The R4 is a line of Rodalies de Catalunya's Barcelona commuter rail service, operated by Renfe Operadora. It runs northwards from the northern limits of the province of Tarragona to Barcelona, passing through the inland Alt Penedès region. The line then continues towards central Catalonia, describing a U-shaped route through the Barcelona area. According to 2008 data, the line's average weekday ridership is 105,935, the highest on any line of the Barcelona commuter rail service after the .
R4 trains use the Meridiana Tunnel in Barcelona, where they share tracks with Rodalies de Catalunya's Barcelona commuter rail service lines , and , as well as Girona commuter rail service line and regional rail line , calling at Sants, Plaça de Catalunya and Arc de Triomf stations. South of Barcelona, they operate on the Sant Vicenç de Calders–Vilafranca del Penedès–Barcelona railway, using as their southernmost terminus, north of Barcelona they operate on the Lleida–Manresa–Barcelona railway, with no services terminating north of .
Together with lines R1, and R3, the R4 (then simply numbered line 4) started services in 1989 as one of the first lines of the Cercanías commuter rail system for Barcelona, known as Rodalies Barcelona. In 1995, the branch line to Cerdanyola Universitat railway station opened for passenger service and was incorporated as part of line R4. With the creation of Barcelona commuter rail service line in 2005, the branch line was transferred to the R7. In the long-term future, it is projected that the route of the R4 south of Barcelona will be transferred to the R2, and all its services will terminate at Barcelona–El Prat Airport.
List of stations The following table lists the name of each station served by line R4 in order from south to north; the station's service pattern offered by R4 trains; the transfers to other Rodalies de Catalunya lines, including both commuter and regional rail services; remarkable transfers to other transport systems; the municipality in which each station is located; and the fare zone each station belongs to according to the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM Àrea de Barcelona) fare-integrated public transport system and Rodalies de Catalunya's own fare zone system for Barcelona commuter rail service lines.
#Terminal of a service*Transfer station to other transport systems#*Transfer station and terminal●Station served by all trains running through it○Limited service station
Station Service Rodalies de Catalunya transfers Other transfers Municipality Fare zone # ● , , , , , — El Vendrell 6A 6 ● — El Vendrell 6A 6 ● — L'Arboç 5B 6 ● — — Santa Margarida i els Monjos 4B 5 # ● — — Vilafranca del Penedès 4B 5 ○ — — La Granada 4B 5 ○ — — Subirats 3B 4 ● — — Sant Sadurní d'Anoia 3B 4 * ● — Gelida Funicular Gelida 3B 4 #* ● Baix Llobregat Metro and other commuter rail services Martorell 3B 3 ● — Castellbisbal 2B 3a ● — — El Papiol 2B 2 ● — Molins de Rei 2B 2 ● — Sant Feliu de Llobregat 1 2 ● — Sant Joan Despí 1 1 Cornellà* ● Barcelona Metro line 5 Trambaix light rail services Cornellà de Llobregat 1 1 #* ● , , , Barcelona Metro line 1 at Rambla Just Oliveras station L'Hospitalet de Llobregat 1 1 * ● , , , , , , , , , , , Renfe Operadora-operated high-speed and long-distance rail services TGV high-speed rail services Barcelona Metro lines 3 and 5 at Sants Estació station National and international coach services Barcelona 1 1 Barcelona Plaça de Catalunya* ● , , , Barcelona Metro lines 1, 3, 6 and 7 Vallès Metro commuter rail services Barcelona 1 1 Barcelona Arc de Triomf* ● , , , Barcelona Metro line 1 National and international coach services at Estació del Nord Barcelona 1 1 Barcelona La Sagrera-Meridiana* ● , Barcelona Metro lines 1, 5 and 9/10 (L9 Nord/L10) Barcelona 1 1 Barcelona Sant Andreu Arenal* ● , , Barcelona Metro line 1 at Fabra i Puig station National coach services Barcelona 1 1 Barcelona Torre del Baró* ● , , Barcelona Metro line 11 at Torre Baró – Vallbona station Barcelona 1 1 ● , , — Montcada i Reixac 1 1 ● , — Montcada i Reixac 1 1 ● , — Montcada i Reixac 1 1 ● , — Cerdanyola del Vallès 2C 2 ● — Barberà del Vallès 2C 2 ● — Sabadell 2C 3 ● — Sabadell 2C 3 ● — Sabadell 2C 3 ● — Terrassa 3C 4 #* ● Vallès Metro commuter rail services Terrassa 3C 4 ○ — — Viladecavalls 3C 4 ○ — — Viladecavalls 3C 4 ○ — — Vacarisses 4E 4 ○ — — Vacarisses 4E 5 ○ — — Castellbell i el Vilar 5E 5 ● — Sant Vicenç de Castellet 5E 5 # ● — Manresa 6D 6
Incidents On 20 November 2018, a train on this line derailed due to a landslide between the Vacarisses and Vacarisses Torreblanca stations, causing one death and 49 injuries. Another derailment occurred on 8 February 2019 between Sant Vicenç de Castellet and Manresa, killing the driver and injuring several other people.
A train on line R4 crashed into a failed retaining wall on 20 January 2026 near Gelida, killing the train driver and injuring 37 passengers. The incident in Gelida occurred days after a separate crash involving two high-speed trains in the province of Córdoba.
References
Bibliography
External links Rodalies de Catalunya official website Schedule for the R4 (PDF format) R4 Rodalies (rod4cat) on Twitter. Official Twitter account by Rodalies de Catalunya for the R4 with service status updates (tweets usually published only in Catalan)
R4 (rodalia 4) on Twitter. Unofficial Twitter account by Rodalia.info monitoring real-time information about the R4 by its users. Information about the R4 at trenscat.cat