R11 (Rodalies de Catalunya)


The R11 is a line of Rodalies de Catalunya's regional rail service, operated by Renfe Operadora. It runs northwards from the Barcelona area to the French border town of Cerbère, passing through the Vallès Oriental, Selva, Gironès and Alt Empordà regions. With a total line length of, it extends notably beyond the limits of the Barcelona metropolitan area, reaching the Pyrenees mountains.
R11 trains run primarily on the Barcelona–Cerbère railway, using and/or Cerbère as their northeasternmost terminus, and as its southwestern one. They use the Aragó Tunnel in Barcelona, where they share tracks with Rodalies de Catalunya's Barcelona suburban lines, and and regional rail lines,, and, calling at Sants and Passeig de Gràcia stations, while they continue to share tracks with Barcelona commuter rail service as far as, and with the Girona commuter rail service from Maçanet-Massanes to.
The Maçanet-Massanes-Portbou section had not previously been considered part of the Barcelona commuter rail service; designated Ca2, the services running on it were part of Renfe Operadora's regional rail division in Catalonia. In 2010, after the administration of the Barcelona commuter rail service was transferred to the Catalan government, the line was passed from the Catalan regional rail division to Rodalies de Catalunya.

History

The current line scheme of the R11 started operating on, after the transfer of the services from Media Distancia Renfe to the Generalitat of Catalonia. Earlier, all the regional rail services carryoing out the line Barcelona-Girona-Figueres-Portbou were branded as Ca2 for the Catalan rail division, and 33 in the nationwide regional rail network. Before 2014, it was the only conventional line to serve the cities of Girona and Figueres, until the creation of the Girona commuter rail service, running from Barcelona to Figueres initially, being later extended to Portbou.

Infrastructure

Like the rest of Rodalies de Catalunya lines, the R11 runs on the Iberian gauge mainline railway system, which is owned by Adif, an agency of the Spanish government. All of the railway lines carrying Rodalies de Catalunya services are electrified at 3,000 volts direct current using overhead lines. The R11 operates on a total line length of, entirely double-track. The trains on the line call at up to 28 stations, using the following railway lines, in order from south to north:
FromToRailway lineRoute number
Aragó Junction
Madrid–Barcelona260
Aragó Junction
Aragó Tunnel268
Cerbère Barcelona–Cerbère270

All of the infrastructure used by the R11 is shared with other services. Between and Barcelona Passeig de Gràcia stations, it shares tracks with Rodalies de Catalunya's Barcelona commuter rail service lines, and, regional rail lines,, and, as well as a number of long-distance services to southern Spain, using the Aragó Tunnel through central Barcelona. After Passeig de Gràcia, R11 trains R2 Sud trains, together with the R13, R14, R15 and R16, as well as long-distance services, branch off to Barcelona's Estació de França, terminating there. R11 services continue northwards through the Aragó Tunnel, calling at El Clot-Aragó railway station, and share tracks with the R2 and R2 Nord only. North of Mollet-Sant Fost railway station, Barcelona commuter rail service line and several freight services join their route. The R8 terminates further north at so that the R11 only shares tracks with the R2 and freight services from this point on up to Maçanet-Massanes. From Maçanet-Massanes, R11 trains share tracks with the Girona commuter rail service RG1 and freight trains for the remainder of their journey.

Operation

All services that initiate from as their southern terminus terminate at either, or continue all the way to and Cerbère. All services terminating at Cerbère call at all stations. Trains termating at Girona, Figueres or Portbou, run either calling at all stations, or stopping at only some stations. The first trains run about 6:00 in the morning, with the latest arriving at about 11:00 at night.
The designation of the services on the line depends on the route they operate. Services calling at all stations are branded as R, operated by RENFE Class 447 trains, while semi-fast services are branded as MD, operated by RENFE Class 449 trains, Renfe Operadora's newest rolling stock for regional lines, and are more expensive than R trains..
ServiceRouteNo.
of stations		Journey timeDays of
operation		Notes
RBarcelona Sants – Cerbère282:402 h 40 minDailyCalls at all stations along its route.
RBarcelona Sants – Portbou272:362 h 36 minDailyCalls at all stations along its route.
MDBarcelona Sants – Portbou122:132 h 13 minDailyCalls only at Barcelona Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona El Clot-Aragó, Sant Celoni, Maçanet-Massanes, Sils, Caldes de Malavella, Girona, Flaçà, Figueres and Llançà.
MDBarcelona Sants – Figueres101:511 h 51 minDailyCalls only at Barcelona Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona El Clot-Aragó, Sant Celoni, Maçanet-Massanes, Sils, Caldes de Malavella, Girona and Flaçà.
MDBarcelona Sants – Girona81:211 h 21 minFri-SunCalls only at Barcelona Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona El Clot-Aragó, Sant Celoni, Maçanet-Massanes, Sils and Caldes de Malavella.

List of stations

The following table lists the name of each station served by line R11 in order from south to north; the station's service pattern offered by R and/or MD 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 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