Igualada

Igualada (Catalan pronunciation: [iɣwəˈɫaðə]) is a municipality of the province of Barcelona in Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia river, and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of the Anoia comarca, a rich agricultural and wine-producing district. The population, as of 2009, is 38,918.

The city consists of an old town, originated in the 11th century, with narrow and irregular streets, including the remains of a fortress and ramparts, plus a new surrounding town with regular and spacious streets and many fine houses.

The city is 65 kilometres (40 miles) west from Barcelona and 20 kilometres (12 miles) west from the famous mountain and monastery of Montserrat.

Igualada hosts the European Balloon Festival, the largest hot air balloon festival in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. It takes place every year, since 1997, at the beginning of July. The city also hosts the Aerosport airshow which takes place every year in April or May.

Igualada (Llobregat–Anoia Line)

Igualada is a railway station on the Llobregat–Anoia Line serving the city of the same name, in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the southeastern part of town, right next to the bus station. The railway station is the northern terminus of the Igualada line branch and is served by commuter rail lines R6 and R60.

Although the current station opened in 1978, a narrow gauge railway line from Martorell, predecessor of the current line, had already been serving the city since 1893. In 2015, it was announced that the current at-grade station is to be put underground together with a 300-metre-long (980 ft) line portion, removing the only level crossing in town.

History

Originally, it was envisaged that Igualada would be part of the Madrid to Barcelona railway through central Catalonia. This plan, however, was dropped in favour of Manresa, located further north. On 9 July 1893 (1893-07-09), the railway eventually arrived in Igualada in the form of a narrow gauge line from Martorell, built and operated by Ferrocarril Central Catalán ("Catalan Central Railway"), which would later become the current Llobregat–Anoia Line. The original terminus station was located at-grade in the northwestern part of the city. In 1978, the original station was replaced with a new one in the southeastern part of town, resulting in the dismantling of about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) of railway lines through the city center, including the removal of several busy level crossings and the demolition of the original station building. The recovered land allowed for the extension of the Passeig Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer boulevard.