All the railway network works in 2026: how they will affect you

BarcelonaThis week the new Cercanías Cataluña commuter rail line has started operating. This joint venture between Renfe (State) and the Generalitat This marks a turning point in the transfer of the Cercanías commuter rail network and represents a complete overhaul of railway management, which will now be based in Catalonia. However, the Minister of Territory – and now also president of the new company – Sílvia Paneque, has already made it clear that "the changes will not be immediate," but that improvements should begin to be noticeable as the new Cercanías team assumes its responsibilities. Among the more than one hundred projects underway, these are the main challenges that the network (and the new company) must address in 2026:

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It is planned that during 2026 the new high-capacity trains awarded in the commuter rail network of Catalonia These trains will enter service after homologation and testing (runs without passengers). Manufactured primarily by Alstom and intended for commuter rail service, they will form part of the expansion of the renewed fleet and are expected to begin passenger service in 2026. These 110 electric trains will replace some of the oldest, dating back to 1990. They will have more seats, be more accessible, and be equipped with the European ERMTS system, which improves safety. The renewal is expected to improve reliability and reduce incidents. In this context, industry sources indicate that 24 of these trains will be allocated to regional service and 14 to the Mediterranean Corridor.

As part of the renewal and expansion of rolling stock, improvement works and the creation of new workshops are planned to accommodate, service, and properly manage the new trains. Work is well underway in Ripoll and Vilanova i la Geltrú, agreements have been reached in Manresa, and improvements are also being made at Montcada Bifurcació station, which is currently under construction. A rail yard is being prepared there to allow for the diversion and parking of trains in a way that facilitates the flow of other trains.

Roadworks (and road closure) on the R3 The closures will remain in place throughout 2026 due to the line doubling project between Parets del Vallès and La Garriga. The goal is to double-track the line, the only one in Catalonia that still runs on a single track. The closure, which began last autumn, will last a total of 16 months. A key date is May: work should be completed at Montcada Bifurcació (the first phase of the closure) by then, and the second phase, which will close the section between Mollet Santa Rosa and La Garriga, should begin. During this closure, Renfe will maintain an alternative road transport plan.

Due to the roadworks at Montcada Bifurcació (resulting in the closure of the R3), the R7 will not run between Barcelona - Fabra i Puig and Cerdanyola Universitat until May 2026 (when the Montcada works are expected to be completed). The closure began on November 2nd. An alternative road plan has also been established for this section.

The works to bury the R2 rail line in Moncada are progressing and will continue throughout 2026. They began two years ago, with a budget of over 500 million euros, to construct a four-kilometer tunnel, a new underground station, and a third track to increase capacity and improve service flexibility. A second phase of the project began this January. These actions are many years behind schedule since the project was conceived.and this 2025 some cracks in some buildings They forced the project to be stopped and reviewed again.

The R2 South line could be the next major partial rail disruption. This involves maintenance work on the Garraf tunnels, through which trains pass, and which have suffered damage for years due to corrosion caused by sea air humidity. Currently, there is no set start date, but Adif had initially scheduled the work for the end of last year or the beginning of 2026, for a period of three months. At this point, it is also unclear exactly how the work will be carried out. What is known is that during the work, trains will run on a single track between Garraf and Vilanova i la Geltrú, which will reduce service between these stations and require trains on lines R13, R14, R15, R16, and R17 to be diverted via Vilafranca towards Barcelona. Before this work can begin, it is essential to complete the track renewal work in Martorell.

Completing the track renewal is key to moving forward with the R2 South line project. According to the latest published schedules, work on the R4 line, which has been ongoing since the third track was added between Martorell and Sant Vicenç de Calders, is expected to be finished in March. The rails have been replaced, which should improve the line's reliability at this point and reduce disruptions. Finishing this section is crucial because it's the route the Regional trains will have to take when work begins on the R2 South tunnels. Therefore, without this project completed, the other work (on the R2 South) cannot even begin.

The undergrounding of the R4 railway line in Sant Feliu de Llobregat will continue into 2026, remaining one of the bottlenecks in the rail network. Currently, the work is well advanced, with over 80% of the track already buried, and construction has begun on the structure of the new underground station. Although recent public announcements anticipated completion in 2026, no firm date has been set. The project aims to bury the railway tracks between the Pahissa stream and the Sanson road. This is a long-standing demand of the municipality, which was impacted last year by the Cerdán case of alleged corruption in the awarding of public works contracts.

Among the major projects continuing this year are the renovations at Sants and La Sagrera stations, the two main hubs of the Catalan rail network. At Sants—under transformation for more than two years—the works should complete the redevelopment of Plaça dels Països Catalans and the expansion of the station concourses to provide better access for passengers. Later, the works, which will extend at least until 2030, will continue with improvements to the overhead infrastructure and commercial spaces. At La Sagrera, the works are also not expected to be finished this year. However, according to the latest published schedules, some technical train parking areas could become operational in 2026, allowing high-speed trains to access this station and easing the load at Sants. The new Reus-Bellissens station is also scheduled to open in 2026.

The chaos on the commuter rail line must demand for Avant services has skyrocketedRenfe's regulated-price, medium-distance high-speed service is now available. In practice, it serves as an alternative—albeit a more expensive one—to conventional trains for regular passengers in Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, who have long been demanding improved frequencies and seating capacity. Some services are already in operation. proposals for improvement on the table (adding more or longer trains) that the Ministry of Territory has said it is studying and that could materialize this year.