"A small airport": this is how the new Barcelona Nord bus station has ended up

BarcelonaIn the last five years alone, demand at the Nord bus station in Barcelona has grown by 50%. And the data indicates that the trend will continue to rise: the City Council estimates that demand will increase by another 30% from now until 2030. This was explained by the deputy mayor and councilor for Urban Planning and Mobility, Laia Bonet, during the presentation of the renovation of this historic station in the Catalan capital, which hosts buses for international routes, between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, as well as intercity and private services.

The renovation of the Nord station responds precisely to this sustained increase in coach travel, "a key means due to its territorial capillarity," assured the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, during the presentation. "It comes at a time when we are studying new corridors and the need for new services, especially after the Rodalies crisis," admitted Collboni.

The fact is that, since January, the pressure on the bus service – which is presented as an alternative to the Rodalies chaos – has pushed some parts of the city to the limit, such as Fabra i Puig station and the metro station of the same name, and also some points on Gran Via. The coincidence of long-standing lines with alternative plans or reinforcements for works or railway problems have ended up collapsing a system that was already quite saturated. "The bus is a real, possible, and economical public transport alternative that for a long time had been a secondary and unprioritized system – the mayor continued–. This renovation demonstrates a shift towards having a well-ordered, organized, and quality bus service.

What is the new station like

The renovation of the Nord station has cost 14 million euros (of which 4.8 come from the European Next Generation funds) and has concentrated all services on a single floor (before there were two and multiple stairs and accesses). It is 1,550 m² in which the routes have been simplified and internal flows optimized. Thus, the new station structure has a single entry and exit point from the station, on the side of Nàpols street.

The stands have been renovated, as has the catering offer, with a new central cafeteria and, in the future, also with a new restaurant. Regarding passenger information, all the screens in the new station are digital and large format, and the waiting areas have also been renovated to improve the user experience. "It is the bus station model of the future. It follows the logic of a small airport, with all the services," Collboni summarized.

In addition, the removal of the central staircase has allowed the recovery and completion of the restoration of a large floor mosaic, titled Helios and the lunar phases, by the artist Armand Olivè Milian, which had remained partially hidden until now.

Mayor Collboni emphasized that the remodeling has also served to include new security elements, one of the most common complaints from local residents, who claimed that the atmosphere, especially at night, was problematic. According to Bonet, it is now possible to control what happens inside and outside the station more adequately, "which will have a positive impact on the surroundings".