FGC has begun the complete shutdown of the Vallvidrera Funicular in Barcelona on Monday, 27 July, for maintenance work that will last until 28 August. An alternative bus service has been arranged.
Nearly 4,000 daily users of the Vallvidrera Funicular will need to seek alternatives for an entire month. Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) has initiated the total service cut on Monday, 27 July, to carry out the annual preventive maintenance works, which will extend until 28 August.
According to FGC in a statement, the works include the inspection of mechanical and control components both in the machine room and along the track, as well as the two vehicles. This year, the general decennial review of the two cabins will also take place at FGC's workshops.
The main objective of this shutdown is to improve the quality and reliability of the funicular, as well as the comfort of passengers. The company has detailed that this is a scheduled intervention that repeats every year, although the vehicle review every ten years is more thorough.
To minimise inconvenience, FGC has announced an alternative bus service that will cover the same route and maintain the usual schedules of the funicular. On non-holiday weekdays, the service operates between 6:00 and 22:00 with a frequency of one vehicle every six minutes.
The Vallvidrera Funicular, inaugurated in 1906 by the Sarrià Barcelona Railway and integrated into the FGC network since 1979, is an essential means of transport for the residents of Vallvidrera and is widely used on weekends by hikers accessing the Carretera de les Aigües in the Collserola mountain range.
The line has a length of 736.6 meters, overcomes a height difference of 158 meters, and reaches a maximum gradient of 29%. Each of the two vehicles has a capacity for 50 people, and the complete journey takes less than three minutes.
FGC recommends that users plan their journeys in advance and check the schedules of the substitute bus on their website or at the stations. The company expects the funicular service to resume normally on 29 August, once all safety tests have been completed.
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