TC2 Bus & Funicular Tibidabo (Cuca de Llum) From Plaza J.F. Kennedy
Cuca de Llum Funicular to Tibidabo Amusement park. Spain's first Funicular Railway, recently modernised. Info, History and Tickets
About TC2 Bus & Funicular Tibidabo
Funicular de Tibidabo Railway, in combination with the TC2 bus, is the Most Expensive way to get to Tibidabo. it is not part of the Barcelona integrated fare system so a T-casual zone 1 or Hola BCN cannot be used to ride the Tibidabo funicular. It is, however, The quickest way to get to Tibidabo.
The Low cost method to get to Tibidabo is via the Vallvidrera Funicular & 111 Bus route.
To walk up to Tibidabo from Avenida Tibidbo, skipping the expensive Funicular, read about my Barcelona to Tibidabo Walking Route.
History of the Barcelona Tibidabo Funicular
Dr Salvador Andreu i Grau (Barcelona, 1841-1928) was a wealthy businessman who sold pharmaceutical products and decided to develop the land between Passeig de Sant Gervasi (passing via Plaza John F Kennedy).
The piano teacher of Salvador's children came back from a vacation in Switzerland with a brochure about a funicular trip he took there so Dr Salvador Andreu decided to form a company to build the First Funicular railway in Spain to go from his new housing estate to the Tibidabo summit and Parc d'Atraciones.
Bonaventura Roig i Queralt was the lead engineer and works commenced in 1900 with the railway making a test ascent on 3rd of July. The official inauguration was at the end of October once tuning of the cables was completed.
The first carriages were made of wood and had six compartments divided between first and second class, with a maximum capacity of 80 passengers. In 1958 the wooden carriages were replaced by metal ones. The metal carriages were decommissioned in autumn of 2019 to be replaced with the modern glass cabins.
The Tibidabo funicular modernisation was completed in the spring of 2022 and the new glass cabins with panoramic views have been rebranded as Cuca de Llum.
The funicular's route is 1,130 metres in length, and has an altitude gain of 275 metres between the lower and upper station.
History of the Barcelona Tram Blau
Barcelona's Blue Tram line (Tramvia Blau) was built at the instigation of Dr Salvador Andreu i Grau, to connect his residential project around the Avenida Tibidabo area to the Funicular de Tibidabo lower station in Plaza Doctor Andreu.
The Tramvia Blau started operating in 1901 undergoing refurbisments and modifications in 1922 and 1958.
In 1954, line 7 of the Barcelona FGC rail network arrived at Avinguda Tibidabo station under Plaza Kennedy via a spur branch from Gracia FGC station.
The blue tram operated for a distance of 1.276 kilometres as an isolated tram route between Avenida Tibidabo at plaza John F Kennedy to the lower Tibidabo Funicular station. Although part of the Barcelona integrated transport network it was not possible to ride it with T-casual zone 1 or Hola BCN travel card. You paid the conductor the five euro fare using real money!(coins or notes).
The blue tram has been CLOSED since 2018 with no recent information about refurbishment or re-opening.
The tram Blau route has been replaced with the TC2 interconnect bus (included in the Funicular ticket) or the TMB 196 bus (using T-casual or Hola BCN ticket).
Image Gallery for TC2 Bus & Funicular Tibidabo
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