Airport T2 station

Airport T2 (Spanish: Aeropuerto T2, Catalan: Aeroport T2) is both a Rodalies de Catalunya commuter rail station and a Barcelona Metro station serving terminal complex T2 of Barcelona–El Prat Airport. They are located adjacent to the airport's terminal T2B, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, to the southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. The Rodalies de Catalunya station is the southern terminus of the current rail link coming from El Prat de Llobregat railway station. It is operated by Renfe Operadora and is served by Barcelona commuter rail service line R2 Nord. The metro station is on the airport branch of Barcelona Metro line 9 (L9) and is operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB).

Airport T2

Aeroport T2
Rodalies de Catalunya commuter rail station
TMB rapid transit station
A Renfe Operadora Civia train pulling into the Rodalies de Catalunya station in 2014.
General information
LocationCarrer de Salvador Hedilla
08820 El Prat de Llobregat
Catalonia
Spain
Coordinates41°18′15.32″N 2°4′23.9″E
Owned by
  • Adif (Rodalies de Catalunya)
  • Ifercat (Barcelona Metro)
Operated by
Line(s)
Platforms
Tracks
  • : 1
  • : 2
Connections
Construction
Structure type
  • : At-grade
  • : Underground
ParkingSeveral airport parking garages serving Barcelona–El Prat Airport's terminal T2 are located nearby.
AccessibleThe Barcelona Metro station is fully disabled-accessible.
Other information
Station code
  • : 72400
  • : 903
Fare zone
History
Opened
  • : 15 July 1975 (1975-07-15)
  • : 12 February 2016 (2016-02-12)
Services
Preceding station Rodalies de Catalunya Following station
Terminus R2 Nord El Prat de Llobregat
towards Maçanet-Massanes
Suspended
Terminus R10 El Prat de Llobregat
towards Barcelona Estació de França
Preceding station Metro Following station
Airport T1
Terminus
 L9 Sud Mas Blau
towards Zona Universitària
Projected
Aeroport Terminal de Càrrega
towards Airport T1
 L2 Mas Blau
towards Badalona Pompeu Fabra
L9 Mas Blau
towards Can Zam

Opened in 1975, the current Rodalies de Catalunya station is the only commuter rail station serving the airport, so that it is simply known as Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto, Catalan: Aeroport). Besides, it is due to disappear around 2022 with the construction of a new airport rail link, which will also reach airport terminal T1. The Barcelona Metro line 9 station started operating in 2016, when the line's 20-kilometre-long (12 mi) portion between the airport terminals and Zona Universitària station in western Barcelona opened for passenger service as the L9 Sud ("South").

Location

Both the Rodalies de Catalunya and the Barcelona Metro stations are located right in front of airport terminal T2B, to which it is connected by an elevated walkway crossing over a parking lot and a road serving terminal complex T2. The Rodalies station is located at-grade, whilst the metro station lies underground, parallel to it. Terminals T2A and T2C can be accessed on foot through terminal T2B. The Rodalies de Catalunya users heading for terminal T1, located about 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) away from the station,[4] need to use the airport's free shuttle bus between terminal complexes T1 and T2. The shuttle bus service runs 24 hours a day with a service pattern of 4 minutes (8:00–20:00), 7 minutes (20:00–0:00) or 20 minutes (00:00–5:00), and has stops in front of terminals T2B and T2C as well as both the arrival and departure areas of terminal T1.[5]

History

A single-track railway line between Barcelona–El Prat Airport and Barcelona Sants station, including the current at-grade airport station and the connecting elevated walkway to the airport terminal, was officially opened on 15 July 1975 (1975-07-15) by the then-Princes of Spain Juan Carlos and Sofía. At the time it started operating, the airport station was served half-hourly by non-stopping shuttle services to Barcelona Sants, with a journey time of 14 minutes. This was therefore the first airport rail link in Spain and one of the earliest such airport rail links in the world.[6]

On 28 May 1989 (1989-05-28), with the dismantling of the former route of the Barcelona–Mataró–Maçanet-Massanes railway through the Barcelona neighborhood of Poblenou, the airport station began to serve as the southern terminus of all commuter rail services running from Mataró. All those trains used the Meridiana Tunnel in central Barcelona, calling at Sants and Plaça de Catalunya stations, with an initial service frequency of 30 minutes in each direction.[7][8]

Due to the construction works of the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line in Barcelona's southern accesses, the services between Mataró and the airport station were suspended on 4 December 2005 and replaced with shuttle trains between the airport and El Prat de Llobregat railway station.[9] On 22 July 2006 (2006-07-22), a new Rodalies Barcelona line numbered 10 (or R10, with the current Rodalies de Catalunya designation) dedicated to serving the airport started operating. With a service frequency of 30 minutes in each direction, the new line ran between the airport station and Barcelona's Estació de França, using the Aragó Tunnel in central Barcelona, calling at Sants and Passeig de Gràcia stations.[10]

Due to construction works near Sant Andreu Comtal railway station in Barcelona, a "temporary" restructuring affecting lines R2 and R10 was implemented on 31 January 2009 (2009-01-31): the R10 was suspended and the R2 was divided into three different lines—R2, R2 Nord ("North") and R2 Sud ("South")—. Thus, line R2 Nord started operating at the airport station, originating the current line scheme. The R10 was initially scheduled to resume services two years later.[11]

Barcelona Metro

A tunneling machine began excavating the tunnel of Barcelona Metro line 9 from Mas Blau to Airport T1 stations in March 2008, reaching the latter in April 2009. At that moment, the airport branch of Barcelona Metro line 9 was expected to open for passenger service in 2012.[12] In March 2012, the Government of Catalonia announced the opening date of the line's section between Airport T1 and Zona Universitària stations was to be delayed until 2014, after passing a modification on the funding of several sections of the L9 in order to prioritize the arrival of the metro line at the airport.[13] In June 2014, the government announced that the Airport T1–Zona Universitària section, excepting Aeroport Terminal de Càrrega, La Ribera and Camp Nou stations, would open in the first six months of 2016.[14] The first day of passenger service was 12 February 2016.[15]

Rail services
The Airport T1-bound platform at the Barcelona Metro line 9 station.

The Rodalies de Catalunya station is served half-hourly by Barcelona commuter rail service line R2 Nord. Typical weekday services usually run between the airport and Maçanet-Massanes or Sant Celoni stations, via Barcelona. However, there also exist some services between the airport and Granollers Centre railway station, specially during the weekend. All trains call at Barcelona Sants—the city's main station—and Barcelona Passeig de Gràcia—the line's station serving central Barcelona—, with an average journey time of 19 and 26 minutes, respectively.[16]

Barcelona Metro line 9 services, designated L9 Sud ("L9 South"), run driverless at a basic frequency of 7 minutes in each direction between Airport T1 and Zona Universitària in western Barcelona. Additional partial services may be added if necessary, reducing the frequency to 4 minutes.[15]

Fares

Airport T2 station belongs to different fare zones depending on the entity issuing the tickets. On the one hand, Rodalies de Catalunya has its own fare zone system and considers the station to be in fare zone 4 of its Barcelona commuter rail service,[3] so that a single ticket to Barcelona (or the other way around) costs €4.1. On the other hand, the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM)—a public agency in charge of coordinating public transport operators in the Barcelona area—considers it to be in fare zone 1, in the same way as the transport stations located in the city of Barcelona and its adjacent municipalities.[2] Thus, the price of a journey between Barcelona and the airport varies significantly due to the fact that, in the case of Rodalies de Catalunya, four fare zones are crossed, though, in the case of the ATM, only one fare zone is crossed.

Although Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the operator of the Barcelona Metro station, uses the ATM fare zone system, the basic single ticket issued by the company is not valid at this station, and the passengers using the metro stations located at the airport terminals are required to buy a special ticket known as an airport ticket. This ticket costs €4.5 and gives access to the rest of the TMB-operated Barcelona Metro system.[17] In contrast, all multiple-time tickets and unlimited passes issued by the ATM are valid at this station, with the exception of the T-10 ten-trip ticket.[18]

Future

Construction works for a new, 4.5-kilometre-long (2.8 mi), double-track rail link for Barcelona–El Prat Airport started in July 2015, with a completion date around 2022, delayed from the original 2018 completion year. The new rail link will commence at El Prat de Llobregat railway station and will have stations at both airport terminals T1 and T2 thanks to the construction of a 2.8-kilometre-long (1.7 mi) tunnel underneath one of the airport runways,[19] replacing the current single-track line and the Rodalies de Catalunya station serving the airport. The new rail link will allow an increased service frequency of 15 minutes in each direction on commuter rail services to central Barcelona.[20] There is also a project to extend Barcelona Metro line 2 (L2) southwards using the route of the L9 between Parc Logístic and Airport T1 stations.[21]

References
  1. "Listado de líneas y estaciones" [List of railway lines and stations] (PDF) (in Spanish). Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Government of Spain. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  2. Integrated Railway Network (PDF) (Map). Autoritat del Transport Metropolità. August 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  3. "Servei de rodalia de Barcelona" [Barcelona commuter rail service] (PDF) (Map). Rodalies de Catalunya (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. Distance measured using Google Maps's "Distance Measurement Tool".
  5. "Connection between terminals". Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Aena. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  6. "Importantes mejoras en la red de comunicaciones de la provincia" [Important improvements on the province's transport system] (PDF). La Vanguardia Española (in Spanish). Barcelona. 16 July 1975. p. 5. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  7. "Renfe cierra la estación de Cercanías y el tren ya llega desde Mataró hasta el centro de Barcelona" [Renfe shuts down Cercanías station and trains are already running from Mataró to central Barcelona] (PDF). La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Sant Adrià de Besòs. 19 May 1989. p. 32. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  8. Sierra, Lluís; V. Aroca, Jaume (27 May 1989). "Los Juegos Olímpicos cumplen su primer objetivo de ganar playas y acercar el Maresme a Barcelona" [The Olympic Games fulfill the objectives of gaining beach access and getting El Maresme closer to Barcelona] (PDF). La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona. p. 20. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  9. "Sense tren directe entre Sants i l'aeroport per les obres del TAV" [No direct trains between Barcelona Sants and the airport due to the high-speed train construction works] (in Catalan). La Xarxa. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  10. "Renfe restablece conexión Barcelona-Aeropuerto" [Renfe restablishes Barcelona–Airport link] (in Spanish). EuroFerroviarios. 20 July 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  11. "La línia C-2 de Rodalies patirà els efectes de les obres de l'AVE durant dos anys" [Rodalies line C-2 to suffer the effects of the AVE construction works for two years]. 324.cat (in Catalan). Televisió de Catalunya. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  12. "Es completa el túnel de l'L9 fins a la nova terminal de l'Aeroport de Barcelona" [Barcelona Metro line 9 tunnel completed after reaching Barcelona Airport's new terminal] (PDF). Ifercat (Press release) (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  13. "La línia L9 connectarà el 2014 l'aeroport amb Zona Universitària i les principals línies metropolitanes de transport de viatgers" [Barcelona Metro line 9 to link the airport to Zona Universitària and the main metropolitan public transport lines in 2014] (PDF). Sala de premsa (Press release) (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 21 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  14. "L'L9 arribarà a l'Aeroport del Prat el primer semestre de 2016" [Barcelona Metro line 9 to serve Barcelona–El Prat Airport in the first six months of 2016] (PDF). Sala de premsa (Press release) (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  15. "El conseller Rull anuncia la posada en servei del nou tram de l'L9 el 12 de febrer" [Minister Rull sets the opening date of Line 9's new section for 12 February] (PDF). Sala de premsa (Press release) (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 27 January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  16. "Schedule of lines R2, R2 Nord and R2 Sud" (PDF). Rodalies de Catalunya. Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  17. "Bitllets a l'aeroport" [Airport link tickets] (in Catalan). Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona. Archived from the original on 12 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  18. "L'ATM aprova la rebaixa dels abonaments de 2 a 6 zones, l'ampliació de la T-12 fins els 14 anys i la congelació de la resta de títols" [The ATM passes a price reduction of all of its tickets and passes of 2 to 6 zones, the age extension to 14 years for the T-12, and a price freeze for the rest of the ATM passes and tickets] (PDF) (Press release) (in Catalan). Autoritat del Transport Metropolità. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  19. "Pastor asiste al inicio de las obras de la lanzadera ferroviaria al Aeropuerto de Barcelona-El Prat" [Pastor attends the start of the construction works of the new Barcelona–El Prat Airport rail link] (PDF) (Press release) (in Spanish). Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Government of Spain. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  20. "Santi Vila presenta l'acord d'actuacions en infraestructures estratègiques amb el Ministeri de Foment" [Santi Vila presents the agreement on key infrastructures with the Ministry of Public Works] (PDF). Sala de premsa (Press release) (in Catalan). Generalitat of Catalonia. 18 February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  21. "Fitxes de les actuacions". Pla Director d'Infraestructures del transport públic col·lectiu de la regió metropolitana de Barcelona 2011-2020 [2011–2020 Infrastructure Master Plan for the public transport system in the Barcelona metropolitan area] (PDF) (Report) (in Catalan). Autoritat del Transport Metropolità. pp. 124–125. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
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