The conference “Bases of a railway plan for Catalonia,” organized by the Association of Architects in Public Administration Service (AASAP), gathered architects Manel Larrosa and Xavier Ludevid, along with engineer Josep Maria Sisó, in Barcelona to address mobility challenges.
“"Catalonia is on the verge of collapse; a new planning for Rodalies should be carried out."
Larrosa highlighted three priorities, starting with the construction of a 2.5 km third Rodalies tunnel, which would connect the Maresme (R1) and Baix Llobregat (R2) lines. This work would eliminate the dead ends at Estació de França and El Morrot stations and allow circular services around Collserola, linking the Vallès, Baix Llobregat, and Barcelonès areas.
The second priority is traffic segregation through the Mediterranean Corridor for freight. Thirdly, a unified planning vision between the Generalitat (Catalan Government) and the State (Spanish Government) is requested. Furthermore, the creation of high-speed regional trains with intermediate stops was proposed to reduce travel times to cities like Lleida or Reus.
A key demand, promoted by entities such as FemVallès, is the urgent construction of the Volpelleres and Hospital General interchanges in Sant Cugat. These would link the S2 and S1 lines of FGC with the R8 line of Rodalies, facilitating journeys between Vallès Occidental, Vallès Oriental, and Baix Llobregat without transferring in Barcelona.
“"it would be the most profitable investment there is, because it would be done by taking advantage of the FGC stations. But there is no way for it to be done and it is always postponed."
