FGC trains from Barcelona to Sabadell and Terrassa now every 5 minutes

FGC trains between Barcelona and Sabadell and Terrassa run every 5 minutes during rush hour as of Friday, with trains between the Catalan capital and Sant Cugat every 2 and a half minutes over the same period.

Dubbed the 'Metro del Vallès', a €120 million investment has allowed the Catalan government-operated railway company to meet increased demand by expanding service on the line with 15 new trains connecting Barcelona with cities in the neighboring Vallès county area.

Catalan president Pere Aragonès, who was among the first to hop on one of these FGC trains on Friday morning, said the so-called 'Metro del Vallès' was a reality "with a metro-like frequency on the line." 

The Public Transport Promotion (PTP) association, meanwhile, described Friday as "a historic day," but said service could still be improved on weekends. 

From Monday to Thursday from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm and on Fridays and the day before holidays from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm there will be trains to Sabadell and Terrassa every 10 minutes and to Sant Cugat every 5 minutes. 

Mondays to Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Fridays and the day before holidays from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm there will be trains to Sabadell and Terrassa every 8.5 minutes and to Sant Cugat every 4 minutes. 

On weekends and holidays from 7:30 am to 9:30 am there will be trains every 20 minutes to Sabadell and Terrassa and every 10 minutes to Sant Cugat.

No more S5, S6, and S7

As of December 9,  S1 Terrassa, S2 Sabadell, L6 Sarrià, L7 Avinguda Tibidabo, and L12 Reina Elisenda all run on the Barcelona-Vallès line. 

The old S6 Universitat Autònoma and S7 Rubí lines now end in Sabadell and Terrassa as part of the S1 and S2, which stop at all stations. This means the S1 and S2 will cover all the stops S5, S6, and S7 used to. 

According to FGC, it will now take three to four more minutes to get from one end of the line to the other. 

One of "biggest" improvements in FGC history

Company sources described the changes as one of the "biggest" improvements in FGC history that were made necessary by increased demand over the past few years. 

Despite a drop in passengers in 2020 due to Covid, the line has on average been at over 57% capacity. In 2019 capacity was at 66%, with demand growing by 3.5% annually.