Final entry into service tram service between Glòries and Verdaguer will be on November 9. This will end the first advance, of 1.8 kilometers, in the connection of the trams along Barcelona’s Diagonal. 2.2 kilometers of roads and urbanization remain to be built to connect Verdaguer with Plaza Francesc Macià. A connection that will involve more than 40 months of works and for which no administration dares to set a date. In fact, the deputy mayor for urban planning, Laia Bonet, recalled that before scheduling the union of the trams, the opposition parties in Barcelona City Council must approve the next budgets. Without them, the connection will not be possible.
This Monday the so-called blank run period for the tram began on the new section of Diagonal Avenue between Plaça de las Glòries and Girona Street. During this phase prior to entry into service, the trams will circulate without passengers but complying with schedules, signals… as if the convoys were already in operation. With the blank march, the test period that began on July 15 concludes and that has allowed us to verify the integration of the new section with the tracks, energy, the continuous power supply system by land instead of the classic catenary, the traffic light regulation and the railway signaling system. During the blank run, the trams will circulate at the expected commercial speed, stopping at new stations and even simulating the exchange of passengers. All of this is necessary, according to the general director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (ATM), Manuel Valdés, to “finish adjusting the service.”
The section of the Diagonal between Glòries and Verdaguer will be the first in Spain to operate with a continuous power supply system by land, without the need for catenaries. This system, which uses a third rail, powers the tram exclusively when it passes over it, continuously and safely. This technology has required the adaptation of the existing fleet and the installation of new equipment in the substations.
The deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, maintains that only with the current expansion of the service – between Glòries and Verdaguer – it is expected that an additional demand of 24,000 daily trips will be incorporated and will contribute to the reduction of about 2,000 cars in the central part of the Diagonal. The section will also connect with four metro lines (L1, L2, L4 and L5) and thirteen TMB bus lines, consolidating the role of the tram as a key piece in the city’s mobility.
The Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure of the Generalitat, Manel Nadal, has highlighted that the regional administration gives great importance to the tram: “We hope to finish the union soon. From the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (ATM) we plan to have the project finished by the end of the year and during 2025 it is expected to be processed and later to put the works out to tender.” Nadal has reported that he plans to promote the construction of a new tram in Camp de Tarragona and “other tram systems that will first be transformed into a bus lane – such as the one between Cornellà and Castelldefels – until we see if it has more demand and can be transformed into a tram. ”.
2.2 kilometers remain to be built and the deputy mayor, Laia Bonet maintains: “The budget for the last phase must be closed at the ATM. The administrations that make up the ATM (Generalitat, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport) want to take it forward. At Barcelona City Council we cannot separate it from the budgets.” Bonet assures that the main thing is to have budgets to have the necessary resources. “Without budgets we cannot talk about calendars,” he warns in clear reference to the parties that have defended this project, particularly the Commons and ERC.
The general director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (ATM), Manuel Valdés, assures that when they begin to carry out the joining works, 40 months of intervention will be needed since the “project includes the tram and a collector.”
Starting this Monday, the operations of T4, T5 and T6 of the Trambesòs will change. The new section that connects Glòries with Verdaguer will be the one operated by T4 and, therefore, from this Monday it will stop circulating towards Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica. The T5 and T6 are the lines that will be in charge of carrying out this route and will make the journey between Glòries and the Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica stop (the one closest to the beach). During the blanking period, line T4 will end the service in Glòries.
The removal of the fences that delimit the work area is also planned and until the service with passengers begins, the Monumental, Sicilia and Verdaguer stops will remain disabled to prevent access to clueless users. The traffic lights so that the tram has priority circulation have been adjusted in recent weeks. Between Castillejos and Bailén streets, the traffic light cycles have been modified at 27 intersections, including 10 on Diagonal and 17 more in its surroundings. Furthermore, in Plaça de las Glòries the new development has incorporated 10 pedestrian crossings with traffic lights. In the event that the tram suffers delays, the traffic light regulation system allows them to be corrected by reinforcing the priority of the tram over other vehicles.
Along with the launch of the tram, Diagonal – between Glòries and Paseo Sant Joan – has been redeveloped. The sidewalks have been increased by 17,290 square meters. In addition, the bike lane has been relocated and expanded, enabling 5,040 square meters of bike lane over 1.6 kilometers.
