Barcelona Metro Line 1
Thirty stations from Hospital de Bellvitge to Fondo: the red line links L’Hospitalet, central Barcelona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet.
About Line 1
L1 runs for 20.2 km and 30 stations between Hospital de Bellvitge, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Fondo, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. Within Barcelona it serves the districts of Sants-Montjuïc, Eixample, Sant Martí and Sant Andreu, crossing the city centre through Universitat, Catalunya and Urquinaona.
You can change to L3 and L8 at Espanya, to L2 at Universitat and at Clot, to L3, L6 and L7 at Catalunya, to L4 at Urquinaona and to L5 at Plaça de Sants and at La Sagrera, where L9 Nord and L10 Nord also stop. At Torrassa it crosses L9 Sud and L10 Sud, and at Fondo it meets L9 Nord. From Av. Carrilet, a walkway leads to L’Hospitalet Av. Carrilet on L8.
Stations on Line 1
30 stations, 10 of them with an interchange to another line (marked with a ring and the colours of the other lines).
Hospital de Bellvitge – Fondo
30 stations
Timetable and frequency of Line 1
| Line | Mon–Thu | Fri & eve of holidays | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | 05:00 – 00:43 | 05:00 – 02:43 | 05:00 – all night | all night – 00:42 |
Earliest first departure and latest last departure at any station on the line, for a week without public holidays. Each station page has its own times by direction.
| Line | Interval Monday–Thursday, 08:00 | Sunday, 12:00 | Measured at |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | 3 min | 6.7 min | Catalunya |
Average interval worked out from the trains per hour and direction that the operator schedules at that station.
History
The line began life as the Metropolitano Transversal, a project by Fernando Reyes to link the railway stations of the early twentieth century with the site of the 1929 International Exhibition on Montjuïc. That is why it was built to the old Iberian broad gauge, so that trains from the mainline broad-gauge network could run through it. Work started on 5 February 1923, and in 1924 a collapse between Carrer del Comte d’Urgell and Carrer de Casanova killed 11 workers. The first section, from La Bordeta to Catalunya, opened in June 1926 with nine stations.
In the thirties the line reached Urquinaona, Arc de Triomf and Marina; in 1951, Glòries and Clot; and between 1953 and 1954, Navas, La Sagrera and Fabra i Puig. From 1941 to 1943 it was run by RENFE, after the Iberian-gauge lines were nationalised, until the company took operations back. It reached Sant Andreu and Torras i Bages in 1968, and in December 1983 it crossed the Besòs river to Santa Coloma; that same month Torrassa and Santa Eulàlia opened and the old Bordeta station closed. Four stations in L’Hospitalet followed in April 1987, Bellvitge and Hospital de Bellvitge in October 1989, and Fondo in February 1992. In August 2010 service between Av. Carrilet and Hospital de Bellvitge was temporarily suspended to connect the new depot at Hospital de Bellvitge, which replaced the one at Mercat Nou.
How the service runs
Counting the trains through Catalunya, on weekdays there are about 20 an hour in each direction in the morning peak, one every 3 minutes, and about 14 around midday, one every 4 or 5. From 22:00 the gap widens to about 7 or 8 minutes. On Saturdays 11 to 13 trains an hour run during the day; on Sundays, 10 to 11. On Saturday night the line does not close, with a train every 8 to 12 minutes in the small hours; the same happens on the nights before 1 January, 24 June, 16 August, and 20 and 24 September. On Fridays service runs until 2:00, and on 24 December it ends at 23:00.
The trains
Because of its Iberian gauge, L1 needs its own trains, built to a different width from the rest of the network and with roomier cars: today the 6000 and 8000 series run here. The 8000 series replaced the old 4000s, the last of which made its final run to Fondo on 26 October 2024. The same gauge, shared with Rodalies (the commuter rail network), once allowed a connection with Adif’s tracks between Catalunya and Universitat.
Frequently asked questions
Because the line was built to the old Iberian broad gauge. The Metropolitano Transversal was also meant to carry trains from the broad-gauge railway network, and that decision from the twenties still means the line needs its own rolling stock, with roomier cars.
There used to be a surface section between Plaça de Sants and Torrassa. It was put underground during the works for the high-speed rail line, except for the stretch between Mercat Nou and Santa EulàliaES. The rest of the double-track route is underground.
It was the end of the line in 1926, when the first section ran from La Bordeta to Catalunya. Bordeta Cotxeres station, today’s Santa Eulàlia, was a terminus from the thirties; when the line was extended towards L’Hospitalet it was dismantled and partly moved, and once the new section opened in 1983, Bordeta closed for good.