Barcelona–Vallès Line

The Barcelona–Vallès Line (Catalan: Línia Barcelona-Vallès) is an unconnected standard gauge rapid transit and commuter railway line linking Barcelona with Sabadell and Terrassa via the Collserola mountain range, in Catalonia, Spain. Its name refers to the Catalan historical region of Vallès, whereby most part of the line runs. Plaça de Catalunya station serves as the Barcelona terminus of the line, where almost all its trains either start or terminate. The line then continues northwards and branches off twice before leaving the city limits. Its main route splits in two in Sant Cugat del Vallès, forming two major branches to Sabadell and Terrassa. It has 40 passenger stations in operation and a total line length of 48.1 kilometres (29.9 mi).

Barcelona–Vallès Line
A 112 Series train at Sant Quirze station.
Overview
Native nameLínia Barcelona-Vallès
StatusOperational
OwnerGovernment of Catalonia
Line numberL6, L7, L12, S1, S2
LocaleBarcelona metropolitan area
Termini
Stations40
Service
TypeRapid transit, commuter rail
Operator(s)Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC)
Depot(s)
  • Rubí Operations Center
  • Can Roca Depot
  • Ca n'Oriac Depot
Rolling stock
  • 22 112 Series EMU sets
  • 19 113 Series EMU sets
  • 5 114 Series EMU sets
Ridership64,101,981 passenger journeys (2018)
History
Opened24 June 1863 (1863-06-24)
Technical
Line length48.1 km (29.9 mi)
Number of tracks2
CharacterAt-grade, underground (in central Barcelona, Sabadell and Terrassa)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Old gauge1,672 mm (5 ft 5+1316 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead lines
Route map

Pl. Catalunya
Provença Tunnel
Provença
Diagonal
Gràcia
Pl. Molina
Sant Gervasi
Pàdua
Muntaner
El Putxet
La Bonanova
Les Tres Torres
Av. Tibidabo
L9/L10
to Airport T1 or Polígon Pratenc
Plaça Kennedy
Sarrià
Tramvia Blau
to Plaça del Doctor Andreu
Reina Elisenda
Vallvidrera Inferior
Peu del Funicular
Vallvidrera Funicular
to Vallvidrera Superior
Vallvidrera Tunnel
Baixador de Vallvidrera
Les Planes
La Floresta
Valldoreix
Sant Cugat
Castellbisbal–Mollet-Sant Fost railway
to Mollet-Sant Fost
Sant Cugat del Vallès
Volpelleres
Mira-sol
Hospital General
Sant Joan
Castellbisbal–Mollet-Sant Fost railway
to Castellbisbal
Bellaterra
Autonomous University
Rubí Operations Center
Sant Quirze
Rubí
Les Fonts
Can Feu | Gràcia
N-150
Sabadell Plaça Major
La Creu Alta
Terrassa Rambla
Sabadell Nord
Vallparadís Universitat
Lleida–Manresa–Barcelona railway
to L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Terrassa
Lleida–Manresa–Barcelona railway
to Lleida Pirineus
Sabadell Parc del Nord
Terrassa Estació del Nord
Ca n'Oriac Depot
Terrassa Nacions Unides
Can Roca Depot

The origins of the line date from 1863, when a privately owned railway from Barcelona to the then-separated town of Sarrià was opened. In 1912, Catalan engineer Carles Emili Montañès created the company Ferrocarriles de Cataluña (FCC) in order to take control of the line and extend it northwards. After successive extensions, the line reached Terrassa and Sabadell in 1919 and 1922, respectively. In 1977, FCC announced that the whole line was to be closed due to the company's bad economic results. Nevertheless, the Spanish government prevented that from happening by taking control of it. The line was transferred to the Catalan government in 1979, and has been operated by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) ever since. Currently, the most prominent intervention on the line is the extension of the Terrassa and Sabadell branches through the construction of a route underneath the two cities; the former was completed in 2015, whilst the latter did so in 2017.

Barcelona Metro rapid transit lines 6, 7 and 12 serve the line's urban branches within Barcelona, while the rest of the line is operated as a high-frequency commuter rail system known as Vallès Metro (Catalan: Metro del Vallès). This system further includes the Vallvidrera Funicular, which is also operated by FGC. The Barcelona–Vallès Line is part of the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) fare-integrated public transport system for the Barcelona metropolitan area.

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