Two new inland lines and more AVE stops: the train map the Catalan government would like for 2050

BarcelonaIn 25 years, Catalonia could have between nine and ten million inhabitants, and as a result, train journeys recorded by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) could skyrocket to nearly 1.3 billion annually. That's two million more people and another 100 million annual journeys than the Catalan rail network currently handles. Faced with this scenario, Parliament demanded that the Government prepare, and the executive has begun working on a roadmap—currently quite abstract—to guide which actions should be prioritized over the next two and a half decades. The Government approved a rail strategy this Tuesday containing 13 lines of action and 63 measures. However, this strategy only includes the general guidelines of what the executive believes should be done, but not specific actions to which the Government is committing or which, at least for now, it is requesting from Madrid. All of this is in the fine print, which the Department of Territory has not yet made public in full, but some initial details are already known.

"The railway strategy allows us to broaden our perspective and consider the structure, investments, rolling stock, and new rail lines that Catalonia needs between now and 2050. It's a roadmap for the future, going beyond the work already underway," explained Minister Paneque. The government spokesperson also stated that "the objective is to plan the development of rail transport in the medium and long term and adapt it to current and future infrastructure challenges."

Some of the strategy's objectives will be to "maximize network capacity" and consider "railway as a vector for territorial rebalancing," milestones within which the revival of the orbital line project could be considered. This new line would connect Mataró and Vilanova i la Geltrú inland, linking existing sections. The project is not new, but several governments have shelved it for years. It would connect Vilanova, Vilafranca del Penedès, Martorell, Terrassa, Sabadell, Granollers, and Mataró without passing through Barcelona. Regarding this orbital line, Paneque explained that a study report on the project will be commissioned before the end of 2025.

They also propose reviving the historic project of the Eix Transversal Ferroviari, a line that would connect Lleida, Manresa, Vic, and Girona, also without passing through the Catalan capital.

Among the possible measures that the Government includes in this strategy is also the creation of three new high-speed rail (AVE) stations: Girona Airport, Reus Airport, and Vilafranca del Penedès.

Furthermore, the strategy agreed upon by the Government also anticipates the need to address a problem currently affecting the Catalan rail network: the aging of the infrastructure and trains, and the difficulties in renewing them. Given this scenario, one of the Government's options is to create a public company to "purchase rolling stock." A tool that would give the Generalitat (Catalan government) greater authority in managing and implementing public policies related to railways, and that would facilitate the standardization of rolling stock to allow for its replacement as it ages or breaks down.

A horizon of plans

As "instruments" to implement this strategy in the coming years, the department led by Councilor Sílvia Paneque says that the following are on the table: the Catalan rail services plan – which must define the configuration and mode of operation in the medium and long term of the Catalan rail services; the revision of the Catalan transport infrastructure plan – which must update the programming of transport infrastructure; the strategic plan for the development of intermodal terminals in Catalonia; the annual updates of the Catalan Agenda for the Mediterranean Corridor; and the programming of the actions of the Commuter Rail plan in the five-year period 2026-2030.