Barcelona Metro Light Rail System, Spain

Economic growth in Barcelona, the capital of the Catalan region of Spain with a 1.6 million population, has been stifled by acute traffic congestion. Since the decision to dispense with the old-style tramway in the early 1970s, investment has been ploughed into developing the Metro to all corners of the city.

However, the late 1990s saw it become too expensive to expand the metro system into new business and housing areas, and a decision was made to invest in a light rail system. Bids for construction were invited by the Barcelona Regional Agency, and late 2006 saw another route open.

In 2000, a 25-year build/operate contract was awarded to TramMet (Tramvia Metropolita, SA), a French-Spanish consortium of Alstom (25%), FCC Construcción, Marfina, Arande, Comsa, Acciona-Necso, Soler I Saulet, CGT Corporación General de Transportes, CGEA Connex, Guiavia, BanSabadell Inversió Desenvolupament and Sociéte Générale.

Construction started on 23 June 2001, and in the following July TramMet also won the contract to build and operate Trambesos with construction starting on 9 January 2003.

THE PROJECTS

There are two separate systems – the southern Trambaix network (three lines) and Trambesos (two lines), which serves areas to the north of the city centre. Neither reach the city centre, forcing a change to the Metro or bus. Elsewhere on the system, there are many facilities to change to other public transport systems, including the RENFE suburban rail service.

The 16.8km (10.4 mile) Trambaix system was approved in April 2000, formed of three lines which use common rails for the majority of each route before diverging on separate alignments. In March 2003, construction started on Trambesos, linking the Estacio del Norte/Arc de Triomf with Glories, Sant Adria de Besos and Badalona.

The Trambaix system opened in April 2004 with trams running on Lines T1-T3. All three lines start at the same point – Francese Macia – and then run to Montesa where T3 diverges for Consell Comarcel. T1 and T2 remain together to a station at Bon Viatage, where T1 ends and T2 continues to Sant Marti de l'Erm for a second connection with T3.

INFRASTRUCTURE

In Barcelona planners are looking to bring the new light rail system right into the heart of the city by laying new tracks along one of the main arteries. The centrepiece of a network which runs east to west is a 640m stretch of on-street along the Avenida Diagonal, which travels directly at its western end into the city's symbolic heart, the Placa Reina Maria Cristina.

Since the beginning of 2004, Trambaix serves Barcelona (Plaza Francesc Macia) to L'Hospitalet, Esplugues, San Joan Despi, Cornella, Sant Just Desvern and San Feliu de LLobregat. The complete tram network will be over 15km long with 30 stations.

A new electrical substation was installed to provide a 750V DC power system. The standard 1,435mm gauge track is laid on rubber pads fixed to concrete blocks, linked by steel spacers and using elastic rail clips.

The second network, known as Trambesos, comprises two lines – a total of 15km (9 miles) with 29 stations. Line 1 (T4) runs from Arc de Triomf to Gorg in Badalona via Glories and Besos, while Line 2 (T5) links the city centre with St Adria de Besos via Glories. Cost is estimated at €212m.

The second line of the Trambesos (T5) opened to public operation on October 13 2006, links Besos with Glories and also provides connections to the metro and RENFE suburban network. Trambesos now consists of 9km of track and 19 stations. T5 is just 2.8km long.

However, operating the trams at street level did have its problems when testing began, as car drivers were unaware of the risks in challenging them, resulting in 21 accidents in the first month. With the system now fully operational, the general public now understands that trams have priority at junctions.

ROLLING STOCK

The centrepiece of Barcelona's new light rail systems is a fleet of 37 five-section Citadis trams, a design devised by Alstom and adopted for new light rail networks in Montpellier, Orleans, Bordeaux and Paris in France and the Luas network in Dublin, Ireland.

19 vehicles work on the TramBaix network, with 18 similar Citadis 302 LRVs on Trambesos. The 32.3m-long trams are 100% low-floor, air-conditioned, and can carry up to 218 passengers (72 seated). The trams were built at Alstom's plant in the city, and are maintained at depots at Sant Joan Despì (Trambaix) and Sant Adria de Besos (Trambesos).

In order to maximise the safe operation of the new trams, each unit is fitted with three forms of braking: electric, electro mechanical and mechanical. Under the original contract agreement, Alstom maintains the two fleets for Trambaix and Trambesos, and will continue to do so until 2029.

SIGNALLING / COMMUNICATIONS

Barcelona's new system will have to be integrated with existing metro system controls. However, the trams are equipped with some of the latest safety features, including automatic train protection which can be used to override the driver and bring the train to a safe halt in the event of it passing a danger signal. Automatic train control adjusts the speed of the train by an on-board computer which receives data from lineside monitor and signals. Internal passenger information displays are supplied with data from the central control room to show details such as the next station stop.

THE FUTURE

In April 2002, city transport authority ATM authorised an infrastructure plan worth €7.3bn involving the construction of 282km of new metro, light rail and heavy rail suburban lines in and around the Catalan capital.

The light rail element of this includes links between the Trambaix and Trambesos. Also proposed is a seafront line running along the Mediterranean coast in the city.

By 2010, ATM expects the Trambaix system to be carrying 14 million passengers a year with the Trambesos network slightly behind on 10 million passengers a year. The two already carry 19 million passengers per year in total, so the 2010 forecast is bound to shattered. Once TramMet's 25-year concession on the two networks has expired, ownership and operation will pass back to ATM.

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