Barcelona Metro line 6
| Barcelona–Vallès Line | |
|---|---|
A 112 Series train at Sant Quirze station.
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| Overview | |
| Native name | Línia Barcelona-Vallès |
| Type | Rapid transit, commuter rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | Barcelona metropolitan area |
| Termini |
Pl. Catalunya Av. Tibidabo, Reina Elisenda, Terrassa Nacions Unides, Sabadell Plaça Major |
| Stations | 34 (3 under construction) |
| Ridership | 54,581,954 passenger journeys (2013) |
| Line number | L6, L7, L12, S1, S2, S5, S55 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 24 June 1863 |
| Owner | Government of Catalonia |
| Operator(s) | Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) |
| Character | At-grade, underground (in central Barcelona, Sabadell and Terrassa) |
| Depot(s) |
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| Rolling stock |
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| Technical | |
| Line length | 48.1 km (29.9 mi) |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Old gauge | 1,672 mm (5 ft 5 13⁄16 in) |
| Electrification | 1,500 V DC overhead lines |
The Barcelona–Vallès Line (Catalan: Línia Barcelona-Vallès) is an unconnected standard gauge 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 34 passenger stations in operation and a total line length of 48.1 kilometres (29.9 mi).
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 will do so in 2017.
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Wikipedia