The Government moves a piece to connect Lleida and Girona with a direct train

BarcelonaIn March, the Government recovered a project that had been on hold for over fifteen years: the Transversal Railway Axis of Catalonia, a mixed passenger and freight line that would connect Lleida and Girona with high-speed trains directly. That is, without having to pass through the Catalan capital. This Wednesday, work has begun: the Generalitat has announced the start of the drafting of the technical studies necessary before starting its construction. This step is relevant, as it allows the project to be administratively reactivated with a concrete and budgeted first phase.

The project will connect Lleida and Igualada via Cervera, before splitting into two branches. One heading towards Girona, passing through Manresa and Vic. The other, with a connection to Barcelona via Martorell and Vallès, through a station yet to be defined. In total, the construction of approximately 250 kilometers of railway network is planned. The Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, stated that the construction of this project is "absolutely necessary," both in terms of "territorial balance," as it will serve to boost and connect areas of inland Catalonia, and for the associated "movement of goods.

The Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition has commissioned the drafting of the study to the public company Infraestructures Ferroviàries de Catalunya (Ifercat). The report will be an update of a document drafted in 2010, which will analyze the terrain to define its route, study its feasibility, estimate its cost, and determine its environmental impact. The cost of the tender has been 1.1 million euros, and it is expected to be completed in approximately 28 months, by the end of 2028. Therefore, the construction projects, to which 5.46 million euros will be allocated, would not begin to be drafted until 2030.

Access to La Sagrera

This initial study will define the route of the first phase of the Lleida-Barcelona axis. The phase incorporates, however, a novelty that connects with Madrid's plans: the entrance to Barcelona via the future La Sagrera station. This new branch responds to the announcement made last December by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who proposed studying a new AVE Lleida-Barcelona La Sagrera connection that would not pass through Camp de Tarragona.

Although Territori explained that all the necessary land for the route has already been reserved for more than ten years, the ministry's plans clashed with Illa's executive's vision and pointed to a possible duplication of projects. This new approach, however, will allow AVE trains from Madrid to pass through Lleida and arrive in Barcelona via La Sagrera.

The railway axis is part of the transport infrastructure plan of Catalonia 2050, announced at the end of last year. According to Sílvia Paneque, the departmental minister, this infrastructure will strengthen "capacity, efficiency, and territorial balance". Paneque considers that the new connection will be key now that both the Ebro corridor and the Mediterranean are in the final stretch – with works expected to finish in 2027 – to decongest the large volume of trains and goods that both connections will generate in the areas of Tarragona, Penedès, and Vallès.