The last phase for the tram union along Diagonal is already defined. The Barcelona City Council has presented the executive project for the reurbanization of the pending section, the one between Francesc Macià square and Paseo de Sant Joan, after already executing the section that goes to Glòries square. "It is the first time that we can show the complete picture of the tram connection," remarked the first deputy mayor of Barcelona, Laia Bonet.
After many years of disagreements, the union of Trambesòs and Trambaix was reactivated at the end of 2020 after an agreement between the municipal government, then formed by Comuns and PSC, and ERC. It was in March 2022 when the works of the first phase began, which will provide tram infrastructure to the section between Paseo de Sant Joan and Glòries. Just a few weeks ago, tram circulation tests began on that section, two kilometers that will be covered in 7 minutes. After two years and four months of works, on the night of July 15, a convoy made its first departure from Glòries, testing at a reduced speed a system that runs without a catenary and is powered from the ground. The forecast is that this section, with intermediate stops at Monumental and Sicília, will come into operation this autumn.
Now, and after some doubts, the municipal government led by Jaume Collboni puts the thread in the needle of the second phase, which will continue the route, going beyond Paseo de Sant Joan and reaching Francesc Macià. This is the last piece left to connect nine metropolitan cities, from Sant Feliu de Llobregat to Sant Adrià de Besòs, with the forecast of doubling daily users, reaching 220,000 travelers, in addition to taking 12,000 cars off the street every day.
The plans presented this Wednesday by the City Council define how the avenue will be configured in the pending section, which will follow the same format as the one implemented between Glòries and Paseo de Sant Joan. The tram will circulate through the center of Diagonal, where the bike lanes will also be located. On the sides, private vehicles will remain, with two lanes per direction.
In the area between Paseo Sant Joan and Paseo de Gràcia, the lateral sidewalks will be extended, going from the current 2 meters to 7.5 meters. In contrast, in the area from Paseo de Gràcia to Francesc Macià, the sidewalk reform carried out by the government led by Xavier Trias, which already extended them to 7.5 meters, will be left intact. On the tram route from Verdaguer to Francesc Macià, the Diagonal/Cinc d'Oros, Balmes, and Casanova stops will be located.
The executive project also focuses on a key infrastructure to make the connection possible. This is the Diagonal collector, responsible for digesting water coming from the upper part of the city. The tram connection could not be planned without first addressing the improvement of this collector, considering that, once the tram infrastructure is implemented, it will not be possible to carry out sewerage works of this magnitude. The works, which will have to be done before the installation of the rails and the urbanization of their surroundings, will serve to improve the city's sewerage network. Specifically, its capacity will be increased between Girona street and Francesc Macià, as has also been done in the infrastructure that remains below the area included in the first phase of the tram connection. Thus, the current flow rate will increase from 85 cubic meters per second (m3/s) to 140 (m3/s).
The tram connection could not be planned without first addressing the improvement of the collector, considering that, once the infrastructure is implemented, it will not be possible to carry out sewerage works of this magnitude.For the second phase of the works, the city council will finance the re-urbanization of the pending section where it is to circulate (55 million euros), as well as the expansion of the collector that runs underneath (59 million euros), actions that will involve an investment of more than 114 million euros. To this must be added the deployment of the tram infrastructure, which is the responsibility of the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM). Together, the second and final phase of the Trambesòs and Trambaix union will entail a global investment of more than 200 million euros and will last three years and four months."It is an ambitious project. It represents a great transformation of Diagonal, which will become one of Barcelona's great sustainable axes," Bonet remarked.
However, to make the work possible, the budgets must be approved in the City Council, Bonet warned, as well as in the Generalitat, taking into account that it is the administration with the most weight in the ATM (51%), with the City Council and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) sharing the rest. "Without budgets, the tram connection through Diagonal will not be possible," Bonet maintained, who did not forget to say that, in the last barometer, 68% of Barcelonans voted in favor. If the budgets are agreed upon, the council plans to initially approve the project and start with the tenders before the end of the year, so that the works could start in the summer of 2025.