
The project to extend metro line 1 to Badalona is progressing slowly after years of planning and administrative obstacles. The Generalitat and Badalona City Council have recently reached an agreement that will unblock the execution of the works, guaranteeing environmental protection and minimizing the impact on Parc de Montigalà, one of the most controversial points of the plan, as reported in El Periódico.
The works to extend L1, initially scheduled for 2025, will still have to overcome several hurdles in the coming months. On the one hand, a formula has yet to be found for financing the 4.5 kilometers of the route and five new stations.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) depot and workshops in Montigalà is still being debated. Initially planned with an area of 80,000 m², the latest revision of the plan reduced their size to 51,000 m², although the consistory insists on limiting their occupation to 34,000 m². Negotiations are continuing, as is the method of construction, government sources told El Periódico.
The city council has expressed its concern about the execution of the works in the open air, as it could mean between five and six years of damage to public roads and noise from the tunnel boring machine.
In addition to the extension of the red line, the project includes two key interchanges with the rail network: one with the L2 at Badalona-Pompeu Fabra station and another with the R1 commuter train at Badalona station.
This last connection will facilitate the movement of travelers from the Maresme to the North Barcelonès.
According to the latest information provided by AMB , it should have 442 million euros of funding and it is estimated that, if work begins this year, it could be extended until the next decade, with an inauguration around 2030.
This work is in addition to all the future stations of the Barcelona metro, which has a series of actions planned for the coming years that will significantly change the current appearance of the transport network.
Take advantage, by the way, and take a gastronomic getaway through Badalona now, by metro.