The Sant Joan Funicular (; ) is a

funicular railway A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

, near

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The line connects

the monastery ''The Monastery: a Romance'' (1820) is a historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. Set in the Scottish Borders in the 1550s on the eve of the Scottish Reformation, it is centred on Melrose Abbey. Composition and sources Scot ...

, and the upper terminus of the

Montserrat Rack Railway The Montserrat Rack Railway (Spanish and , ) is a mountain railway line north-west of Barcelona in Catalonia. The line runs from Monistrol de Montserrat to the mountain-top monastery of Montserrat. The line is long and has a rail gauge of ...

, with sacred sites, walking trails and viewpoints higher up the mountain. With a maximum gradient of 65%, it is the steepest funicular in Spain.

Overview

The funicular has the following technical parameters: *Length: *Height: *Maximum steepness: 65.2 % *Cars: 2 *Capacity: 60 passengers per car *Configuration:

Single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

with

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

*Travel time: 6 minutes *Track gauge: *Traction: Electrical

Operation

The line is operated by the

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (, "Catalan Government Railways"; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Cataluña''), or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain. The lines operated include metro and commu ...

(''Catalan Government Railways'', FGC), who also operate the Montserrat Rack Railway and the Funicular de la Santa Cova funicular railway on Montserrat Mountain, together with two other funicular railways and a significant suburban railway system in and around Barcelona.

History

The line was originally built in 1918; when opened, it was powered by electricity from the nearby

Monistrol de Montserrat Monistrol de Montserrat () is a municipality in Bages county in Catalonia, Spain. The municipality includes the southern two-thirds of the massif of Montserrat and the famous Benedictine monastery of the same name. The town, known as ''Montserr ...

plant, owned by Electra Gomis.Santiago Rubió i Tuduri, ''Los tres directores de la Escuela durante la guerra (1936-1939)'', n:''Documentos de la Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales de Barcelona'' 25 (2015), p. 19 It was modified to increase capacity in 1926. In 1986 it passed to the FGC, who modernised it in 1997, providing new panoramic cars with transparent roofs. Between November 2017 and March 2018, the line was closed for maintenance on the winding gear.

References

External links

Official website of the Montserrat Rack Railway and associated funicular railways
(in Catalan,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

)
Photographic description and map of the line from Trens de Catalunya
(in Catalan) Funicular railways in Catalonia Metre-gauge railways in Spain Transport in Bages Buildings and structures in the Province of Barcelona {{catalonia-rail-transport-stub