SPANISH Development Minister Francisco Álvarez-Cascos and the Mayor of Barcelona Joan Clos have signed an agreement to build a station at Sagrera for the high speed line between Madrid and the French border. The Ministry of Development will be responsible for the railway infrastructure component of the Pts77bn scheme, with the remainder to be funded by property development.
The three-level station will have eight tracks for high speed services and five for 1668mm gauge suburban services. Served by Lines 4 and 8 of the Barcelona metro (MR 00 p31), the interchange will also incorporate a bus station.
Expected to open in 2004, the high speed line will approach Sagrera from the west using the existing cross-city rail tunnel under Carrer d’Aragó. A new tunnel will be built to the north under Carrer de Mallorca for suburban services, which will also be diverted from the existing tunnel to Sant Andreu Arenal under Avinguda Meridiana to serve Sagrera.
Elsewhere, Prointec has been awarded a Pts220m contract to undertake preliminary design studies for a Madrid - Alc
