The Santa Cova Funicular ( ca, Funicular de la Santa Cova; es, Funicular de La Santa Cova) 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 en ...

at Montserrat, near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

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. The line descends from

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 Reformation, it is centred on Melrose Abbey. Composition and sources Scott had bee ...

, and the upper terminus of the Montserrat Rack Railway, on a continuous curve to a lower station that gives access, via a path, to Santa Cova, a shrine lower down the mountain. The funicular has the following technical parameters: *Length: *Height: *Maximum steepness: 56.5 % *Cars: 2 *Capacity: 90 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 or ...

*Travel time: 2.5 minutes *Track gauge: *Traction: Electrical Although the line operates two cars, in normal service only one carries passengers, whilst the other simply acts as a counterweight. The line is operated by the

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (, "Catalan Government Railways"), or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain. The lines operated include metro and commuter lines in and around the city o ...

(''Catalan Government Railways'', FGC), who also operate the Montserrat Rack Railway and the Funicular de Sant Joan funicular railway on Montserrat Mountain, together with two other funicular railways and a significant suburban railway system in and around Barcelona. The line originally opened in 1929 and was passed to the FGC in 1986. It was renovated in 1991 with the retention of its original stepped and wooden bodied cars. Unfortunately one of these was damaged by floods in 2000, as was the lower station. When the line reopened in 2001, new panoramic cars, similar to those already in use on the nearby Funicular de Sant Joan, were provided.

References

External links

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

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and French)
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 {{Catalonia-rail-transport-stub