The Funicular de Gelida is a funicular

Funicular

A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...

 railway in the municipality of Gelida

Gelida

Gelida is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Penedès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

 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...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. The line connects Gelida station, on the RENFE

RENFE

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...

 (Spanish National Railways), with the centre of the village of Gelida, which is at a higher level. The line was opened in 1924 and modernised in 1984, whilst retaining a heritage ambience.

The funicular has the following technical parameters:

• Length: 884 m (2,900.3 ft)
• Height: 110 m (360.9 ft)
• Maximum Steepness: 22.2%
• Cars: 2
• Capacity: 50 passengers per car; 700 passengers per hour
• Configuration: Single track
  Single track (rail)
  A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
  
   with passing loop
  Passing loop
  A passing loop is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at a station, where trains or trams in opposing directions can pass each other. Trains/trams in the same direction can also overtake, providing that the signalling arrangement allows it...
  
  
• Maximum speed: 2.5 m/s (8.2 ft/s)
• Travel time: 8 minutes
• Track gauge:
• Traction: Electricity

Although two cars are in operation, as an economy measure only one is normally staffed and carries passengers, whilst the other simply serves as a counterweight. Despite this restriction, the funicular is timed to connect with the main line trains, which operate every half-hour on weekdays and hourly on weekends. Besides the two terminals at Gelida Inferior and Superior, the line serves an intermediate request stop at Gelida-Baixador, situated between the passing loop and upper station.

The line is operated by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya , or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain....

 (Catalan Government Railways, FGC), who also operate a significant suburban railway system in and around Barcelona, along with three other funiculars and two rack railway

Rack railway

A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...

s.

External links

• Photographic description and map of the line from Trens de Catalunya (in Catalan)
• Funiculars page from FGC website (in English)