Alstom and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) have presented the first of ten electric trains that will operate an express service between Barcelona city centre and Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport.
FGC Mobilitat will run the trains, which are scheduled to enter service between late 2026 and early 2027. The trains will operate at 15-minute intervals with a journey time of just over 20 minutes.
The route, which is under construction will run for 22.7km and serve nine stations. These include Sant Andreu, Sagrera, El Clot, Passeig de Gràcia, Sants, Bellvitge, El Prat, Airport T-2 and Airport T-1.
The service will link the city centre with both airport terminals.
Alstom is carrying out static and dynamic tests at its Santa Perpètua de Mogoda site.
Work began in April on a maintenance depot adjacent to the Santa Perpètua de Mogoda factory, intended to service the fleet for 15 years.
The 3,500m² facility will include two maintenance tracks, auxiliary workshops, a warehouse, workers’ quarters, project offices, an auxiliary services workshop, and a rail connection to the Adif network.
The wider depot project covers 12ha and includes road access, track yards, a third auxiliary track with wheel-turning equipment, a train washing tunnel and a traction substation. The depot is scheduled for completion by spring 2026.
Certification validation tests on the General Interest Railway Network will cover traction, braking, dynamic behaviour, signalling and telecommunications, among other systems required for approval.
The trains are five-car Coradia Stream units built at Alstom’s Santa Perpètua de Mogoda facility.
Each unit has 10 doors per side and 202 seats, comprising 197 fixed, seven folding and two for persons with reduced mobility (PMR). Maximum capacity is 656 passengers per train.
The interior layout of the trains includes luggage storage areas and wider corridors to accommodate airport travellers.
On-board systems include 20 internal panoramic screens (four per car) for service information and nine screens for airport departures and arrivals.
External passenger information will be provided by 12 LED screens on each train. Door operation will be indicated by audible signals and by a lighting system that uses green for opening and red for closing to assist hearing-impaired passengers.
Accessibility features include step-free access from platforms, an automatic ramp at doors adjacent to the reduced mobility area, two reserved spaces for PRM.
The trains will also include adapted toilets and two multifunctional areas for bicycles and trolleys, among other features.
In June this year, Adif reported that phase two of the rail link to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport’s Terminal 1 was 80% complete.
The work, part of the Transformem Rodalies plan, involves more than €400m ($465m) in investment.
