ON MARCH 3 Dragados and Tecsa began work on a €29·3m contract that forms the first part of a €220m programme to increase capacity at Barcelona Sants station in preparation for the arrival of high speed services (RG 9.04 p522). The first phase includes the construction of new through track and a four-storey car park with 1074 spaces.
When the programme is complete, Sants will have 14 tracks, eight for 1668mm gauge services and six for 1435mm, and a total of seven platforms each 465m in length. A new bus station is to be built and connections with the TMB metro improved.
Within a budget of €2·5m, the Ministry of Development has called tenders for a contract to design works that would enable the freight bypass to the north of the city between Castellbisball and Mollet-Sant Fost to accommodate 1435mm gauge trains. The first phase would include laying a third rail for standard gauge trains on one track as well as doubling the single-track section near Mollet.
