(; ; "France Station") is a major

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in the city of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Spain. 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 is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...

high-speed train in Sants and the construction of , planned for completion at the end of 2028, that will concentrate most of the traffic.

History

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 Brava. Rebuilt and reopened for the

1929 Barcelona International Exposition The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (also 1929 Barcelona Universal Exposition, or Expo 1929, officially in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Exposición Internacional de Barcelona 1929'') was the second World's fair, World Fair to be held in ...

, 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 29 m tall and 195 m long. The station was closed for renovation between from 1988 and 1992, reopening for the Olympic Games of 1992.

Architecture

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 style that is complete with decoration in marble, bronze and crystal and its '' modernista'' and art déco motifs. Over the last three decades it has been eclipsed as Barcelona's main station by the underground sprawl of Sants. Indeed, most other stations of Barcelona are at least partly underground. The station's status as the terminus for international trains from and through France ended with the discontinuation of the overnight 'trenhotels' in 2013, which coincided with the introduction of the new high-speed daytime TGV services to Paris, Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille, all of which call at or terminate at Sants. Part of the original building now belongs to Pompeu Fabra University, serving as its "França building".

Lines

The station accommodates twelve tracks and seven platforms. It is the terminus for a number of RENFE services: * Rodalies Barcelona: R10 - the half-hourly Barcelona International Airport train via central Barcelona ( Passeig de Gràcia railway station and Sants), but suspended for

works, temporarily served by R2 SUD to central Barcelona ( Passeig de Gràcia railway station and Sants), Viladecans, Gavà, Castelldefels, Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Calafell and Sant Vicenç de Calders * Medium-distance ( Renfe Media Distancia): Ca1, Ca3, Ca4, Ca6 The station is often also 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 Aragó tunnel during winter of 2008.

Location

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 4 of the

Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan language, Catalan and Spanish language, Spanish: ) is a rapid transit network that runs mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport system ...

Gallery

File:14-08-00-wlm-es-RalfR-09.jpg, Entrance hall File:Barcelona Estació de França 644.jpg, A view of the roof in the entrance hall (2006) Image:Barcelona Estació de França646.JPG, Entrance hall and ticket windows (2006) Image:Barcelona Estació de França 626.JPG, Platforms area at Barcelona Estació de França (1) File:Barceolna-estacio-de-franca-station.jpeg, Barcelona-estacio-de-franca-station (2013) File:Barcelona-EF - 2011-06-27 03 - JTCurses.jpg, RENFE Class 490 in Barcelona França railway station File:Barcelona Estacio França - 2009-11-24 4 - JT Curses.jpg, Façade File:Barcelona-EF - 2014-01-31 2 - JTCurses.jpg File:Barcelona-EF - 2014-01-31 3 - JTCurses.jpg File:Barcelona-EF - 2014-01-31 4 - JTCurses.jpg File:Barcelona-EF - 2011-06-27 07 - JTCurses.jpg File:Barcelona-EF - 2014-01-31 5 - JTCurses.jpg File:Barcelona-EF - 2014-02-14 2 - JTCurses.jpg

Accidents and incidents

On 28 July 2017, a train hit the buffers at the station, injuring sixty people, eleven of them seriously.

References

External links

Estació de França at Catalunya TurismeEstació de França at Todotrenes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcelona Estacio De Franca Railway stations in Barcelona Railway stations in Spain opened in 1929 Transport in Ciutat Vella Rodalies de Catalunya stations Railway stations in Spain opened in 1848