Barcelona’s Rodalies network has a new step forward, as the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has awarded a €1.2 million contract for studies on expanding the R2 Sud line. The contract has gone to SAITEC, S.A.U., which has 30 months to complete the work.
The studies will focus on two sections, quadrupling tracks between Castelldefels and El Prat de Llobregat, and looking at options to improve capacity between El Prat de Llobregat and Barcelona Sants Station. The aim is to improve capacity and reliability on a line used by thousands of daily commuters into the city.
The government says the wider goal is to allow dynamic overtakes and increase the speed of regional services on this part of the network. The work is part of the Rodalies Plan for Catalonia 2020-2030, which sets out plans to raise network capacity and improve urban integration.
There is, however, a longer wait ahead for the main track-quadrupling work. El Periódico reported that the major reform between Castelldefels and El Prat de Llobregat will now run beyond 2030, after the updated Rodalies Plan reset the timetable.
Under the current plan, the project will receive €2.59 million before 2030, with a further €67.81 million set aside for after that date. That is different from the original 2020 plan, which had €4 million for planning works until 2025 and another €79 million until 2030.
The ministry has also changed its view on the project’s administrative route. It now says the track-quadrupling work must return to an earlier phase, which means more planning before any construction can begin. For Barcelona and the southern metro area, that pushes any real capacity gains further into the next decade.
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Originally published by El Periódico Barcelona. Read original article.
