Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Company type	Government-owned company
Industry	Railway
Founded	5 September 1979; 44 years ago (1979-09-05)
Headquarters	Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
Key people	Antoni Segarra i Barreto (President)
Number of employees	1534 (2008)
Subsidiaries	FGC Operadora FGC Infraestructures FGC Enginyeria FGC Turisme i Muntanya
Website	www.fgc.cat

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Technical
Track gauge	600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)
Overhead catenary

v t e Barcelona–Vallès Line
Legend
L3 to Zona Universitària Pl. Catalunya Hospital de Bellvitge Meridiana Tunnel Paral·lel Aragó Tunnel Provença Tunnel Provença Diagonal Cornellà Centre Trinitat Nova Gràcia Pl. Molina Sant Gervasi Pàdua Muntaner L9/L10 to Can Zam or Gorg 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 Ronda de Dalt 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 C-16 Mira-sol Hospital General AP-7 Sant Joan Castellbisbal–Mollet-Sant Fost railway to Castellbisbal Bellaterra Autonomous University Rubí Operations Center Sant Quirze Rubí C-58 C-16 Les Fonts Can Feu | Gràcia C-58 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

v t e Llobregat–Anoia Line
Legend
Plaça d'Espanya Magòria-La Campana Ildefons Cerdà Europa-Fira Gornal Sant Josep L'Hospitalet- Avinguda Carrilet Almeda Cornellà-Riera freight line to Port of Barcelona Sant Boi depot Molí Nou   Colònia Güell Santa Coloma de Cervelló Sant Vicenç dels Horts Can Ros     Quatre Camins Pallejà Sant Andreu de la Barca El Palau Martorell-Vila Martorell-Central   Martorell-Enllaç depot Abrera Sant Esteve Sesrovires Olesa de Montserrat   La Beguda Aeri de Montserrat Can Parellada Monistrol de Montserrat Masquefa Castellbell i el Vilar Piera Sant Vicenç-Castellgalí Vallbona d'Anoia Manresa-Viladordis Capellades freight line to Súria & Sallent La Pobla de Claramunt Manresa-Alta Vilanova del Camí Manresa-Baixador Igualada

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Eastern Calatan:

Whilst most lines are conventional adhesion railways, the FGC also operates two rack railways and four funicular railways.

In 2018, the network carried 87.2 million passengers.^[2]

History

FGC was founded on 5 September 1979 to manage lines whose ownership was transferred from the state-owned

FGC operates some of the commuter rail network in Barcelona. Voice announcements and signs on trains and stations of lines operated by FGC are exclusively in the Catalan language, unlike in the lines operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona and Renfe which remain bilingual or trilingual (Catalan, Spanish or "Castellano" and eventually English) in order to serve a large and diverse userbase. All lines are overhead DC electrified at 1.5 kV. There are two distinct (and separate) systems:

• The
  Sarrià (L6, purple) and Sant Cugat del Vallès (S5), and then on to Sabadell (S2) or Terrassa
  (S1). In rush hour some of them only arrive at Universitat Auntònoma (S6) or at Rubí (S7). The eighth line is the L12, a shuttle subway service between Sarrià and Reina Elisenda.
• The
  Igualada (R6). There is also an unelectrified metre-gauge freight line to the port of Barcelona, which diverges from the main line between Sant Boi and Cornellà. Along the Llobregat valley, FGC runs on the right bank through Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, Pallejà and on to Martorell (Enllaç), whereas the broad gauge line R4 runs on the left bank through towns Sant Joan Despí, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Molins de Rei
  and on to Martorell.

• L-prefixed lines (L for Línia – line) are treated as part of the Barcelona metro system, which consists of L1-L5 for the metro proper, L6-L8 on the FGC, L9 and L10 partially open and partially under construction, and L11, a short light rail line system in the northwest – see Barcelona Metro. L6 and L7 used to be known as U6 and U7 (U for Urbà – urban), while L8 was formerly known as S3.
• S-prefixed lines (S for Suburbà) are suburban lines, extending into metropolitan fare zone 2 or 3.
• R-prefixed lines (R for Rodalies) are Interurban lines, extending beyond zone 3. Lines R1-R4, R7 and R8 are run by Rodalies de Catalunya (currently operated by Renfe), R5 and R6 are run and operated by FGC.

Mountain railway, tourist and funicular lines

The FGC operates three mountain railway lines:

• The
  Abt
  rack railway system.
• The Vall de Núria Rack Railway, in the Pyrenees mountains of northern Catalonia. This is also of metre gauge using the Abt rack railway system, and the two lines, although many kilometres apart, occasionally swap stock.
• The Ferrocarril Turístic de l'Alt Llobregat, which runs from La Pobla de Lillet to Clot del Moro, also in northern Catalonia. This line is of 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge, and operates using adhesion only.^[1][3]

The FGC also operates four funicular railways:

• The
  Funicular de Sant Joan
  , from the upper station of the Montserrat Rack Railway to the summit of the mountain of Montserrat.
• The
  Funicular de Santa Cova
  , also from the upper station of the Montserrat Rack Railway to a nearby shrine.
• The
  Funicular de Gelida, connecting the town of Gelida
  with its railway station.
• The
  Funicular de Vallvidrera, connecting a station on the Metro del Vallès suburban line to the top of the Tibidabo
  hill.

On 1 January 2005, ownership of the non-electrified broad-gauge line from Lleida to La Pobla de Segur passed from Renfe to FGC. This is the most derelict line in Catalonia – the stretch from Lleida to Balaguer had been upgraded (using second-hand rails) in the recent past, but from Balaguer northwards the track was in an appalling state. FGC has a number of plans for this line, including increasing the service frequency from three trains a day to a 30-minute service from Balaguer to Lleida, along the lines of a commuter railway; replacing all the rails and sleepers; introducing new trains to replace the ancient diesel stock currently used; and promotion of the line to tourists (it passes through some scenic countryside at its northern end). There were even plans to extend the line to the Pyrenees and possibly on to connect with railways in France – the plan when the line was built, but never carried out. Recent budget cuts had left the line in a worse state than it was on Renfe days, with then three daily services from Lleida to Balaguer and only one running the whole length up to La Pobla de Segur.

As of 2015^[update], the service on the line is as follows:^[4]

• Monday to Friday: 1 train Lleida – La Pobla de Segur and return (RL2), 3 trains Lleida – Balaguer and return (RL1)
• Saturday: 1 train Lleida – La Pobla de Segur and return, 2 trains Lleida – Balaguer and return
• Sunday: 1 train Lleida – La Pobla de Segur and return, 2 trains Lleida – Balaguer and return

However, as of 2019, the service has improved, following the introduction of new Stadler GTW trains. There are now 6 trains a day between Lleida and Balaguer on weekdays, and 4 trains a day between Lleida and La Pobla de Segur.

Freight

FGC currently operates two types of freight services on the Llobregat–Anoia line; one of which carries potash and salt from Súria and Sallent respectively to Martorell for cleaning and processing before being sent to the Port of Barcelona, and the other carries cars from SEAT's main factory in Martorell to the Port of Barcelona.

In September 2012, FGC announced that it was planning to start operating freight services across the Spanish rail network, as an

• Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha
• Renfe Feve
• History of rail transport in Spain
• List of FGC lines
• Renfe
• Transportation in Spain

References

External links

• FGC website