New postponement in the widening of the R3

BarcelonaExactly 45 years ago, the project to widen the R3 line, the commuter rail line that connects L'Hospitalet de Llobregat with Puigcerdà, passing through Vic, was first discussed. Since then, postponements to the widening project have been the headlines. And now it's happening again. The Ministry of Transport and Adif have decided that the work to double the track between Parets and La Garriga, which was scheduled to resume after Sant Joan, will be postponed again for at least three more months, until September. This has been announced by The Vanguard And this has been confirmed to ARA by spokespersons for Adif, the infrastructure manager.

The decision is not minor, because, although the works were reactivated a couple of years ago with the intention of doubling the line in sections, the R3 Cercanías line is still one of the few where trains run on a single track, practically the same as in the original design layout. This limits service frequencies and generates many problems in the event of any technical incident. For example, when a train stops or there is a breakdown, the trains cannot change tracks to continue their route and they stop one after the other.

Simultaneous works

The reason for this umpteenth postponement, according to the infrastructure manager, is to align the works on the R3 with those planned for the R4, at Montcada Bifurcació. The ministry has opted to carry out the works in Montcada i Parets simultaneously to better accommodate the outages, they say, and synchronize the alternative plans. When they begin, the work is expected to last approximately 10 months.

This is the second time in less than a year that the public administration has announced that it is postponing the works on the R3. Last summer they already decided to postpone them. standby year, until June. That time it was to prioritize the works of the Mediterranean Corridor in Tarragona – which caused chaos due to the closure of the Berà tunnel– and prevent the effects of both works from coinciding.

The R3 user platform Porque No nos Foten el Tren criticizes the delay and describes it as "outrageous and unacceptable." "They sold us that cutting off in the summer would be positive so as not to have the pressure of the start of the school year. Now, all this is blown away! Always excuses and delays," the platform laments.

The decision comes in a context marked by construction work, incidents, sabotage, and labor strikes that have made March is expected to be one of the darkest months on the railway network.A chaos that both the Spanish and Catalan governments attribute to a "volume of investment that is very difficult to reconcile with the provision of services."