The Barcelona–Vallès Line () 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 .

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 (). 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.

History The Barcelona–Vallès Line was opened in 1863 with the old Iberian gauge of 1,672 mm, and was electrified and regauged to standard gauge (1,435 mm) in 1905.

Sabadell Metro (Catalan and Spanish: Metro de Sabadell), is the name of the underground subway line in Sabadell. It is operated by the Catalan government-owned rail company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Construction of the subway line started in late 2006 and was due to be finished by 2011 or 2012, depending on which project the FGC finally decided on.Un año de obras en el centro de Sabadell para hacer 5 paradas de FGC – 20minutos.es However, work was temporarily halted due to the 2008–2014 Spanish financial crisis,"El Govern també paralitza el 'metro de Terrassa i Sabadell." Diari Ara (Barcelona), 26 January 2012, p.10 but later resumed and the first phase opened in two stages in September 2016 and July 2017.

The proposed line will join the city centre of Sabadell with its northern neighbourhoods, where it will join the Renfe network line, and will effectively link the city with Barcelona through the main FGC lines. The terminus of the current general FGC line, a station called Sabadell – Rambla, will disappear as it will be replaced by this network. The original project, if fulfilled, will be 4.2 km long.Perllongament de la línia d'FGC a Sabadell – DPTOP It has been criticised for devising a subway line that would run nearly parallel to the Renfe line, which has been deemed ineffective enough to suit the needs of a city the size of Sabadell. Also, a civic association called Sabadell Cruïlla has proposed the construction of a larger metro system to link Sabadell with other large cities in the immediate region such as Terrassa and Granollers.Vecinos de Sabadell cuestionan la prolongación de los Ferrocarrils | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona In addition to that, it has proposed several changes to the initial project so the subway line would reach Torreromeu and Polinyà.S'anima el debat sobre les obres del "Metro de Sabadell" :: sabadellcruilla.org :: Sabadell, cruïlla de camins

Terrassa Metro is the name of the current subway in Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain, operated by the Catalan government-owned rail company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). It could be more accurately defined as an underground addition to the already existing FGC commuter train network in the city, located in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Construction of the subway line was due to start in 2008 and the date of completion was estimated to be in 2010. The proposed line will link the already existing FGC station Terrassa – Rambla with the Renfe rail line in the city, and will cover a larger portion of the city area, including the Polytechnic University of Catalonia schools located in Terrassa. Construction of the tunnel in Can Roca started in April 2007.Agrupament Ferroviari de Barcelona » Blog Archive » Comencen els treballs per a executar els túnels del perllongament d’FGC a Terrassa Generalitat de Catalunya stated a budget of 178.8 million euros will be available for the construction of the Terrassa Metro, which will be made up of an addition to the Terrassa train stations belonging to the FGC line S1. FGC and Renfe budgets combined sum will sum 321 million euros. Renfe itself is going to build another station in the city: Terrassa Est – Passeig del CampNova estació de Renfe a Terrassa Parts of the Vallès line operated by FGC are actually known under the collective name of Metro del Vallès since 1996, which will include the Terrassa service and the extension of S2 which will become Sabadell Metro in the almost adjacent municipality of Sabadell, which is already under construction.Notícies – Terrassa.net : Una gran ciutat per viure-hi

Route description The Barcelona–Vallès Line has its start point at Plaça de Catalunya station, which is located directly underneath El Triangle shopping mall, on the southwesternmost side of Plaça de Catalunya ("Catalonia Square"), a major public transport hub in the Barcelona district of Eixample. The line then continues northwestwards in an underground route along Balmes Street until its intersection with Diagonal Avenue, from this point on running underneath Via Augusta. After Gràcia station, the line branches off thanks to a flying junction, forming a stretch to Avinguda Tibidabo station. Contrarily to the line's main route, this branch line keeps on running northwestwards, following again Balmes Street up to its northern end, which is also the northern terminus of the branch line.

The main line towards Vallès bends westwards exactly following Via Augusta on its way along the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district. It branches off again at Sarrià station, forming a stretch to Reina Elisenda station. The main route, however, continues northwards in a backwards C-shaped route through Barcelona's last streets at the foot of the Collserola mountain range. At this point, the line runs on a succession of alternated open-cut and underground sections before eventually crossing the Vallvidrera neighborhood through a tunnel in a northwest direction. It then continues going across Collserola's central area above ground, running parallel to C-16 motorway up to Valldoreix station in Sant Cugat del Vallès, passing through Les Planes and La Floresta neighborhoods. Next, the line curves northeasterly, getting closer to Sant Cugat del Vallès city center. It diverges into two main branch lines immediately after Sant Cugat station: the Terrassa branch curves markedly in a west direction, while the Sabadell branch runs northwards.

On the one hand, the stretch to Terrassa continues moving away from Sant Cugat del Vallès in a northwesterly direction towards Rubí, where the line's main depot and operations centre is located. It goes along the western limits of Rubí city centre, describing a straight route northwards to the Les Fonts neighbourhood. The branch line proceeds by slightly curving northwesterly, and penetrates into Terrassa city center through a route underneath Rambla del Pare Alegre and Rambla d'Égara streets. After Terrassa Rambla station, it runs in a S-shaped route, reaching Vallparadís Park, then continuing northwards, terminating at Terrassa Nacions Unides station.

On the other hand, the stretch to Sabadell curves northeasterly as it approaches the end of its route through Sant Cugat del Vallès. It then passes through Cerdanyola del Vallès's Bellaterra neighborhood before curving notably in a southwest direction and, shortly after, again in a northeast direction, reaching the Bellaterra campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Before curving northwesterly, the branch line crosses a part of the campus thanks to a short tunnel and, about further,Distance measured using Google Maps's "Distance Measurement Tool". it goes through another short tunnel as it bends west. It curves in a north direction towards Sant Quirze del Vallès immediately after. The line then enters Sabadell in a northeast direction, continuing above ground up to Can Feu Gràcia station; hereafter, running in an underground route terminating at Sabadell Parc del Nord station.

Infrastructure

The line accounts for a total length of and is entirely electrified at 1,500 volts direct current (DC) using overhead lines. It is grade-separated in its whole length, running completely underground in central Barcelona, Terrassa and Sabadell. Excepting for the single-track section between Sabadell Estació and Sabadell Rambla stations, the rest of the line has double track. Besides, an additional line section belonging to the extension of the Sabadell branch is currently under construction. Once completed, it will allow for the dismantling of the line's only remaining single-track section. The signaling and security systems used on the line are centralized traffic control (CTC) and automatic train protection (ATP). The line features standard gauge (), unlike Spain's conventional mainline railway system, which features the broader Iberian gauge (), and to which it is unconnected.

A total of 34 railway stations are situated along the line, all of which are disabled-accessible. 19 out of 34 stations are underground, while the rest are at-grade, and 6 out of 34 are transfer stations. The opening of the extension of the Sabadell branch will suppose the incorporation of 5 new underground stations, one of which will be a transfer station to the Rodalies de Catalunya commuter and regional rail system.

The line's operation is centralised at Rubí Operations Centre, a rail complex run by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) located south of Rubí station. It contains a repair shop and a depot for the rolling stock as well as the Integrated Control Center (ICC), which includes the CTC center and further serves the Llobregat–Anoia Line. The ICC is also in charge of supervising and regulating the facilities found in the line's stations such as elevators, escalators and ticket vending machines, among other functions. Together with the rest of the Terrassa branch extension project, a small depot located at the end of the branch line was opened in July 2015. It is known as Can Roca Depot and has a maximum capacity of 8 four-car trains. Before being dismantled in November 2004, there had existed a depot and a repair shop near Barcelona's Sarrià station. In July 2017, an additional major depot was opened north of Sabadell Parc del Nord station as part of the Sabadell branch extension project.

Operation

Rail services Several rapid transit and commuter rail services run on the Barcelona–Vallès Line, all of them either starting or terminating at Plaça de Catalunya station in central Barcelona (excepting the L12 shuttle services).

Service hours