"It's arriving very late": future users wait with candles for the new train at the airport
They warn that it could congest commuter rail services and harm residents because it uses the same tracks as the R2 line.
BarcelonaEnric impatiently checks his watch, bus ticket in hand. He has a flight and had planned to take the R2 to El Prat airport, but the train is delayed, and he's decided against it, not wanting to risk missing it. He says this isn't an isolated incident, but rather a recurring scene every time he has a flight. "I travel quite a bit, and I always take the Aerobús because, unfortunately, it's the only one that never fails," he says resignedly. He's certain he'll be one of the future users of the shuttle train that will connect Barcelona and the two terminals when it becomes operational at the end of 2026, according to the Catalan government's schedule, but he laments that the R-Airport line (RA) "It's way too late."
For a decade, the project has been plagued by delays in construction by Adif, back-and-forth negotiations between the Catalan and Spanish governments, and a power struggle between Renfe and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) over the management of the new service. Among Catalonia's unfinished business in infrastructure There's the option of getting from the capital to the airport more quickly and comfortably by public transport. Besides the Cercanías commuter rail line, Barcelona residents can also take metro line 9, which departs from Zona Universitària, and bus line 46, which departs from Plaça Espanya. However, many users dismiss these options because they are far from home, because they involve a long detour to reach the airport, or, in the case of the L9, because a special ticket is required. This isn't the case for Eva, who lives very close to Sant Andreu. To get to the airport, she prefers to take the metro and make a longer journey despite the R2 being closer, as she doesn't trust the schedules or the service. "I lose more time, but I feel safer," she says. Currently, Renfe trains go as far as Terminal 2, and the L9 and bus 46 go to Terminals 1 and 2. Enric, however, prefers to pay more and depart from the city center. "The Aerobús is fast, comfortable, safe, and runs more frequently. I can't attribute any of these adjectives to Renfe," she quips.
The future R-Airport (RA), on the other hand, will run every fifteen minutes, with a journey time of about twenty minutes, and will connect seven stations—Sant Andreu, La Sagrera, Clot, Passeig de Gràcia, Sants, Bellvitge, and El Prat—with the two terminals. Anna, who lived in Berlin for many years, believes there still isn't a direct train from the airport to the city center, unlike in other European cities. "We're way behind. I came back from Berlin twenty years ago, and back then they already had many more options for getting to the airport than we do," she says while waiting for a bus to take her to Terminal 2.
The R2 tracks
Users interviewed by ARA are eagerly awaiting the new service, but some have concerns because the new trains must use the R2 tracks, which are operated by Renfe. Adrià Ramírez, president of the Public Transport Promotion Association (PTP), has strongly criticized the future R-Aeroport line, arguing that it will "reduce capacity" on the commuter rail network and affect residents who use the R2 and the regional lines of Catalonia daily. "It's designed for tourism," he criticizes. He maintains that the new service will saturate the Passeig de Gràcia tunnel, through which all these trains pass, increase delays in case of incidents, and limit the growth of the R1, R3, and R4 lines. The Department of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition, however, argues that "with current technology, the tunnel's capacity can be increased," and therefore rules out any impact on existing services.
Sources in the railway sector consulted by ARA regret that Barcelona, a major European capital, lacks an express train service between the airport and the city center, and believe it is essential to implement one. They also assert that it will benefit local residents. "It's geared towards tourists, those who come here," they admit, "but also to all Barcelonans traveling to or from the airport," they add. Another argument they use to justify the implementation of the new line is that, unlike the various public transport options currently available to reach the airport, the new trains are designed and adapted for travelers with luggage. "Having tourists and residents on busy lines was unfair to both. This service is designed so that one doesn't hinder the other."
Integrate the service into the R4 line
Sources within the rail sector acknowledge that the downside of the new R-Airport line is that it will share tracks with the R2 line. However, they believe that the coexistence of both services on the same tracks will clearly demonstrate that the problem lies with Adif, the Spanish rail infrastructure manager, which "fails to renew the infrastructure." Ramírez, on the other hand, insists that any "few improvements" that might be achieved on the various commuter rail lines passing through the Passeig de Gràcia tunnel will be rendered meaningless once the new service is operational. "It will overshadow them. They've tied their hands with a flawed project. If this government wants to improve the commuter rail service, it should make every effort to find another use for these trains," concludes the president of the PTP (Platform of Transport Workers).
The platform insists that there are alternatives to the current project, such as extending the R4 line between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Manresa towards the new airport stations, passing through the Passeig de Gràcia tunnel, and extending the R11 line, which connects Barcelona with Portbou, to the current T station. This, they argue, "would decongest the Barcelona tunnels, the main bottleneck of the system." Sources from the Department of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition explain that the proposal to extend the R4 line to the airport is being studied and "may be considered" in the future, although no decision has yet been made. For now, the service will begin operating on the same tracks as the R2, as planned after a decade of delays, and is still in the final stages before the first journey takes place at the end of next year.
