R3 (Rodalies de Catalunya)

The R3 is a line of Rodalies de Catalunya's Barcelona commuter rail service, operated by Renfe Operadora. It runs northwards from the Barcelona area to the French border town of Latour-de-Carol, passing through the Vallès Oriental, Osona and Ripollès regions. With a total line length of 165.9 kilometres (103.1 mi), it extends notably beyond the limits of the Barcelona metropolitan area, reaching the Pyrenees mountains. According to 2008 data, the line's average weekday ridership is 22,841.[1]

R3

Two 447 Series trains on R3 services at Ripoll railway station in 2012. The left train is bound for L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, whilst the right one is bound for Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg.
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail, regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Provinces of Barcelona and Girona
First service	1989 (1989)
Current operator(s)	Renfe Operadora
Ridership	22,841 (2008)[1]
Annual ridership	6.6 million (2008)[1]
Route
Start	L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Stops	35
End	Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
Distance travelled	165.9 km (103.1 mi)[1]
Average journey time	49 min–3 h 5 min
Service frequency	Every 20 min–2 h
Line(s) used	Lleida–Manresa–Barcelona Barcelona–Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
Technical
Rolling stock	447 Series EMUs
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5 ^21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Electrification	3,000 V DC overhead lines
Track owner(s)	Adif

R3 trains use the Meridiana Tunnel in Barcelona, where they share tracks with Barcelona commuter rail service lines R1, R4 and R7, as well as Girona commuter rail service line RG1 and regional rail line R12, calling at Sants, Plaça de Catalunya and Arc de Triomf stations.[2] They run primarily on the Barcelona–Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg railway, using Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg as their northernmost terminus, and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat as its southern one.

Together with lines R1, R2 and R4, the R3 (then simply numbered line 3) started services in 1989 as one of the first lines of the Cercanías commuter rail system for Barcelona, known as Rodalies Barcelona.[3] In 2010, after the administration of the Barcelona commuter rail service was transferred to the Catalan government, the line was extended from its original northern terminus at Vic to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg.[4] The section north of Vic had not previously been considered part of the Barcelona commuter rail service; designated Ca5, the services running on it were part of Renfe Operadora's regional rail division in Catalonia.[5] In the long-term future, it is projected that the R3 will be rerouted through the Aragó Tunnel in Barcelona.[6] Furthermore, it is planned to be extended southwards to Castelldefels, thanks to the construction of a new branch line from Cornellà de Llobregat.[7][8]

The R3 is the Barcelona commuter rail service line with the highest number of service incidents, and has been the recipient of much criticism from its users and local authorities. Minor delays occur constantly on the line, most of which can be attributed to the fact that it uses single-track infrastructure for almost all of its length.[9][10] There have been calls for the conversion of the line's route to double track since the 1990s, especially on the Barcelona–Vic section.[11]

List of stations

The following table lists the name of each station served by line R3 in order from south to north; the station's service pattern offered by R3 trains (excepting the semidirect trains, which only call at Vic, Ripoll and Puigcerdà stations north of Barcelona Sant Andreu Arenal); 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.[12][13]

#	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
					ATM AdB	Rod
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat#*	●	R1, R4, R12, RG1	Barcelona Metro line 1 at Rambla Just Oliveras station	L'Hospitalet de Llobregat	1	1
Barcelona Sants*	●	R1, R2, R2 Nord, R2 Sud, R4, R11, R12, R13, R14, R15, R16, RG1	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*	●	R1, R4, R12, RG1	Barcelona Metro lines 1, 3, 6 and 7 Vallès Metro commuter rail services	Barcelona	1	1
Barcelona Arc de Triomf*	●	R1, R4, R12, RG1	Barcelona Metro line 1 National and international coach services at Estació del Nord	Barcelona	1	1
Barcelona La Sagrera-Meridiana*	●	R4, R12	Barcelona Metro lines 1, 5 and 9/10 (L9 Nord/L10)	Barcelona	1	1
Barcelona Sant Andreu Arenal*	●	R4, R7, R12	Barcelona Metro line 1 at Fabra i Puig station National coach services	Barcelona	1	1
Barcelona Torre del Baró*	●	R4, R7, R12	Barcelona Metro line 11 at Torre Baró – Vallbona station	Barcelona	1	1
Montcada Bifurcació	○	R4, R7, R12	—	Montcada i Reixac	1	1
Montcada Ripollet	○	—	—	Montcada i Reixac	1	1
Santa Perpètua de Mogoda	○	—	—	Santa Perpètua de Mogoda	2D	2
Mollet Santa Rosa	●	—	—	Mollet del Vallès	2D	2
Parets del Vallès	●	—	—	Parets del Vallès	2D	3
Granollers-Canovelles#	●	—	—	Granollers	3D	3
Les Franqueses del Vallès	○	—	—	Les Franqueses del Vallès	3D	3
La Garriga#	●	—	—	La Garriga	4F	4
Figaró	○	—	—	Figaró-Montmany	4F	4
Sant Martí de Centelles	○	—	—	Sant Martí de Centelles	4F	4
Centelles	○	—	—	Centelles	5F	5
Balenyà-Els Hostalets	○	—	—	Balenyà	5F	5
Balenyà-Tona-Seva	○	—	—	Seva	5F	5
Vic#	●	—	—	Vic	6F	6
Manlleu	●	—	—	Manlleu	6H	6h
Torelló	●	—	—	Torelló	6H	6h
Borgonyà	○	—	—	Sant Vicenç de Torelló	6H	6h
Sant Quirze de Besora	●	—	—	Sant Quirze de Besora	6H	6h
La Farga de Bebié	○	—	—	Montesquiu	—	—
Ripoll#	●	—	—	Ripoll	—	—
Campdevànol	●	—	—	Campdevànol	—	—
Ribes de Freser#*	●	—	Vall de Núria Rack Railway	Ribes de Freser	—	—
Planoles	●	—	—	Planoles	—	—
Toses	●	—	—	Toses	—	—
La Molina	●	—	—	Alp	—	—
Urtx-Alp	●	—	—	Alp	—	—
Puigcerdà#	●	—	—	Puigcerdà	—	—
Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg#*	●	—	Intercités long-distance rail services TER Languedoc-Roussillon and TER Midi-Pyrénées regional rail services	(Station located in Latour-de-Carol, Pyrénées-Orientales, France.)	—	—

References

1. "Línia R3" [Line R3]. Rodalies de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
2. "Xarxa Rodalies de Catalunya" [Rodalies de Catalunya System] (PDF) (Map). Rodalies de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
3. Julià Sort (2013), p. 69–71
4. "Traspàs de rodalies a la Generalitat de Catalunya" [Transfer of commuter rail services to the Government of Catalonia]. Mobilitat (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
5. Ribas Domingo, Santi; Pujol i Gil, Jordi (March 2005). "Estudi de la xarxa ferroviària de viatgers a Catalunya" [Study on the passenger rail network in Catalonia] (PDF). Planejament Territorial de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia: 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
6. Julià Sort (2013), p. 144–145
7. Ministerio de Fomento (2009), p. 69
8. Ministerio de Fomento (2009), p. 94–95
9. Solé, Albert (21 March 2015). "R3, el forat negre de la xarxa: primera conclusió de l'Ara Control Rodalies" [R3, the system's shortfall: first conclusion from "Ara Control Rodalies"] (in Catalan). Barcelona: Ara. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
10. ""El malson de Rodalies": reportatge d'Antoni Bassas per a Ara TV i portada d'aquest dilluns" ["The Rodalies nightmare": a report by Antoni Bassas for Ara TV and Monday's front page] (in Catalan). Barcelona: Ara. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
11. Moisès, Jordi (31 December 2014). "Ferrocarril Barcelona-Puigcerdà. Desdoblament Montcada-Vic" [Barcelona–Puigcerdà Railway. Montcada–Vic doubling.]. Territori (in Catalan). Societat Catalana d'Ordenació del Territori. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
12. Integrated Railway Network (PDF) (Map). Autoritat del Transport Metropolità. August 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
13. "Servei de rodalia de Barcelona" [Barcelona commuter rail service] (PDF) (Map). Rodalies de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

Bibliography

• Julià Sort, Jordi (October 2013). Sagrera i la xarxa ferroviària de Barcelona [Sagrera and Barcelona's railway system] (in Catalan). Barcelona: Viena Edicions. ISBN 978-84-8330-740-3.
• Plan de infraestructuras ferroviarias de cercanías de Barcelona 2008-2015 [2008–2015 Infrastructure Master Plan for the Barcelona Commuter Rail Service] (PDF) (Technical report) (in Spanish). Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Government of Spain. February 2009 – via Associació per a la Promoció del Transport Públic.

External links

• Rodalies de Catalunya official website
• Schedule for the R3 (PDF format)
• R3 Rodalies (rod3cat) on Twitter. Official Twitter account by Rodalies de Catalunya for the R3 with service status updates (tweets usually published only in Catalan)
• Geographic data related to R3 at OpenStreetMap
• R3 (rodalia 3) on Twitter. Unofficial Twitter account by Rodalia.info monitoring real-time information about the R3 by its users.
• Information about the R3 at trenscat.cat (in Catalan)
• pqnoensfotintren on WordPress. Official blog of the association "Perquè no ens fotin el tren" (Catalan for "Because we want to keep our trains"), which advocates for the improvement of the service offered on the R3.