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]
Website	On Rodalies site
Route
Termini	L'Hospitalet de Llobregat Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
Stops	35
Distance travelled	165.9 km (103.1 mi)[1]
Average journey time	49 min to 3 h 5 min
Service frequency	Every 20 min to 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
Operating speed	115 km/h (71 mph) south and 100 km/h (62 mph) north of Vic
Track owner(s)	Adif
Route map

v t e Line 3
Legend
to Sant Vicenç de Calders Castelldefels to Barcelona-Sants Gavà Centre Viladecans Centre Torre de la Vila Sant Boi to Sant Joan Despí Cornellà Centre L'Hospitalet de Llobregat new tunnel to Bellvitge Torrassa to Camp de Tarragona Barcelona-Sants Ensanche tunnel to Passeig de Gràcia to Provença Plaça de Catalunya Passeig de Gràcia Barcelona França Arc de Triomf Glòries branch El Clot-Aragó Ensanche tunnel la Sagrera ( under construction ) Sagrera-TAV Sant Andreu Arenal Besòs branch to Sant Adrià Sant Andreu Comtal Torre Baró les Aigües branch to Granollers Centre Montcada Bifurcació Beginning of this line Montcada i Reixac - Sant Joan Montcada i Reixac - Manresa to Tarragona via Cerdanyola and Manresa Montcada-Ripollet Santa Perpètua de Mogoda Alstom factory branch Mollet - Santa Rosa Parets del Vallès Granollers Centre – terminus , original junction Granollers-Canovelles Les Franqueses-Granollers Nord to Cerbère original line Les Franqueses del Vallès Llerona La Garriga Figaró Sant Martí de Centelles Centelles Balenyà - els Hostalets Balenyà-Tona-Seva Taradell - Mont-rodon Vic – terminus for half-hourly intervals Manlleu Torelló Borgonyà Sant Quirze de Besora La Farga de Bebié Ripoll – terminus for hourly intervals original line Sant Joan de les Abadesses Toralles – to local mines via metric lines Campdevànol Aigües de Ribes Ribes de Freser Cremallera de Núria Planoles Cargol helical tunnel Toses Toses tunnel – highest point and ... la Molina – ... station in  Spain Urtx-Alp Queixans Puigcerdà Spain-France border Tren groc to Vilefranche de Conflent Latour-de-Carol line to Toulouse

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]

References

Bibliography

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.