SPAIN: An extension of Barcelona’s Trambesòs light rail network along Avenida Diagonal between the Plaça de les Glòres and Verdaguer opened without ceremony on November 10. The planned celebrations have been postponed as a mark of solidarity with people affected by the severe flooding in València.
The start of services had also been scheduled for November 9, but this was delayed by a strike.
The 2 km extension equipped with Alstom’s APS ground-level power supply system has been built as the first phase of a 3·9 km line which will connect the city’s currently separate Trambaix and Trambesòs light rail networks.
It is served by routes T4 to Estació de Sant Adrià and T5 to Gorg, and is expected to generate around 24 000 additional journeys per day and eliminate 2 00 car movements. There are two intermediate stops at Monumental and Sicilia, and interchanges with four metro lines and numerous bus routes.
The next stage of the cross-city tramway project will complete the connection to the Trambaix network at Plaça Francesc Macià.
Mayor Laia Bonet said in August that once the financing is secured, construction could start in summer 2025 and take up to 40 months. A major element of the project will be the construction of a high capacity rainwater drain. The cost of the project is estimated at more than €200m, with the city to be responsible for just under half.
