Barcelona Metro Line 9 Nord
Nine driverless stations between La Sagrera and Can Zam, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet; three are shared with L10 Nord.
About Line 9 Nord
Between La Sagrera and Bon PastorES it shares the track with Line 10 Nord. They are two separate lines, each with its own timetable.
L9 Nord links La Sagrera with Can Zam, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, over nine stations. It is fully automatic: the trains run without a driver. It is the northern half of a line that is still unfinished, hence the provisional name “Nord”; the southern half runs separately as L9 Sud.
Between La Sagrera, Onze de Setembre and Bon PastorES it shares tracks and platforms with L10 Nord. At La Sagrera you can also change to L1 and L5, and at Fondo to L1 again. TMB gives 10.4 km for L9 Nord and L10 Nord together.
Stations on Line 9 Nord
9 stations, 4 of them with an interchange to another line (marked with a ring and the colours of the other lines).
La Sagrera – Can Zam
9 stations
Timetable and frequency of Line 9 Nord
| Line | Mon–Thu | Fri & eve of holidays | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L9N | 05:00 – 00:14 | 05:00 – 02:14 | 05:00 – all night | all night – 00:14 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| L9N | 6.3 min | 8.6 min | Santa Rosa |
Average interval worked out from the trains per hour and direction that the operator schedules at that station.
History
The L9 project emerged in the late nineties, and in 1999 the Generalitat decided to build it. Work began in September 2003, and the northern section was first expected to open in 2004. The tunnel, 11.70 metres in diameter, carries the two tracks one above the other, and most stations are between 25 and 50 metres deep. In 2005 one of the tunnel-boring machines broke down at Bon Pastor on meeting harder ground than expected, and after the Carmel collapse every tunnel under construction was reviewed; among other changes, a single tunnel was chosen between Onze de Setembre and La Sagrera.
The first section, between Can Zam and Can Peixauet, opened in December 2009 with a street party. In April 2010 the line was extended to Bon Pastor, the same day L10 opened, and in June 2010 it reached Onze de Setembre and La Sagrera. Santa Rosa did not open until September 2011. When the southern half came into service in 2016, this section was renamed L9 Nord. Work on the central section resumed in 2022, and it is due to be completed in 2029.
How the service runs
At Santa Rosa, on weekdays, 9 or 10 trains an hour run in each direction between 6:00 and 10:00, one every 6 minutes, and about 7 around midday, one every 8 and a half. On Saturdays and Sundays the pace is almost constant all day, at about 7 trains an hour. As on the rest of TMB, the line does not close on Saturday night: between 5 and 7 trains an hour run in the small hours. On Fridays service runs until just after 2:00. On the shared section of La Sagrera, Onze de Setembre and Bon Pastor, both L9 Nord and L10 Nord trains stop.
The trains
The line uses Alstom 9000-series trains, the same as on L2, but here without a driver thanks to the ATC-S automatic train control system. They are almost 90 metres long, with five open-gangway cars, and carry up to 960 people per train. Every platform has glass doors that open at the same time as the train’s. Although there is no driver, the stations are staffed by automatic-line operations technicians (TOLA), who help passengers and can take control of a train if something goes wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Because L9 is only half built. It runs as two separate sections, waiting to be joined by the central section, and in 2016, when the airport branch opened, they were given the provisional names L9 Nord and L9 Sud to tell them apart until they are linked.
Its works did not keep pace with the rest of Santa Coloma because families had to be rehoused, both to clear the site and for the shaft that connects the ticket hall with the platforms. Santa RosaES opened in September 2011, between Can Peixauet and Fondo.
The stations were built inside shafts about 25 metres in diameter, served by high-capacity lifts timed to the arrival of the trains. There are usually at least three per station, plus emergency stairs with separate exits.