It runs northwards from the Barcelona area to the French border town of Cerbère, passing through the Vallès Oriental, Selva, Gironès and Alt Empordà regions.

With a total line length of 172 kilometres (107 mi), it extends notably beyond the limits of the Barcelona metropolitan area, reaching the Pyrenees mountains.

[3] The current line scheme of the R11 started operating on 1 January 2010 (2010-01-01), after the transfer of the services from Media Distancia Renfe to the Generalitat of Catalonia.

Like the rest of Rodalies de Catalunya lines, the R11 runs on the Iberian gauge mainline railway system, which is owned by Adif, an agency of the Spanish government.

Services calling at all stations are branded as R (Regional), operated by RENFE Class 447 trains, while semi-fast services are branded as MD (Media Distancia/Mitjana Distancia), operated by RENFE Class 449 trains, Renfe Operadora's newest rolling stock for regional lines, and are more expensive than R trains..[9] The following table lists the name of each station served by line R11 in order from south to north; the station's service pattern offered by R and/or MD trains; the transfers to other Rodalies de Catalunya lines, including both commuter and regional rail services; remarkable transfers to other transport systems; the municipality in which each station is located; and the fare zone each station belongs to according to the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM Àrea de Barcelona) fare-integrated public transport system and Rodalies de Catalunya's own fare zone system for Barcelona commuter rail service lines.