Barcelona’s metro has a new director, with Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) naming David Prat to the role this week, according to La Vanguardia. Prat previously served as the Generalitat’s Director General of Infrastructures.
He replaces Òscar Playà, who has moved on to become director of Rodalies de Catalunya, the commuter rail service for the region. TMB started the selection process in January after Playà’s departure, and both internal and external candidates were considered.
Prat is an engineer of roads, canals and ports, with experience in major infrastructure work across Catalonia. He also worked closely with TMB chief executive Xavier Flores between 2013 and 2019, when Flores was the Generalitat’s Director General of Mobility Infrastructures. Prat later succeeded Flores as Director General of Infrastructures.
He also temporarily handled responsibilities at the Generalitat’s Tarragona delegation, where he helped lay the groundwork for the TramCamp project, which is now under construction. That background means he returns to Barcelona transport with a strong infrastructure brief, but this time from the operational side.
One of the key files on his desk will be Metro Line 9. Prat has spent years working on L9 from an engineering point of view, and he will now oversee it as an operating service. Several new L9 stations are expected to open in 2027.
The appointment also closes a longer-than-planned transition at TMB, after delays linked to formalising Playà’s contract with the mixed company. For readers following Barcelona transport and city infrastructure, this is one to watch, especially as the L9 expansion moves closer to the next phase. For more local coverage, see our Community and Sport pages.
Originally published by La Vanguardia Barcelona. Read original article.
