The railway begins at
Lucca railway station, crossing the Via Pesciatina, which until 1957 housed the metric gauge track of the
Lucca–Monsummano electric tramway to
Pescia. After passing the suburb of San Pietro a Vico the line reaches Ponte a Moriano, the terminus of the first stretch of the railway to be built and once home to a both a factory connected to the railway station as well as the
Lucca–Ponte a Moriano steam tramway. In almost flat territory the line passes the now-closed Piaggione station and another siding, this time to a factory owned by Italian paper company Lucart. The railway calls at two stations serving the town of
Borgo a Mozzano before passing under a purpose-built fornix in the
Ponte della Maddalena and following the
Serchio river to the spa town of
Bagni di Lucca. Passing two disused stations, and a junction leading to a
paper mill, the line continues to
Fornaci di Barga railway station where further sidings previously served the Europa Metalli plant now operated by
KME Group. Two further stops serve the town of
Barga:
Barga-Gallicano railway station and
Castelvecchio Pascoli railway station, the latter named for the famous Italian poet
Giovanni Pascoli. The line continues uphill serving stops at Fosciandora-Ceserana, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Villetta San Romano, Poggio-Careggine-Vagli and Camporgiano. Arriving at
Piazza al Serchio the line comes to the outer reaches of the
Garfagnana region from which it takes its traditional name. In memory of the
steam locomotives that formerly operated on the Lucca–Aulla railway, an
FS Class 940 locomotive is preserved here as a monument. From here the railway passes through the Lupacino tunnel which at is the longest of the line. Onwards to Minucciano-Pieve-Casola and the town of
Equi Terme the line reaches the steepest incline of its route heading onwards to Monzone-Monte dei Bianchi-Isolano. Heading onwards through the
Lunigiana further stops pass through Gragnola and on through the territory of
Fivizzano with stops at Rometta-Soliera and Gassano. From here the line passes former explosives factory sidings to enter a new track layout introduced in 2008 to reach the end of the line at
Aulla. ==Technical specification==