The tram runs along Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona. The Town Hall inaugurated this Sunday the new section of road between Glòries and Verdaguer squares, a route which, according to the municipality, is the preliminary phase for the definitive connection of this infrastructure through this road artery which crosses the Catalan capital.
The opening of the new section was dull due to the strike of the company’s workers, who denounced the lack of resources and the overload of work. CCOO and UGT called a strike for this Saturday, the day when the inaugural event was planned with the mayor and president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, so the council ended up canceling it and announcing the quiet start for it on Sunday at 5:00 a.m.
For the work in progress, which concerns the extension of the T4 line, the investment was 63 million for the tram infrastructure and 52 million for the urbanization of the Diagonal. One of the main new features is that it will not require an overhead line or catenary, but rather will have a continuous power supply system on the ground via a third rail between the two usual rails. The route which opens this Sunday and which is fully integrated into the urban fabric of Eixample, will add 24,000 daily TramBesòs trips and eliminate 2,000 car trips, according to municipal calculations.
Towards the second and final phase
The municipality’s intention is that in 2025 the schedule for the definitive connection of the tram along Diagonal begins, in the missing section between Verdaguer and Plaza Francesc Macià. The Town Hall assures that this union, even if it involves the addition of 4 kilometers of tracks to a network of approximately 30 kilometers, could double trips from 31 million per year to 62.
However, to do this, they claim they will have to execute next year’s budgets. And not only those of the City Hall, but also those of the Generalitat, which will assume part of the costs. This is what the council has been supporting for several months and it reiterates it in the press release published this Sunday.
The idea of completing the tram route on Diagonal, to connect the lines at both ends (the TramBaix and the TramBesòs) came a long time ago. It was buried after the “no” vote won during a citizen consultation in 2010, but the municipality took it back with the arrival of Ada Colau at town hall. During their first mandate, the Commons did not obtain sufficient support for the project. But in 2020, with the PSC in the executive, Colau obtained the yes from the ERC for the new section which opens this Sunday in exchange for 100% public management of the infrastructure when the agreement expires current in 2032.
Likewise, the PSC now hopes to obtain the approval of the Comuns and the ERC for its accounts to continue with the connection. It is expected that the works will last until 2028 and will have a cost of approximately 215 million euros, approximately half of which will be borne by the municipality and the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM), which depends on the budgets of the Generalitat. To this must be added the rolling stock, of around 80 million, also ATM.
The final connection will mean, according to the Town Hall, a gain of 6,000 m2 for pedestrians and 18,900 m2 of green spaces. Today, 68% of Barcelona residents are in favor of closing the tram intersection, according to the latest municipal barometer.
