The Catalunya regional government’s new construction authority Gestió d’Infraestructures has called tenders for civil works on the first sections of Barcelona metro Line 9, expected to open in 2004. The works have been divided into three packages. The first covers the section from Sagrera on Lines 1 and 5 east to a TBM access shaft on the site of the new high speed station (RG 6.01 p370). Including stations, this section has a budget of Pts5·9bn and is due for completion within 36 months.
The second package, worth Pts48·8bn, comprises the route eastwards from the Sagrera shaft to Gorg via Bon Pastor, as well as Parc Logístic - Zona Universitària at the western end of Line 9. Work is expected to take 54 months to complete. The final package worth Pts64·7m for completion within 64 months includes the branch from Bon Pastor to Can Zam, as well as Zona Universitària - Sagrera.
Line 9 will be 41·4 km long with 43 stations. With 13 interchange stations it is expected to carry 90million passengers/year, twice the traffic of Line 1 or 5, currently TMB’s busiest routes. Running lines will be placed above each other in a single bore, with the fully-accessible stations fitted with platform screen doors.
Civil works for Line 9 are expected to cost a total of Pts240bn, with a further Pts40bn budgeted for rolling stock and other mechanical and electrical contracts. The entire route, reaching Prat Airport in the west, is expected to be open in 2007. In addition to Line 9, the 2001-10 infrastructure plan recently approved by Barcelona transport authority ATM, costed at Pts1000bn, includes 24·8 km of metro extensions and 32·9 km of light rail routes serving the northwestern suburbs (MR00 p30). The Spanish government is to provide Pts186·7bn for projects on the national network including new suburban rolling stock and a second Sants - Sagrera tunnel, and the plan also includes a new Castelldefels - Sant Boi - Cornellà route.
- TMB is to call tenders for the supply of 33 five-car trains for Line 5, which it expects to order in the first half of 2002 within a budget of Pts33bn. Specifying aluminium bodyshells and full-width gangways, the Barcelona metro operator expects to put the trains into service during the first half of 2004.
