Barcelona Estació de França
Encyclopedia
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
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Estació de França is the second busiest railway station of the city after Barcelona-Sants in terms of regional and long-distance ridership. It may lose this status, however, with the arrival of the AVE
AVE
Alta Velocidad Española is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . The name is literally translated from Spanish as "Spanish High Speed", but also a play on the word , meaning "bird".AVE trains run on a network of...
high-speed train in Sants and the construction of Estació de la Sagrera
Estació de la Sagrera
Sagrera railway station is a major transport hub in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain currently under construction, with completion planned for 2012...
, planned for completion in 2012, that will concentrate most of the traffic.
History and Architecture
A railway station was first built here in the 19th century as the main terminus for trains arriving from France (as its name still suggests), but also for services to North East Catalonia and the Costa BravaCosta Brava
The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'...
.
Re-built and re-opened for the 1929 International Exhibition, the two monumental buildings that make up the station were designed by the architect Pedro Muguruza and inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII. They surround the railway tracks in the shape of a 'U'. In total, the station's structure is 29m tall and 195m long. The station was closed for renovation between from 1988 and 1992, reopening for the Olympic Games of 1992.
It is generally seen as the city's most beautiful station. It is worth seeing in its own right for the restrained mix of classical and more modern styles - complete with decoration in marble, bronze and crystal, and modernista
Modernisme
Modernisme was a cultural movement associated with the search for Catalan national identity. It is often understood as an equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Secessionism, and Liberty style, and was active from roughly 1888 to 1911 Modernisme ...
and art déco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
motifs. Over the last three decades it has been eclipsed as Barcelona’s main station by the subterranean sprawl of Sants. Indeed, the other stations of Barcelona are all at least partly underground, França being the only exception.
Part of the original building now belongs to Pompeu Fabra University
Pompeu Fabra University
Pompeu Fabra University is a university in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is widely considered to be one of the best universities in Spain and in Europe, and was ranked 1st in scientific productivity in Spain in 2009. Founded in 1990, it is named after the Catalan philologist Pompeu Fabra...
, serving as its "França building".
Lines
The station accommodates twelve tracks and seven platforms. It is the terminus for a number of RENFERENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
services:
- Rodalies BarcelonaRodalies BarcelonaRodalies Barcelona is the commuter rail service that serves Barcelona, and its metropolitan area as well as other parts of the province.Rodalies Barcelona is made up of 13 lines, 6 of which are operated by the Spanish company RENFE and 7 by Generalitat-owned FGC. The whole network—and fare...
: R10 - the half-hourly Barcelona International AirportBarcelona International AirportBarcelona El Prat Airport , simply known as Barcelona Airport, is located southwest of the center of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, lying in the municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans and Sant Boi.The airport is the second largest in Spain behind Madrid Barajas Airport and the...
train via central Barcelona (Passeig de Gràcia railway station and Sants), but suspended for AVEAVEAlta Velocidad Española is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . The name is literally translated from Spanish as "Spanish High Speed", but also a play on the word , meaning "bird".AVE trains run on a network of...
works, temporarily served by R2 SUD to central Barcelona (Passeig de Gràcia railway station and Sants), Viladecans, Gavà, CastelldefelsCastelldefelsCastelldefels is a town in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain and part of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Its population is 63.151 .-Geography and location:...
, Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Calafell and Sant Vicenç de Calders - Medium-distance (RenfeRENFERenfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
Media Distancia): Ca1, Ca3, Ca4, Ca6
It is also terminus for international services - such as the increasingly popular overnight Trenhotel
Trenhotel
Trenhotel as its name suggests, is a long distance, high quality overnight train service which uses Talgo tilting trains technology and sleeping cars developed by the Spanish rail network operator Renfe that operates within the Iberian Peninsula...
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(as far as Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In addition, the station is often used as backup terminal when parts of the railway network are undergoing maintenance; the station received a wide variety of services during upgrades to the Arago tunnel during winter of 2008.
Location and Barcelona Metro
The station is located in the east of the city, down between the docks and the zoo. Although it does not have its own metro station, it is easily accessible: directly on the R10 line through central Barcelona (Sants and Passeig de Gràcia), as well as a good five-minute walk from Barceloneta station on line 4Barcelona Metro line 4
— Line 4, currently known as Trinitat Nova – La Pau, usually called "línia groga" , is a line in the Barcelona Metro network operated by TMB, and part of the ATM fare-integrated transport network...
of the Barcelona Metro
Barcelona Metro
The Barcelona Metro , part of the public transportation system of Barcelona, Catalonia, is an extensive network of electrified railways that run underground in central Barcelona and above ground into the city's suburbs. Since July 31, 2010, Barcelona Metro system consists of 11 lines with 165...
.
See also
- List of railway stations in Barcelona
- List of Rodalies Barcelona railway stations
- Estació de Sants
- Estació de la SagreraEstació de la SagreraSagrera railway station is a major transport hub in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain currently under construction, with completion planned for 2012...