Barcelona Metro Line 9 Sud
From the airport to Zona Universitària in 15 driverless stations, by way of El Prat de Llobregat, the Zona Franca, the Fira and L’Hospitalet.
About Line 9 Sud
Between Can Tries | GornalES and Collblanc it shares the track with Line 10 Sud. They are two separate lines, each with its own timetable.
L9 Sud links Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2 with Zona Universitària, where you can change to L3. All 15 stations opened at once, in February 2016, and the trains run without a driver. On the way it passes through El Prat de Llobregat, the Zona Franca industrial area, the Fira trade-fair grounds and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
At Europa | FiraES you can change to FGC’s L8, and between Can Tries | Gornal, Torrassa and Collblanc it shares tracks and platforms with L10 Sud. At Torrassa it also connects with L1, and at Collblanc with L5. TMB gives 26.1 km for L9 Sud and L10 Sud together.
Stations on Line 9 Sud
15 stations, 5 of them with an interchange to another line (marked with a ring and the colours of the other lines).
Timetable and frequency of Line 9 Sud
| Line | Mon–Thu | Fri & eve of holidays | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L9S | 05:00 – 00:29 | 05:00 – 02:29 | 05:00 – all night | all night – 00:29 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| L9S | 7.1 min | 8 min | Mercabarna |
Average interval worked out from the trains per hour and direction that the operator schedules at that station.
History
The airport branch was settled late. Until 2005 everyone was waiting to know whether high-speed trains would stop at the airport; that year it was decided to route the line through El Prat, next to the future railway station, avoiding a densely populated area on unstable ground. In early 2006 traffic was cut for six months on the Mas Pedrosa industrial estate so that cement and water could be injected into the subsoil under pressure before the tunnel-boring machine passed. The section between the Fira and Parc Logístic, in sand, gravel and silt full of water, was dug as a conventional tunnel 9.5 metres in diameter and no more than 15 metres deep, so as not to contaminate the Llobregat delta aquifer.
The 2011 spending cuts delayed the opening, which was set for 2014. In November 2014 the first test train ran between Zona Universitària and the airport. The inaugural trip took place on 12 February 2016, people could ride free that weekend, and commercial service began on 16 February. On opening, this section was given the name L9 Sud. Work on the central section resumed in 2022, and it is due to be completed in 2029.
How the service runs
L9 Sud runs to a very regular rhythm: at Mercabarna 7 or 8 trains an hour pass in each direction all day, roughly one every 8 minutes, on weekdays and at weekends alike. On Fridays the last service runs until just after 2:00, and on Saturday night the line stays open, like all TMB lines. Between Can Tries | Gornal and Collblanc, where L10 Sud trains also stop, the wait between trains is shorter. If you are travelling to or from the airport, see also our page on the metro to the airport.
The trains
The trains are Alstom’s 9000 series, with the ATC-S system that lets them run without a driver. Each train is almost 90 metres long, has five open-gangway cars and holds 960 people. In the stations, glass doors separate the platform from the track and open in step with the train’s doors, and automatic-line operations technicians (TOLA) are on hand to help passengers and can take over driving if there is a fault.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. There is a station at each: Aeroport T1, the end of the line, and Aeroport T2, the next stop towards Zona Universitària. Both opened in February 2016, along with the rest of the section.
At the three stations they share: Can Tries | Gornal, Torrassa and Collblanc. On that section both lines use the same tracks and platforms, so you just wait on the same platform for the other line’s train.
When the central section between Zona Universitària and La Sagrera is finished. Work on it resumed in 2022 and completion is planned for 2029. Until then, the two halves run as separate lines.