Estrella Costa Brava in the Costa Brava

Towards the beginning of 2013, the Estrella Costa Brava night train was cut back to Barcelona, except on Friday nights, when it continued up to Cerbère, and Sunday nights, when it headed down from Portbou to Madrid. But that was not all.

The real highlight was that it ran via the Mataró line —something that had not been seen for many years—. It had previously only happened under special circumstances, such as during the replacement of a bridge on the Granollers line.

Knowing that this wouldn't last long, I decided to head up one morning to get a shot. Here you can see the service reinforced with three additional coaches, instead of the usual four-coach rake.

As a side note, the day was so clear that, looking along the coastline, you can spot Montjuïc Mountain, which lies 45 kilometres away from this vantage point.