Miraflores – Sant Vicenç de Calders

This section currently forms part of line 200, which links the stations of Chamartín-Clara Campoamor, in Madrid, with the station of França, in Barcelona. The section under study is the result of the aggregation of various sections built in different years and contexts, although in all cases, financed by private, national and international capital. [1] [9]

The stretch from Lleida to the Catalan coast initially connected with Tarragona, via Reus. [3] [5] Currently, the organisation of ADIF lines has led to variations, as its terminus station is now considered to be França in Barcelona, via Sant Vicenç de Calders, instead of Tarragona.

The line that goes to Tarragona from Zaragoza is the 210 Miraflores (Zaragoza)-Tarragona. The connecting section between the two, the 200 Miraflores (Zaragoza)-San Vicenç de Calders and the 210 Miraflores (Zaragoza)-Tarragona is currently the 230 Plana Picamoixons-Reus line. [6] [7]

The construction of the Lleida-Tarragona section required the creation of three companies, which ended up merging into the Lleida Railway Company in Reus and Tarragona, and the investment of private national and foreign capital. The Tarragona-Reus section was inaugurated in 1856 and it was not until 1879 that the rest of the section to Lleida could be opened. Meanwhile, work was being carried out on the link between Lleida and Barcelona, via Sabadell, and from Lleida to Zaragoza. This last section, built by the Compañía de Caminos de Hierro del Norte, with strong foreign participation and hardly any delays, was inaugurated by King Alfonso XII in 1861, being the first line to cross Aragon. [2] [3] [8] [10]

Several companies were working hard in those years to draw up lines connecting strategic locations in Catalonia. Not without considerable difficulty, the lines were inaugurated, and along the way, several companies went bankrupt or had to merge. This is what happened when faced with the biggest challenge of the moment, crossing the border into France.The feat required the merger of several companies into the so-called Railway Company in Barcelona and France, TBF, which, in addition to managing to take the railway to the international connection of Portbou, gradually weaved a certain railway network in Catalonia, building, among others, the section to San Vicenç de Calders, which would complete the last part of the current line 200. Miraflores (Zaragoza)-Vicenç de Calders.

The TBF company would end up being integrated into the MZA company in 1898, the latter becoming responsible for the operation of the line until 1941. From that year on, the line was integrated into the National Network of Spanish Railways (RENFE). Thanks to its management, the line underwent a modernisation process that culminated in the electrification of the entire route. [6]

In 2024 the line is closed for works on the Bará tunnel, but regional lines and medium-distance trains to and from Zaragoza, Madrid and Valencia usually run. The aim of the works is to boost freight transport and they are being carried out as part of the modernisation of the Mediterranean Corridor between Castellbisbal and Sant Vicençs de Calders.

From the point of view of the landscape and heritage linked to the railway, there are great differences between the Zaragoza-Lleida section and the Lleida-San Vicençs section. The first runs mainly through the province of Huesca, and only at the end does it enter the province of Lleida, reaching the capital. It leaves Zaragoza from the north, running parallel to the course of the Bajo Gállego, between riverside groves, fields of crops and industrial facilities, until it reaches Portazgo, where it begins to veer eastwards. It thus enters the province of Huesca, in the region of Los Monegros, after crossing the canal of the same name: there it runs through an extensive, highly cultivated plain, accompanied to the south by the Sierra de Alcubierre, which separates it from the Ebro valley. Eventually, some singularities of the semi-desert relief appear in this plain, such as the Muela de Terreu. Then the route enters the Cinca Medio region, crossed by the river Cinca at Monzón, with a splendid view of its castle. It then passes into the region of La Litera and from there to the Segrià region of Lleida, in a cultivated landscape irrigated by the historic Canal of Aragon and Catalonia, until it reaches Lleida. The urban stations are generally in good condition, while the sidings and non-urban stations are in a state of neglect. The architectural style changes upon entering Catalonia, as different railway companies were responsible for their design and construction. The Monegros area has special potential for tourism, due to its well-known natural value and unique landscape.

The section between Lleida and San Vicençs de Calders, meanwhile, runs through the provinces of Lleida and Tarragona, crossing the regions of Segrià, Garriges, Conca de Barberá, Alt Camp and Tarragonès. From its starting point, the line runs through farmland, first irrigated crops, until it reaches Les Borges Blanques, where the landscape changes and the route enters a plain of dryland crops, mainly fruit trees. On the border between the regions of Garriges and Conca de Barberá, the line runs between hills, leaving the Vall la Vinaixa protected natural space to one side and entering once again into dry farming land, to finally cross the lower part of the Serra Alta until reaching the coast. All the stations along this section belong to the same type, except for the more modern ones, which are very few in number. Those in use are in an acceptable state of repair, and almost all function as halts. There are no outstanding scenic features along the route, nor is there any perceived potential for the development of tourism.

Category A1.
Electrified track with concrete sleepers in good condition.