R8 (Rodalies de Catalunya)

The R8 is a line of Rodalies de Catalunya's Barcelona commuter rail service, operated by Renfe Operadora. It runs hourly between Martorell and Granollers across the Vallès Occidental region, spanning 40 kilometres (25 mi) and eight stations.[1] The R8 primarily uses the Castellbisbal–Mollet-Sant Fost railway, as well as the Sant Vicenç de Calders–Vilafranca del Penedès–Barcelona and Barcelona–Cerbère railways on its southern and northern ends, respectively.[2] It is currently the only line of the Barcelona commuter rail service entirely bypassing Barcelona.[3] The trains operating on the line are Civia electrical multiple units (EMU).[1]

R8

A Civia train on a Martorell-bound R8 service at Mollet-Sant Fost railway station, in 2013.
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Barcelona metropolitan area
First service	26 June 2011
Current operator(s)	Renfe Operadora
Route
Start	Martorell
Stops	8
End	Granollers Centre
Distance travelled	40 km (25 mi)[1]
Average journey time	19 min
Service frequency	Hourly
Line(s) used	Sant Vicenç de Calders–Vilafranca del Penedès–Barcelona Castellbisbal–Mollet-Sant Fost Barcelona–Cerbère
Technical
Rolling stock	Civia 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

Line 8
to Villafranca del Penedès & Sant Vicenç de Calders Martorell Castellbisbal to El Papiol and Barcelona Rubí ← Barcelona Terrassa → Sant Cugat del Vallès Cerdanyola-Universitat ← Barcelona Terrassa & Manresa → Baricentro (never opened) Santa Perpètua-Can Folguera (under construction) ← Barcelona Vic → Mollet-Sant Fost Montmeló Granollers-Centre to Sant Celoni & Maçanet-Massanes

R8 trains started operating on 26 June 2011 after a service restructuring affecting the Barcelona commuter rail service. The R7, which had previously run between Martorell and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat stations via Vallès Occidental and Barcelona, was shortened and started operating between Cerdanyola Universitat and Barcelona Sant Andreu Arenal stations. The newly created R8 took over the former route of line R7 between Martorell and Cerdanyola Universitat stations, then continuing eastwards to Granollers Centre railway station, without entering Barcelona.[4][5]

List of stations

The following table lists the name of each station served by line R8 in order from west to east; the station's service pattern offered by R8 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 (ATM Àrea de Barcelona) fare-integrated public transport system and Rodalies de Catalunya's own fare zone system for Barcelona commuter rail service lines.[6][7]

#	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
Martorell#*	●	R4	Baix Llobregat Metro and other commuter rail services	Martorell	3B	3
Castellbisbal	●	R4	—	Castellbisbal	2B	3a
Rubí	●	—	—	Rubí	2C	3
Sant Cugat del Vallès*	●	—	Vallès Metro commuter rail services at Volpelleres station	Sant Cugat del Vallès	2C	3
Cerdanyola Universitat	●	R7	—	Cerdanyola del Vallès	2C	3
Mollet-Sant Fost	●	R2, R2 Nord	—	Mollet del Vallès	2D	2
Montmeló	●	R2, R2 Nord	—	Montmeló	2D	2
Granollers Centre#	●	R2, R2 Nord, R11	—	Granollers	3D	3

References

1. "Línia R8" [Line R8]. Rodalies de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
2. Borràs, Bernat. "Línia R8 Martorell - Granollers Centre per Cerdanyola Universitat" [Line R8 Martorell - Granollers Centre via Cerdanyola Universitat]. trenscat.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 3 October 2015.
3. "Xarxa Rodalies de Catalunya" [Rodalies de Catalunya System] (PDF) (Map). Rodalies de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
4. Cabañas, Néstor (31 December 2011). "Ferrocarril de rodalies Martorell - Granollers" [Martorell - Granollers commuter rail]. Territori (in Catalan). Societat Catalana d'Ordenació del Territori. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
5. García i Aranzueque, Raül (5 May 2011). "R8: Nova línia de rodalies" [R8: New commuter rail line]. El Punt Avui (in Catalan). Montgat. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
6. Integrated Railway Network (PDF) (Map). Autoritat del Transport Metropolità. August 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
7. "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.

External links

• Rodalies de Catalunya official website
• Schedule for the R8 (PDF format)
• R8 Rodalies (rod8cat) on Twitter. Official Twitter account by Rodalies de Catalunya for the R8 with service status updates (tweets usually published only in Catalan)
• R8 (rodalia 8) on Twitter. Unofficial Twitter account by Rodalia.info monitoring real-time information about the R8 by its users.
• Information about the R8 at trenscat.cat (in Catalan)