European Railroad Discussion > Metre, Standard, Broad Guage in Barcelona, Spain; Questions

So far, I've learned that Barcelona railways are hard to find above ground, even though the metro system is superb. This morning, I used line metro line L5 to get to Cornelia where a brisk 15 minute walk got me to this interesting vantage point on a busy recreational trail. At this location, from what I can figure out, both the broad gauge and metre-gauge (FGC) lines from the port of Barcelona run in parallel. The broad gauge line now also has standard gauge rails, and unlike many dual-guage tracks I saw, the standard gauge rails were shiny. That line joins the standard-guage high speed line and runs alongside it in the El Llobregat River valley. For freight traffic, it seems like things headed north then take the junction at Castellbisbal and effectively bypass all of Barcelona, whether standard guage or broad gauge. Put another way, this seems like the main freight line into/out of Barcelona, as it also seems like the port is the only thing that matters. Corrections are welcomed!

My luck wasn't great while there. I saw three freights, all headed north, while the light favored south-facing trains. If anyone has any knowledge of schedules, timing, or traffic, I'd love to hear it, I could give this another chance and hope to get at least one train lit correctly...

1/2. First up, a metre-gauge FGC train. It has a new Stadler dual-mode diesel/electric with empty auto cars. In the second shot you can really see the three seperate gauges at this locaiton.

3. In the the last shot, the FGC frieght line from the port is about to curve into the FGC commuter lines from the city. Above it is the standard guage high speed line, with a TGV Ouigo train passing overhead, probably from Madrid to Barcelona Sants.
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/24 08:33 by inCHI.

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Last shots:

4. A Renfe class 251 on a container train headed north, which is neat to see - but agh! backlit.
5. A Renfe class 253 powered tank train headed north, same issue.
6. Lastly, a neat broad/metre guage diamond at the Port of Barcelona. There are so many two and three guage locations in this area!

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Neat coverage. It's not the backlighting that is the problem, it's the graffiti!

I believe the FGC links SEAT's auto assembly plant at Martorell(?) with Barcelona's docks area, shuttling autos for export to the docks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/24 11:28 by 86235.