Lleida and Girona to be linked by rail bypassing Barcelona

The Catalan Government revives the Transversal Railway Axis with new studies for a 254-kilometer line.

Generic image of railway tracks crossing a natural landscape.
IA

Generic image of railway tracks crossing a natural landscape.

The Government of Catalonia has relaunched the Transversal Railway Axis (ETF) project, a 254-kilometer infrastructure designed to connect Lleida and Girona through the hinterland, bypassing Barcelona.

The Department of Territory is updating the plans originally approved in 2010. This new corridor aims to break the current radial structure of the network, linking towns such as Cervera, Igualada, and Martorell. Technical studies are expected to be completed within 18 months.

"The goal is to replicate what the transversal road axis meant, but in the railway sector."

Sílvia Paneque · Minister of Territory
The project is designed for both passengers and freight, with speeds reaching 250 km/h. Construction is planned in two stages, starting with the Lleida to Martorell section, with a 2030 target for tendering the works.