The Llobregat–Anoia Line () is an unconnected metre gauge railway line linking Barcelona with the Baix Llobregat, Bages and Anoia regions, in Catalonia, Spain. Its name refers to the fact that it follows the course of the Llobregat and Anoia rivers for most of its length. Plaça d'Espanya station serves as the Barcelona terminus of the line, then continuing northwards to Martorell, where two main branches to Manresa and Igualada are formed. It also includes several freight branches, accounting for a total line length of and 41 passenger stations.

Barcelona Metro Line 8, together with a number of commuter and freight rail services, runs on the line's main route between Barcelona and Sant Boi de Llobregat. The section between Barcelona and Olesa de Montserrat is operated as a high-frequency commuter rail system known as Baix Llobregat Metro (), with some services continuing northwards to Manresa and Igualada. The Llobregat–Anoia Line is part of the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) fare-integrated public transport system for the Barcelona metropolitan area.

History

The Llobregat–Anoia Line originated from three formerly separate narrow gauge railway lines: Tranvía o Ferrocarril Económico de Manresa a Berga (opened in 1885), Ferrocarril Central Catalán (opened in 1893) and Camino de Hierro del Nordeste de España, built to quickly and cheaply give passenger and freight transportation to the rapidly industrialising Llobregat area. The line was extended to Barcelona in 1912. Between 1985 and 1987, the section between Cornellà-Riera and Sant Josep was moved underground, followed by the section between Sant Josep and Espanya. The Metro del Baix Llobregat designation was first introduced on this line in 2000, and the Line 8 service has been formally included in the Barcelona Metro network since 6 November 2003.

Development plans

An extension of the line further into central Barcelona, with a new station in Plaça Francesc Macià, has been discussed since May 1999. In January 2017, the Catalan government approved a plan to extend the Llobregat–Anoia line from Plaça d'Espanya through the city as far as Gràcia station, also stopping at Hospital Clínic and Francesc Macià station, thereby linking with the Barcelona–Vallès Line, at an estimated cost of over €300 million. The project was finally approved by the government of Catalonia in 2021, with the final alignment serving the stations Espanya, Hospital Clínic, Francesc Macià and Gràcia. It will connect to Trambaix routes T1, T2 and T3, Line 5 of the Barcelona Metro and the Vallès line. Preliminary works started in 2022, with major construction starting in January 2024. Tunneling is slated to begin in late 2025. The extension is expected to be operational by 2029 or 2030. A second phase is also being considered to extend the line towards the Besós river in the eastern part of the city, serving stations such as Joanic, Sagrada Familia and Glòries.

List of stations The following table lists the name of each station on the Llobregat–Anoia Line in order from south to north; a photo of the current station; the rail services operating at the station (L8, S3, S4, S8, R5, R50, R6 and/or R60); the date the current station was opened; the municipality or the city district (in the case of Barcelona) in which each station is located; the fare zone each station belongs to according to the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) fare-integrated public transport system; remarkable notes about the station, including clarifications, additional information and a location map; and usage figures.

#Terminal of a service*Transfer station#*Transfer station and terminal¤Station located in Barcelona; city district indicated instead of municipality●The train stops at the station｜The train skip the station

Station Photo Line(s) Opened Municipality Fare zone Notes Usage Main route Pl. Espanya#* ●●●●●●●●● Sants-Montjuïc¤ 1 Connects with Barcelona Metro lines 1 and 3. 5.39 Magòria-La Campana ●●●●●●｜●｜ Original at-grade station opened 1912. 0.53 Ildefons Cerdà* ●●●●●●●●● L'Hospitalet de Llobregat Connects with Barcelona Metro line 10 (200-metre walk at street level). 1.20 Europa – Fira* ●●●●●●●●● Connects with Barcelona Metro line 9 (L9 Sud). 1.44 Gornal* ●●●●●●●●● Connects with Rodalies de Catalunya commuter and regional rail services at Bellvitge station. 0.69 Sant Josep ●●●●●●●●● 0.79 L'Hospitalet Av. Carrilet* ●●●●●●●●● Original at-grade station opened 1912. Connects with Barcelona Metro line 1. 1.99 Almeda ●●●●●●●●● Cornellà de Llobregat 1.09 Cornellà Riera ●●●●●●●●● 1.19 Sant Boi ●●●●●●●●● Sant Boi de Llobregat 1.83 Molí Nou-Ciutat Cooperativa# ●●●●●●｜●｜ 0.68 Colònia Güell No service●●●●｜｜｜｜ Santa Coloma de Cervelló 2B 0.04 Santa Coloma de Cervelló ●●●●｜｜●● 0.12 Sant Vicenç dels Horts ●●●●●●●● Sant Vicenç dels Horts 0.47 Can Ros# ●●●●●｜●｜ 0.37 Quatre Camins No service●●●●｜●｜ 0.14 Pallejà ●●No service●●●｜ Pallejà Original at-grade station opened 1912. 0.23 Sant Andreu de la Barca ●●●●●● Sant Andreu de la Barca Original at-grade station opened 1912. 0.51 El Palau ●●●｜●｜ 0.20 Martorell Vila – Castellbisbal ●●｜｜｜｜ Castellbisbal 0.03 Martorell Central* ●●●●●● Martorell 3B Original station opened 1893 as the southern terminus of the Catalan Central Railway. Connects with Rodalies de Catalunya commuter rail services. 0.38 Martorell Enllaç# ●●●｜●｜ 0.15 Manresa branch Abrera No serviceNo service●No serviceNo service●●No serviceNo service Abrera 3B 0.12 Olesa de Montserrat#* ●●● Olesa de Montserrat Connects with the Olesa de Montserrat–Esparreguera Cable Car, which has been temporarily closed since August 2012. 0.26 Aeri de Montserrat* No service●｜ Monistrol de Montserrat 4Z Connects with the Montserrat Cable Car. 0.11 Monistrol de Montserrat* ●● Connects with the Montserrat Rack Railway. 0.22 Castellbell i el Vilar ●｜ Castellbell i el Vilar 5D 0.004 Sant Vicenç – Castellgalí ●● Sant Vicenç de Castellet 0.11 Manresa Viladordis ●● Manresa l 0.05 Manresa Alta ●● Original station opened 1885 together with the Manresa–Puig-reig section of the Manresa to Berga and Guardiola de Berguedà Economical Railway. 0.07 Manresa Baixador# ●● 0.13 Igualada branch Sant Esteve Sesrovires No serviceNo serviceNo serviceNo serviceNo serviceNo serviceNo service●● Sant Esteve Sesrovires 3B 0.10 La Beguda ●｜ Masquefa 4C 0.01 Can Parellada ●｜ 0.01 Masquefa ●● 0.10 Piera ●● Piera 0.16 Vallbona d'Anoia ●● Vallbona d'Anoia 5C 0.03 Capellades ●● Vallbona d'Anoia 0.05 La Pobla de Claramunt ●● La Pobla de Claramunt 0.03 Vilanova del Camí ●● Vilanova del Camí 6B 0.03 Igualada# ●● Igualada 0.19

See also Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya Barcelona Metro Olesa de Montserrat–Esparreguera Cable Car Montserrat Rack Railway Montserrat Cable Car Barcelona–Vallès Line

Maps

Pl. Espanya – Magòria-La Campana– Ildefons Cerdà – Europa Fira – Gornal – Sant Josep – L'Hospitalet Av. Carrilet – Almeda – Cornellà Riera – Sant Boi – Molí Nou-Ciutat Cooperativa – Colònia Güell – Santa Coloma de Cervelló – Sant Vicenç dels Horts – Can Ros – Quatre Camins– Pallejà – Sant Andreu de la Barca – El Palau – Martorell Vila Castellbisbal – Martorell Central – Martorell Enllaç – Abrera – Olesa de Montserrat – Aeri de Montserrat – Monistrol de Montserrat – Castellbell i el Vilar – Sant Vicenç Castellgalí – Manresa Viladordis – Manresa Alta – Manresa Baixador – Sant Esteve Sesrovires – La Beguda – Can Parellada – Masquefa – Piera – Vallbona d'Anoia – Capellades – La Pobla de Claramunt – Vilanova del Camí – Igualada –

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) official website Llobregat–Anoia Line at trenscat.cat