Workers from companies in the El Segre industrial estate in Lleida can now go to work by train. Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) put into operation this Monday the halt built between the Lleida-Pirineus and Alcoletge stations, on the Lleida-La Pobla de Segur line. Until now, public transportation to the estate is limited to one bus line.
The works had a budget of 453,000 euros (before VAT) and were financed by Next Generation funds.
“Today we have put the new halt into service following the committed schedule,” said Territori Minister Ester Capella at the opening ceremony of the commissioning in which the president of FGC, Toni Segarra, pointed out that this stop is expected to have about 23,000 users a year.
Segarra has highlighted that it will benefit many people who work at the industrial estate. “We make it easier for them to go by train, instead of by car, promoting more sustainable mobility,” he stated, highlighting that the halt also allows access to the Horta area, the Grenyana area, the Mitjana park and the Molí de Cervià, declared a cultural asset of local interest.
For his part, the mayor of the city, Fèlix Larrosa, (PSC) has highlighted that “the railway must be one of the references” of mobility” and has raised “the convenience of implementing new stops along the route of the line”.
“I want to thank the Government of the Generalitat for this work, which in addition to the industrial estate opens up the Molí de Cervià, and that is also stimulating, so that heritage tourism activity can recover. We will have a train that reaches the industrial estate and the Molí and that is always good,” added Larrosa.
At the opening ceremony of the halt, the councilor highlighted the increase in passengers registered on the Lleida-Cervera section after the extension of frequencies that debuted there at the beginning of February.
“Since we put the new line RL3 into service, more than 11,500 passengers have already used it. With these new users we must add the more than 25,500 users that the R12 has registered this month. The total sum of the two lines already exceeds 37,000 monthly travelers, which represents a 29% increase in demand compared to the same period last year, when RL3 did not yet exist,” stated Capella.
