La Sagrera enters the decisive phase

BarcelonaIf you visit the spectacular model In the exhibition of Barcelona's Sagrera, which has been on display for a few days now at the former headquarters of Editorial Gustavo Gili, it's easy to see how the Sagrera is one of the few remaining open scars in the consolidated urban fabric of the Catalan capital. The wide, white strip, free of buildings, contrasts sharply with the densely packed city growing in the surrounding area. This void confirms that this is the major transformation Barcelona has been undergoing since around 2000, when work began that, after many headaches, is now entering its final phase: the completion of the railway construction and the urban metamorphosis of the entire area.

The first stone of the station—the key to unlocking the entire transformation of the area—was laid in 2010. Since then, the project has suffered countless setbacks, from archaeological discoveries to problems surrounding an electrical substation and even a arrest The project was forced to halt work for over three years due to a corruption case stemming from cost overruns, a case that was ultimately dismissed. This ordeal has required constant recalculations of both the cost and the project timeline. The latest publicly available figures indicate contracts worth €1.274 billion – more than €1 billion of which has already been executed – and the station is expected to be operational for passengers beyond 2032.

This is, at the very least, the date Joan Baltà, director of the public company Barcelona Sagrera High Speed ​​(BSAV), which includes Adif, the Ministry of Transport, the Catalan Government, and the Barcelona City Council, is working with. For a year now, trains have been running through La Sagrera, albeit without stopping, and the plan is for the railway work—the concrete structure, the tracks, the overhead lines, and the electrification elements—to be completely finished by the end of this year or the beginning of 2027. After that, there's still work to be done. That is, going from the current skeleton to a complete and finished station.

Doubts about the schedule

However, this week all the alarm bells started ringing again regarding the schedule. In an interview on Morning on Catalonia RadioIsabel Pardo de Vera, the former president of Adif and former Secretary of State for Transport—now under investigation in the Koldo case—launched a tirade against BSAV, stating that "there are people who have been there their entire lives and aren't working on the project." Specifically, Pardo de Vera accused the state-owned company of failing to prepare the station's architectural plans. "Where are the plans? Nobody has done them. We at Adif have been warning about this for some time," she said, predicting that the railway construction will be completed before work can even begin on the station.

In statements to ARA, Baltà denies the allegations. He explains that the final design for the station is complete and in the hands of Adif, which has carried out the technical and economic review and plans to launch the tender this year so that the construction of the station's architecture and facilities can begin "without interruption" once the railway work is finished. He also asserts that Pardo de Vera never expressed any complaint to him about a possible delay. Two sources familiar with the situation distance themselves from the former Secretary of State's frontal attack and confirm that the final design for the station's architecture is already in Adif's hands. However, these same sources clarify that the delay in drafting some of the other eight projects related to the station, which were awarded in 2021 and which, although due within 24 months, have still not been completed, have been discussed in the meetings. The same sources believe that the management of BSAV—which Pardo de Vera wanted to dismiss and for which he had even sought a replacement—is not always diligent enough, and they consider that if they could go back in time, they would surely opt for a different model that did not involve the creation of that company. However, they emphasize that work is currently progressing well, and they anticipate a boost from the various administrations in their respective portfolios soon.

A station with three levels

Once the tender for the station's architecture is launched, the winner will receive the project by B720 Arquitectura, the studio of Fermín Vázquez, the architect of the Agbar Tower, Alguaire Airport, and the new Camp Nou, among others. This station of stations—combining high-speed rail, commuter rail, the metro, and intercity buses—will feature a large wooden pergola and a spacious intermodal plaza, providing access to different levels depending on the mode of transport.

The station is the jewel in the crown and, at the same time, the driving force behind the profound transformation the area must undergo. It will be fully integrated into the vast Camí Comtal park—more than 4 kilometers long—which will bridge the historical divide created by the railway lines between the districts of Sant Andreu and Sant Martí. This immense green space—destined to be the most important in the city—will feature various amenities, including an extensive rose garden leading from the station towards the city center, a large fountain, and numerous shaded areas. As a glimpse of this future, a small section of the southern end of this park, inaugurated a few months ago, is already open to the public. This section runs from the Torre del Fang to the Felipe II bridge. From there, it will eventually extend almost to the Parc de la Trinitat.

More than 10,000 new apartments

This enormous green space will form the backbone of new neighborhoods, bringing up to 30,000 new residents, as well as new hotels—one of them next to the station—offices, and other amenities. In total, the plan includes 480,018 square meters designated for commercial, service, and hotel use, 150,493 square meters for amenities, and at least 746,000 square meters of additional housing. This last element is a key component of the transformation the area must undergo. The more than 13,500 apartments—43% of them subsidized—that will result from the development projects surrounding the railway line cover should be a much-needed boost for a city in dire need of housing.

In some areas, such as the former Sant Andreu Barracks, construction has already begun. This area alone will have 2,020 apartments when completed, 60% of which will be subsidized housing. In other areas, work is at a different stage. For example, at the top of Rambla Prim, where, as Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni explained last April, the plan is to begin building 3,360 homes—2,089 of them public housing—starting in 2029. This area alone, which will include 21,656 square meters of facilities such as a civic and cultural center and a sports pavilion, is expected to attract approximately 8,800 new residents in the coming years.

Also noteworthy in the area's transformation are the area closest to the future La Sagrera station – 2,230 new homes –, the Maquinista and Colorantes areas – with more than 1,000 homes planned in each – and the Renfe-Tallers area, with around 850 apartments. Although formally outside the BSAV project, the City Council also includes the future Mercedes eco-district in Bon Pastor within the area's transformation, where it plans 1,500 new homes, 40% of which will be affordable.

Hope or skepticism

Despite the project's progress, the feelings of the area's residents fluctuate between several perspectives: the hope of those who believe they will finally see the work completed, the curiosity of those who wonder how the neighborhood will change when the trains stop there, and the skepticism of those who have seen promises broken many times and expect practically nothing. This is summed up by a resident who bought an apartment in La Sagrera in 1996 and who used to joke with two friends about taking the train to Paris "door to door." A trip that today, she confesses, she no longer aspires to take.