Catalonia Advances Final Central Tunnel Excavation for 48-Kilometre Barcelona Metro Line 9 Network

Unifying Europe's Longest Fully Automated Metro Line

BARCELONA, Spain — The Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), in conjunction with public transit operator Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), has entered the decisive civil excavation phase for the central section of Barcelona Metro Line 9 (L9). Specialized tunneling crews have accelerated the final 1.6-kilometer drive of the massive 12-meter-diameter Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) between the Mandri and Lesseps stations, closing the remaining subterranean gap in the Catalan capital's underground rail spine.

Once the central section is connected, the unified L9/L10 rail corridor will form a 47.8-kilometer continuous rapid transit line served by 52 stations, officially establishing the longest fully automated, driverless subway line in Europe. The completed route creates a direct orbital bypass across northern and western Barcelona, allowing commuters to travel between Sarrià, Gràcia, Guinardó, and Sant Andreu without transferring through overcrowded central transit hubs like Plaça de Catalunya.

Subterranean Precision and Vertical Shaft Engineering

Navigating up to 50 meters beneath dense urban neighborhoods and historic masonry buildings, the massive dual-deck TBM utilizes real-time laser guidance and earth-pressure balance shields to bore through complex geological strata of granite, slate, and limestone. Each tunnel section is engineered as a stacked, double-deck tube, allowing trains traveling in opposite directions to operate on separate vertical levels within the single excavated tunnel diameter.

Stations along the central alignment—including Mandri, Sarrià, and Plaça de Maragall—feature deep vertical shaft architecture equipped with high-speed panoramic passenger elevators, synchronized glass Platform Screen Doors (PSDs), and universal step-free access. The automated GoA4 (Grade of Automation 4) driverless trainsets communicate via digital Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), permitting flexible headway scheduling down to 90 seconds during peak commuting windows.

Slashing Highway Congestion and Expanding Intermodal Links

The unified Line 9 provides high-speed intermodal connections between Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, the Fira de Barcelona trade fair complexes, the Zona Universitària medical and university campuses, and the major high-speed rail terminal at La Sagrera TAV.

Catalan transport authorities project that full line commissioning will carry over 113 million passengers annually, eliminating more than 8,000 daily private automobile trips from the Ronda de Dalt expressway and reducing metropolitan greenhouse gas emissions by tens of thousands of tonnes per year in line with Catalonia's 2040 climate neutrality targets.