Estació de Sant Vicenç de Calders

This is a major railway junction 40 miles to the south-​west of Barcelona and 20 miles from Tarragona. Named after a small hill-​top village to the north, it’s now surrounded by the pleasant but suburban and rather characterless seaside town of Coma Ruga.
The station was originally opened on the first route from Barcelona to Tarragona via an inland route through Vilafranca in 1865. In 1881, the coastal route via Sitges and Vilanova opened, making Sant Vicenç an important junction. An inland route was also opened from here to Lleida via La Plana-​Picamoixons, by-​passing Tarragona, which until the opening of the high speed line also carried expresses to Madrid.
Today, the station is still an important one, and always busy with people changing trains. It’s the terminus of Lines 2 and 4 of the Barcelona suburban railway network, Line 2 providing a half-​hourly off-​peak service via the coast (including Sitges and Vilanova) and Line 4 providing an hourly service via the inland line via Vilafranca del Penedès (and the Cava wine-​producing region).
It’s also served by all the Media Distencia services from Barcelona to Tarragona, Lleida, Tortosa and Reus and other places to the south, and a small selection of the fast Barcelona-​Valencia coastal services.
Although it has 11 platforms, the station buildings are rather modest: just two platforms have awnings, and a modern brick-​built structure contains a ticket office, newsagents and a small café. There are very few facilities outside the station — there are no bars and the nearest shops are 10 minutes’ walk away. There is however a decent sized car park in front of the station.
Trains to Barcelona via Vilafranca (line C4) depart from the three terminating platforms just in front of the station buildings. All other services are accessed via the subway, most stopping at platforms 1 – 4. Like many Spanish stations, the platform numbering system is not sequential, which can be confusing for visitors. A new digital display system has just been installed, which should make things easier for travellers.