectacular scenery reveals rugged rock walls, gorges and the four reservoirs of Sant Llorenç, Camarasa, Cellers and Sant Antoni. This part of the route involves a total of 41 tunnels and 31 bridges.
The route:
Lleida Pirineus> Alcoletge> Vilanova de la Barca> Térmens> Vallfogona de Balaguer*> Balaguer> Gerb*> Sant Llorenç de Montgai> Vilanova de la Sal*> Santa Linya*> Àger> Cellers-Llimiana> Guàrdia de Tremp*> Palau de Noguera*> Tremp> Salàs de Pallars*> La Pobla de Segur
* request stops
- Serra de Montsec: The ‘Tren dels Llacs’ (Lake Train) is a good way to discover Montsec. The railway line crosses the imposing massif, following the course of the River Noguera Pallaresa through the Terradets gorge, where tunnels, bridges and viaducts help it to pass through the limestone cliffs.
- The reservoirs: There are four fantastic stretches of water along the route: Sant Llorenç de Montgai, Camarasa, Cellers and Sant Antoni. Their calm, blue waters reflect the peaks of Montsec and are site for all manner of water sports. These reservoirs date from the first third of the 20th century. They were created in order to provide drinking and irrigation water for the local populations and to generate electricity for the cities, towns and villages of Catalunya.