Montserrat Rack Railway

A line on this route was originally opened in 1892. Competition arrived in 1930, in the form of the Aeri de Montserrat, an aerial cable car that also carries passengers to the monastery. A narrow road also reaches the monastery. After poor financial results and an accident in 1953, the rack railway line was closed on 12 May 1957. and the lightest in February 2004 with 22,996 passengers. == Equipment ==

The line's most significant engineering work is the Pont del Centenari bridge, which is long and wide, crossing the River Llobregat. Its nine sections are between and long and it was designed as a lattice of steel tubes to give it a light appearance and minimise its visual impact. It is supported by eight pillars with maximum height of . The line is operated by six low-floor electric motor coaches of type Stadler GTW, built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland. The cars are numbered AM1-AM5 (originally built for Montserrat) and A10 (originally built for Núria Rack Railway; transferred to Montserrat in June 2020) and named after local peaks. These cars are equipped for adhesion and rack propulsion and can each carry up to 200 passengers. They are air-conditioned and have panorama windows offering a good view over the environment. Trains run at up to on the rack section and on the adhesion section. The line also has a 1930 built electric locomotive, E4, transferred from the Vall de Núria Rack Railway for use on works trains. == Operation ==

Both the rack railway and the Aeri connect with the FGC's Llobregat–Anoia line railway from Barcelona Plaça d'Espanya station to Manresa. The rack railway connects at Monistrol de Montserrat, also known as Monistrol Central. A track connection is provided at Monistrol to allow rack railway cars to run to and from their depot, which is in nearby Martorell. An hourly service is operated between Monistrol-Enllaç and the summit, connecting with FGC trains to and from Barcelona and Manresa. Additional trains operate between Monistrol Vila, where the line has a car park with 1000 spaces, and the summit. The FGC also operates two funicular railways from near the summit station of the rack railway. The Funicular de Sant Joan ascends to the mountain top, whilst the Funicular de Santa Cova descends to a shrine lower down the mountain. == References ==