What is the railway orbital line? Seven keys to understand the project

BarcelonaIt has gone from being a project kept in a drawer since 2010 to becoming the protagonist of the budget negotiations between the PSC and ERC. At ARA we explain what the Orbital Railway Line (LOF) is in seven keys:

The Orbital Railway Line (LOF) is a macro-project that aims to connect the cities of the second metropolitan ring without passing through Barcelona. The idea is not new; it has been part of Catalan railway plans for more than 20 years. It was first conceived during Pasqual Maragall's tripartite government in 2004, but in 2010, complexity and bureaucratic problems—as well as political priorities—left it on hold. Now, Salvador Illa's executive has recovered it as one of the country's major bets in mobility at the request of ERC, which has asked for the project to be reactivated as a bargaining chip to approve the budgets. major bets in mobility at the request of ERC, which has asked for the project to be reactivated as a bargaining chip to approve the budgets.

The orbital line proposes a large railway ring from Maresme and Vallès to Vilanova i la Geltrú, passing through Granollers, Sabadell, Terrassa, Martorell, and Vilafranca. According to the Department of Territory, the underlying aim is to move from a radial railway model (with Barcelona at the center) to a "networked"—or technically speaking, "mesh"—model, more in line with the "metropolitan" vision of the area.

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On paper, the infrastructure will be around 120 kilometers long, of which 68 will be new tracks. 40 stops are also planned: although some existing Rodalies and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) stops would be used, 23 would be completely new.

Territori points out that it would be a commuter train, for passengers, in Iberian gauge. The project is designed to run at an average speed of 60 kilometers per hour, with peak speeds that can reach 120. In addition, the creation of this transversal network would serve, according to the department, to alleviate traffic saturation in the Barcelona tunnels. However, the project is not expected to be completed until 2040, if the schedule is met without unforeseen events.

The works would be divided into 5 phases and the execution period would extend from 2027 to 2041. The first action would consist of reinforcing the current R8 of Rodalies between Granollers and Martorell, a line underutilized according to experts and the Government itself, which is now seen as the embryo of the new orbital.

The rest of the phases would include the construction of new sections between Santa Perpètua and Sabadell; Mataró and Granollers; Terrassa and Martorell and Vilafranca and Vilanova, until completing the entire route and its stations.

When the project was planned more than 20 years ago, the estimated cost was around 4,000 million euros. Now, the Government anticipates that a total investment of 5,200 million euros will be required. The State should be the one to finance it. Phase 0 is already underway because the Government of Pere Aragonès made the management orders to move forward with two of the planned interchanges. A third one on the R8 would be missing. As for phase 1, the section between Santa Perpètua and Sabadell is already planned in the 2026-2030 Commuter Rail plan.

Socialists and republicans are now working to include the project within the investment company that ERC has also agreed with the Government and which is to be used to scrutinize State investments in Catalonia. The Generalitat-State Bilateral Commission this Wednesday in Madrid should clarify this matter, reports Mireia Esteve.

The great transformation promised by the orbital railway line (LOF) is to move from a network where almost everything passes through Barcelona to one that embraces it (from the outside) from Mataró to Vilanova i la Geltrú and which, along the way, connects the main cities of the second ring, which currently have to pass through Barcelona to relate to each other.

The LOF would avoid this dependence on the central node and would decongest the capital's railway tunnels, one of the main bottlenecks in the system. At the same time, it would allow for better separation of freight, high-speed, and commuter traffic.

According to Territori's calculations, the project has a potential demand of 30 million users per year and an area of influence of 3.2 million people, and would help to remove up to 29,000 vehicles daily from the road and reduce 45,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

The LOF is not the only project that the PSC has rescued from the drawer. The same happened with the extension of metro line L2, the undergrounding of the Gran Via in l'Hospitalet, the transfer of Rodalies (also promoted by ERC in the previous legislature), the B40 project, the Hard Rock one, and the maintenance of the model of interurban bus concessions, with a new extension for another six years.

Both Foment del Treball and Pimec agree that the LOF "is not a priority infrastructure for the country" but value that it serves to facilitate the approval of the Budgets.

From the employers' association chaired by Josep Sánchez Llibre, Lluís Moreno points out that ""it is not among the 100 measures" that Catalonia needs most. Along these lines, the head of Pimec Logistics, Ignasi Sayol, calls for the establishment of a National Pact for Infrastructures: "It is essential that we all agree, because they take 15 or 20 years to be executed".

On the other hand, the unions do believe that it will mark a before and after for the mobility of workers. "We celebrate that this project has been recovered", they assure from CCOO Catalunya. UGT emphasizes that "it is one of the most congested corridors in the country" and estimate that the new line could serve nearly 600,000 people who travel between municipalities on the orbital axis for work.