El Prat de Llobregat Municipal Council has formally demanded the Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility unblock a critical project. This project aims to quadruple the R2 Sud railway tracks between Castelldefels and El Prat. This urgent call follows Adif's suspension of the works contract, causing significant delays for thousands of daily commuters. The council approved a motion this Wednesday, 29 April. It highlighted the project's importance for decongesting one of Barcelona's most critical railway points.
The motion, presented by Esquerra Republicana, specifically asks the Ministry, led by Óscar Puente, to reverse its decision. This reversal would prevent further delays to a key infrastructure upgrade. All municipal groups supported the proposal. However, the six councillors from the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) abstained. The nine members of the El Prat En Comú Podem municipal government voted in favour. They were joined by Esquerra Republicana (three councillors), the People's Party (two), Jóvenes y Pensionistas (one), and VOX (two). Gerard Valverde from Estimem El Prat and non-aligned councillor Isabel Fernández also supported the motion.
Crucial Decongestion Project
The project is fundamental for resolving a significant "bottleneck" in the current railway network. This bottleneck affects trains entering and leaving Barcelona from the Baix Llobregat region, home to over 800,000 residents. The intervention, outlined in the Rodalies 2020-2030 Plan, aims to increase infrastructure capacity. It also seeks to improve punctuality and allow for the separation of different traffic patterns. This includes express trains and local services that stop at all stations.
Officials expect the upgrade to improve service reliability. It will also respond to the high demand for a section that currently experiences many incidents. The four-track configuration would allow trains from Tarragona or the Ebre region to overtake local commuter trains. This would prevent these longer-distance trains from stopping at every station. The Associació per a la Promoció del Transport Públic (PTP) calculates this change would save commuters between seven and eight minutes on this specific section. It could save up to 15 minutes on the total journey to Barcelona.
Adif Suspends Contract
The Administrator of Railway Infrastructures (Adif) suspended the works contract for this railway corridor expansion in March. This decision came after years of demands from residents and councils in the Llobregat Delta area. The project intended to increase the number of tracks from two to four for trains entering the Catalan capital.
Adif's decision represents a new delay for this "key infrastructure for Baix Llobregat mobility". The approved council text states, "Every day, thousands of people use this line to travel to their workplaces, educational centres, and essential services." Adif's move in March to withdraw from the contract, which covered drafting the necessary projects, has returned the initiative to a preliminary phase. This action has significantly postponed the future works.
New Delays and Uncertain Calendar
The infrastructure administrator's decision requires a new public tender. This follows a change in criteria within the informative study, an initial administrative step managed by the Ministry of Transport. This action by the public company leaves the widely anticipated project without an execution calendar.
The Esquerra Republicana text warns of "a new delay that may postpone the action beyond 2030." The drafting of the suspended project was estimated to take around 36 months. This timeline would have placed the start of construction beyond 2029. The approved text adds, "This new postponement perpetuates a situation that thousands of users suffer daily. It causes recurrent incidents, lack of capacity, and a railway service that does not respond to the real mobility needs of the territory." It also states, "Public transport is a fundamental tool to guarantee territorial cohesion, reduce emissions, and improve citizens' quality of life."
Future Demands and Coordination
The proposition from Esquerra Republicana asks the Ministry to establish a "clear, updated, and credible" calendar for the project's execution. It also demands a "corresponding budgetary commitment" to finally complete this long-awaited work.
The council has also called on the Generalitat de Catalunya to "actively defend this action as a priority infrastructure for Baix Llobregat mobility." Additionally, it urges the regional government and the central government to "coordinate to ensure that planned investments in the Rodalies network respond to users' real needs." The council concludes, "It is essential that the competent administrations prioritise the necessary investments to guarantee a reliable and efficient service."
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Originally published by Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life. Read original article.
