Molins de Rei station works have been awarded to a new contractor for the third time, marking the latest chapter in a four-year saga of delays and administrative setbacks for local commuters.
Residents have endured a provisional station setup since 2021, with travellers growing accustomed to a construction zone where trees have even taken root.
Molins de Rei Station Works Plagued by Repeated Setbacks
The project, which involves installing lifts for accessibility and restoring a railway track, is not considered highly complex.
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However, it has fallen into an administrative black hole that highlights how difficult even seemingly minor improvements can become under Renfe’s management. The initial tender in 2019 was won by a company with an unrealistically low budget, which subsequently withdrew before work began.
Consequently, a second contract was awarded in 2021 to a firm from the ACS group for approximately one million euros more. Furthermore, then-Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez visited the site as works commenced. They completed a first phase, renewing the station lobby and installing one of four planned lifts.
Nevertheless, progress halted abruptly in March 2023. Contractors and Adif discovered that planned platform extensions for 200-metre trains failed to meet necessary signalling and safety requirements. The company then rescinded its contract, removing all machinery and leaving the site dormant ever since.
According to recent reports on station accessibility projects, such delays are not unique, though Molins de Rei’s situation is particularly protracted. Renfe explored having a public company complete the work but has now awarded a third contract to Contratas y Ventas, part of the FCC group.
New Contract and Compensatory Measures
This latest tender is valued at €9.3 million, nearly double the first contract but four million less than Renfe’s most recent tender. To compensate for nearly four years of paralysis, Renfe has agreed to a request from Molins de Rei’s mayor, Xavi Paz, to include a second station access point in the project.
This low-cost solution, successfully implemented in Cornellà de Llobregat, provides greater comfort by preventing travellers from taking long detours to catch their trains. Works are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year, with a 14-month execution period aiming for completion in 2027, assuming no further complications arise.
The prolonged disruption underscores broader challenges in public transport infrastructure upgrades. Meanwhile, the community hopes the third attempt will finally deliver the accessible, functional station they have awaited since 2019. The original report in La Vanguardia details the complex history of these molins de rei station works.
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