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Catalonia maps out the future of rail with 63 measures to transform mobility
Thousands of people depend on the train every day to go to work, study or travel around the metropolitan area. That is why any change to the railway network directly affects daily life. The Generalitat has approved the new Catalonia Railway Strategy, a roadmap intended to shape the system's future and address a major challenge: regaining users' trust.
The document brings together 63 measures that will set railway priorities for the coming years. Although it includes major long-term projects, the main message is clear: before expanding the network, the operation of the one that already exists must be improved.
The main concern remains Rodalies. Delays, incidents and reliability problems have made the service one of the greatest sources of frustration for those who use the train every day. That is why a large part of the initial measures will be aimed at strengthening infrastructure, reviewing services and improving the network’s operational capacity.
Among the projects gaining prominence again is the Línea Orbital Ferroviaria, an infrastructure designed to connect cities in the metropolitan area without requiring them to pass through Barcelona. The idea is to facilitate more direct journeys between municipalities such as Mataró, Granollers, Sabadell, Terrassa, Martorell and Vilanova i la Geltrú, reducing journey times and relieving the lines that cross the centre.
The strategy also revives initiatives such as the Eix Transversal Ferroviari and the development of new regional train-tram services, hybrid models that seek to improve connections between medium-sized cities and areas with less railway coverage. The aim is for rail to gain ground over private vehicles on journeys that still depend too heavily on the car today.
The commitment comes at a time of demographic growth and pressure on metropolitan mobility. More and more people live outside Barcelona but work, study or run errands in different parts of the territory. The current railway network, designed largely with Barcelona as its centre, has difficulties responding to these new mobility patterns.
The Estrategia Ferroviaria does not mean that all projects will be built immediately. Many will need years of planning, funding and implementation. However, it does set a clear political direction for how rail transport in Catalunya should evolve over the coming decades.
For those who use Rodalies every morning, the big question will remain the same: when improvements to the daily service will be felt. Meanwhile, the Generalitat is trying to combine urgent solutions for the current network with a more ambitious vision of the future. Because the success of any major railway project will depend, to a large extent, on something much simpler: the train arriving when it is supposed to.