The Vall de Núria Rack Railway ( ca, Cremallera de Núria, ) is a
mountain railway in the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
mountains in the north of the
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 ...
region of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The line connects
Ribes de Freser
Ribes de Freser () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Ripollès in Girona, Catalonia. It is situated at the confluence of the Freser, Rigard and
Segadell rivers, north of Ripoll. It is known for its mineral water,
paper manufact ...
with
Queralbs
Queralbs () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Ripollès in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Pyrenees to the north of Ribes de Freser, near the peaks of Puigmal (2909 m), Infern (2896 m) and ...
and
Vall de Núria
''La Vall de Núria'' (, "The Valley of Núria") is a south-opening valley coming down from the crest of the Pyrenees within the municipality of Queralbs, province of Girona, community of Catalonia, Spain.
The floor of the valley lies about abo ...
in
Ripollès,
Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...
. As Queralbs is the highest point in the valley reachable by road, the rack railway is – along with the old
footpath /
mule track
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...
– the only way to reach the
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
and ski resort at Núria.
The line opened on March 22, 1931, and has been electrically operated from the start. It became part of 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 ...
(FGC) on January 2, 1984 and remains in their ownership. The line connects to the
main R3 line at Ribes de Freser, but the stations have separate access.
The line is long and has a
rail gauge of . The first of the line is operated by conventional
rail adhesion
An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. The term "adhesion railway" is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from ...
. The remainder of the line is operated as a
rack railway
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade 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 th ...
, using the
Abt system and with a maximum gradient of 15%. In total the line overcomes a height difference of . The line is electrified with an overhead supply at 1500
V DC.
Three generations of
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
exist on the line. The original stock consisted of passenger cars hauled by four six-wheeled electric locomotives, numbered E1-E4, built by
SLM and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1930–31. They were supplemented by four two-car electric trains numbered A5-A8, built by SLM and BBC in 1985.
The final generation is represented by two low-floor electric motor coaches of type
in Switzerland in 2003. The line also owns a diesel rack locomotive, D9, used on
. The Montserrat line is also owned by the FGC and some stock is shared between the lines. Locomotive E4 is transferred for use on work trains.
) Original roster, built by Vereinigte Westdeutsche Waggonfabrik A.G., is said to have been formed of Affw 2, ABffw 11–15, Bffw 21–28 and Aaffw 51. However, box car 01 was rebuilt from Affw 1 and there was a Bffw 29; at the same time ABffw 13–15 and Bffw 26 were off the roster.