El Cremallera de Montserrat
Ruta dels Monestirs del Camí de Sant Jaume de Catalunya (Paisatges de Barcelona)
Montserrat Rack Railway is the only way to get to Montserrat that leaves you right in the middle of the monastery, a 15-minute journey with a privileged and spectacular view of the mountain. The train has panoramic windows which make the actual journey an interesting attraction.
With departures every 20 minutes at peak times, the rack railway is at your disposal to carry you straight to the very heart of the monastery.
Don?t forget to visit the Montserrat Rack Railway exhibition, housed in the building of the old Monistrol-Vila station, now refurbished, and discover its history through documents, interesting objects and audiovisual shows.
For most of its five kilometres the rack railway follows the route of the original railway. Of these, four kilometres are in rack traction to cover a dif‑erence in height of almost 550 metres between Monistrol-Vila and Montserrat stations.
The route starts at Monistrol de Montserrat station, which connects with the R5 service of the FGC Llobregat-Anoia line. Setting of‑ from this first station, the rack railway enters the 160 m long newly-constructed La Foradada tunnel. At the end of this tunnel the railway crosses the Pont del Centenari bridge, the railway`s most important and spectacular work of engineering, crossing the River Llobregat and the C-55 road and running along the right bank of the River Tortuguer to reach the second station, Monistrol-Vila. This newly-built station is where the rack railway section starts.
The railway continues its upwards journey through the Tunnel of Àngel, already in place on the original rack railway route, and crosses the new bridge built to replace a level crossing. It then goes across another bridge, Guilleumes Bridge, from which the craggy outline of the mountain can be admired before plunging into the last tunnel on the line, the Tunnel of Apòstols. Past this point the rack railway makes its final upwards thrust to the last station, Montserrat, underneath the Plaça de la Creu.
Facilities and observations
Montserrat Rack Railway is completely accessible if you are a wheelchair user or have reduced mobility. There are lifts at the stations (in Monistrol Vila and Montserrat). There is wheelchair access to the trains and space for wheelchairs in the wagons. In addition, the station Monistrol - Vila has a large free parking, with capacity for up to 1,000 cars and 70 buses, catering service, a shop and all the necessary services for visitors.
Specifications verified on-site for the Agencia Catalana de Turisme by accessibility consultants.