{"id":70106,"date":"2016-07-14T09:31:19","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T07:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=70106"},"modified":"2020-07-16T12:39:50","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T10:39:50","slug":"montserrats-railways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/montserrats-railways\/","title":{"rendered":"Montserrat&#8217;s mountain railways"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To the north of Barcelona across the plane of the river Llobregat lies the stunning, jagged-peaked mountain of <strong>Montserrat<\/strong>. There are many ways to reach the monastery and summit, and for rail enthusiasts or tourists simply looking for breathtaking scenery, the rack <strong>railway<\/strong> and funiculars represent the best choice. More information on these railways can be found below.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/montserrats-railways\/#Montserrat_rack_railway\" title=\"Montserrat rack railway\">Montserrat rack railway<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/montserrats-railways\/#Montserrat_funiculars\" title=\"Montserrat funiculars\">Montserrat funiculars<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Montserrat_rack_railway\"><\/span>Montserrat rack railway<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_70861\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70861\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-70861\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Rack-railway-close-up-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Keith Laverack via VisualHunt \/ CC BY-ND\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-70861\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Keith Laverack via VisualHunt \/ CC BY-ND<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The original mountain <strong>railway<\/strong> of <strong>Montserrat<\/strong> was inaugurated in 1892. Its aim was to connect the monastery with the town of Montrisol below. Previously, the monastery had only been served by stagecoach, so the task of providing supplies and a transport route for pilgrims was becoming more difficult as journeys to the sacred site increased. In building the <strong>railway<\/strong>, the journey time to the summit was reduced from over 3 hours to 1 hour and 5 minutes.\u00a0 This made the return journey from Barcelona to the monastery possible within one day. The <strong>railway<\/strong> had six stations in its heyday, and completed 12 runs per day, connecting the monastery with the train line between Barcelona and Manresa. It was a steam <strong>railway<\/strong> serviced by 8 locomotives, which would haul trains of up to 21 carriages during busy periods. During the Civil War, the rack <strong>railway<\/strong> was used to transport war wounded to the <strong>Montserrat<\/strong> hospital. Despite its initial popularity and undoubted usefulness, a serious accident involving 3 locomotives occurred in 1953, and this spelled the start of its decline. With less and less passengers, and running at a loss, the government decided the <strong>railway<\/strong> was unsustainable, and it made its final journey in 1957.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an increase in tourism and the congestion which ensued, a project to build a new rack <strong>railway<\/strong> was begun in 2000. This modern rack <strong>railway<\/strong> (the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cremallerademontserrat.cat\/website_cremallera\/eng\/cremallera.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Cremallera de Montserrat<\/a>) was inaugurated in 2003 and is operated by the Abt rack system, whereby a central rail with a groove is used to pull the train up steep gradients by means of a cog attached to the base of the locomotive. It can be combined with conventional sections of track as is the case here. The conventional section of the line runs from Montrisol to Montrisol Vila over the impressive Pont del Centenari bridge spanning the river Llobregat and running for 480m. The<strong> railway<\/strong> rises 550m with a maximum gradient of 15.6%. The carriages have large panoramic windows which allow for stunning (and at times jaw-dropping) views down the mountainside. A combined ticket from Barcelona Pla\u00e7a Espanya is available for \u20ac29.50 and also includes a journey on the funiculars of <strong>Montserrat<\/strong> (see below).<\/p>\n<div class=\"Ticketbar-Widget\" data-widget-guid=\"54ea0923-27ba-458a-9a63-fba6b0003ce7\"><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Montserrat_funiculars\"><\/span>Montserrat funiculars<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_71114\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71114\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-71114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Montserrat-Funicular-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: SantiMB.Photos via Visualhunt \/ CC BY-NC-ND\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-71114\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: SantiMB.Photos via Visualhunt \/ CC BY-NC-ND<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From the Monastery station at the summit of the rack railway, it is possible to ride on 2 different <strong>funicular<\/strong> railways. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cremallerademontserrat.cat\/en\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Funicular the de la Santa Cova<\/a> descends from the monastery station to the Santa Cova shrine below. This is where the image of Mare de Deu was found by shepherds, according to legend. There is also an important sculpture exhibition here, which includes work by Gaud\u00ed, and a museum about the history of the funiculars. This <strong>funicular<\/strong> is 262m long with a rise of 118m, 56.5% maximum gradient and a single track with a passing loop. It opened in 1929 and has been owned and operated by FGC since 1986. It underwent complete renovation in 1991. Tickets cost \u20ac4 for a return journey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most stunning of all perhaps is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cremallerademontserrat.cat\/en\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Funicular de Sant Joan<\/a> (pictured), the steepest funicular in Spain with a maximum gradient of 65%. The steep rise transports you 503m in 6 minutes gaining 248m in height. From the top station, the summit peaks are easily attainable as are many breathtaking walks. This <strong>funicular<\/strong> was built in 1918 and modernised to increase capacity in 1926. It is also owned by FGC and was further modernised in 1997. A return journey is \u20ac10.50, or \u20ac13.00 when combined with the Santa Cova <strong>funicular<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"70106\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Rate us!<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To the north of Barcelona across the plane of the river Llobregat lies the stunning, jagged-peaked mountain of Montserrat. There are many ways to reach the monastery and summit, and for rail enthusiasts or tourists simply looking for breathtaking scenery, the rack railway and funiculars represent the best choice. More information on these railways can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":70107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4346],"tags":[2578,1779,1853],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70106"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103302,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70106\/revisions\/103302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}