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Orbital Train Deal: 5.2 Billion Euros to Connect Metropolitan Outer Ring

The President of the Generalitat and the ERC leader validate the railway project linking Mataró and Vilanova i la Geltrú with 120 km of tracks.

Generic image of a modern railway track in a Catalan landscape.
IA

Generic image of a modern railway track in a Catalan landscape.

The President of the Generalitat and the ERC leader have sealed a political agreement to advance the orbital train, a 120 km infrastructure project connecting Mataró and Vilanova i la Geltrú with an investment of 5.2 billion euros.

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, have this Monday formalized a political agreement to push forward the future orbital railway, a long-demanded infrastructure designed to connect the municipalities of the metropolitan outer ring without passing through Barcelona.
The project will link Mataró and Vilanova i la Geltrú via a 120-kilometer line, of which 68 kilometers will be newly constructed. A total of 40 stations are planned, with 23 being entirely new. The estimated global investment amounts to 5.2 billion euros, and the most optimistic timeline for the complete realization of the infrastructure is 2041, although it will be deployed in phases so that some sections can become operational sooner.
The first phase, connecting Granollers and Terrassa, is the only one currently with guaranteed funding thanks to the 2026-2030 Commuter Rail Plan. This section will receive an investment of 665 million euros and is expected to be operational by 2034. The agreement also includes a "phase zero" with immediate improvements to the R8 line between Granollers and Martorell to enhance orbital mobility, including new interchanges in Rubí, Sant Cugat, and Sabadell.
The second phase will connect Mataró with Granollers in 2037 with 23 kilometers of new tracks and six new stations, with an investment of 1.45 billion euros. Subsequently, the project will continue with the connection between Terrassa and Vilafranca del Penedès, and finally between Vilafranca and Vilanova i la Geltrú, completing the metropolitan railway ring in 2041.
According to the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, the project aims to overcome the current radial model focused on Barcelona and move towards a "mesh-like" railway network to improve connections between metropolitan regions. The Government anticipates that the new routes will significantly reduce travel times, with journeys such as Mataró-Terrassa or Martorell-Granollers potentially completed in around 45 minutes.
Mayors from the metropolitan outer ring have welcomed the agreement, believing it can transform mobility and boost economic development. However, they have urged that the deployment of the orbital train should not overshadow pending investments in the current commuter rail network.

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