
Barcelona has experienced a historic moment in its public transport system: the first step of a key work, the connection between the two streetcars, the upper and lower Diagonal.
Although the inauguration was supposed to take place on Saturday, November 9, when a convoy connected for the first time the section between Glòries and Verdaguer, the streetcar finally began its journey this Sunday.
This is the culmination of more than two and a half years of works that are called to significantly transform mobility in the city center. In fact, after this inauguration, some municipal groups have called to accelerate the completion of these works to finish shaping the future of transport along the Diagonal.
This will mark the start of one of the city’s major pending projects: the Diagonal tramway connection, which will allow the two ends of the Diagonal to be connected directly for the first time.
Three new stops and two kilometers of tramway
The new section of the tramway will have three new stops: Monumental, Sicília and Verdaguer. The intention is not only to improve connectivity, but also to have a positive impact on traffic reduction. According to the City Council’s predictions, some 2,000 cars are expected to be removed from the central section of the Diagonal and 24,000 new users will be added to the public transport system.
To adapt the environment, traffic lights have been adjusted at 27 intersections between Castillejos and Bailèn streets. In addition, the Diagonal renovation has created 17,290 m² of new sidewalks, more than 5,000 m² of new bicycle lanes, the planting of 266 trees and the creation of almost 9,000 m² of new green areas.
Improvements to Avenida Diagonal have included the installation of a tramway platform in the section between Passeig de Sant Joan and Carrer de la Marina, a new bi-directional bike lane, and the widening of the sidewalks. This reorganization of the urban space has reduced the circulation of private vehicles to two lanes in each direction, located on the sides next to a service lane.
In addition,this section presents a technical innovation: for the first time in Spain, a tramway uses an underground catenary system instead of the traditional overhead system.
When will the tramway be fully connected?
While celebrating this first step in the definitive connection of the tramway, the City Council expects work on the connection to Francesc Macià to begin in the summer of 2025, with an estimated duration of 40 months. This would place the completion of the project at the end of 2028.
However, the deputy mayor for Mobility, Laia Bonet, has stressed that this expansion is conditional on the approval of the necessary budgets. “What we need is to have the resources. All this cannot be done without resources and we can’t keep talking about timetables,” Bonet said.
A historic connection
This connection has been long awaited. The project has been one of the cornerstones of Ada Colau’s government, which has often seen the need to open this transport route questioned.
In addition, this connection has a symbolic component as it is the first time that the highest and lowest areas of Barcelona are connected in such a direct way, breaking the psychological barrier that speaks of the upper and lower diagonal and allowing areas such as Sant Feliu and neighborhoods like Sarrià or Maria Cristina to be connected in a direct trip with neighborhoods like La Mina or Besós.