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Tram

The tram offers you the chance to travel in a sustainable, efficient, fast, comfortable and safe way. It allows you to enjoy the landscape during your journey and avoid noise, pollution and traffic jams. It is one of the most highly valued modes of transport among the citizens of Barcelona.

The tram takes up less public space than other means of transport and, therefore, it allows the improvement of overground public transport. The current network connects Barcelona with municipalities in the metropolitan area, although it is not yet connected within the Barcelona urban network. The trams are accessible and adapted for people with reduced mobility, affordable for all and integrated in the ATM fare system.

The intercity transport service on tramways includes Trambaix and Trambesòs. Trambaix lines T1, T2 and T3 connect Barcelona, l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat, Cornellà de Llobregat, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Just Desvern and Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Trambesòs includes lines T4 and T6, which link Barcelona with Sant Adrià de Besòs, and the T5, which joins Barcelona with Badalona.

TRAM is the public transport company that manages the two tram networks in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, Trambaix and Trambesòs.

Mobilitat en tramvia
Mobilitat en tramvia
Mobilitat en tramvia
Mobilitat en tramvia

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Commitment to new mobility solutions

Dependence on private motor vehicles is high in Barcelona, particularly for journeys between different metropolitan municipalities.  This implies a need for a change in the current mobility model in order to reduce the negative environmental impacts linked to the predominant use of motorised vehicles.

Trams are considered a supplementary form of transport, one with a capacity that lies somewhere between the metro and the bus, and that provides a more accessible and comfortable service. They also have a very positive impact, improving the quality of urban transport, shortening journey times, and reducing the volume of private vehicles on the city’s roads. 

Barcelona has sustainable mass transport systems in place that need to be strengthened and connected further to make them more cost effective in comparison with private transport. The tram system is one of them.

The tram network in Barcelona

The tram line along Diagonal, the broad avenue that runs right through the city, will solve a current problem and link the two existing but unconnected tram services. It will also mean that service will cover a greater part of the urban and metropolitan areas. These connections will not only benefit the residents of Barcelona, but also those living in other municipalities who travel into the city (500,000 cars and motorbikes every day).

It has also been estimated that linking the two tram networks would double user demand, and that the overground tram line along Diagonal would carry a total of 222,000 passengers each day. The project would therefore reduce overall congestion in the city by 0.4%, and the number of vehicles using the central section of Av. Diagonal on a daily basis by 12,500. 

The unification of the tram network will improve links between different districts within the city, and will also make it possible to connect Barcelona with the eight surrounding municipalities (Hospitalet de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat, Cornellà de Llobregat, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Just Desvern, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Adrià de Besòs and Badalona). This is why it is one of the keys to enhancing the public transport system, as well as to combating the air and noise pollution caused by the over-use of private motor vehicles in the city.  

Moreover, the urban model that the improved tram service aims to make a reality is a healthier one, as the presence of fewer cars leads to a direct reduction in air and noise pollution, as well as to greater road safety. The new tram link is therefore an opportunity for an urban revamp based on sustainable mobility, and that prioritises pedestrians, bicycles, and public transport with the aim of building a healthier, more equitable and sustainable city for everyone.

This new city model also aims to promote quality public spaces (with more urban greenery and more space for pedestrians), the reduction of air and noise pollution and the efficient management of the city's resources and waste.

Further information 

    Barcelona City Council has just finalised administrative procedures for the two urban development projects that make up the first stage of the work that will eventually link the tram systems in Av. Diagonal. The work will now be tendered, with the aim of an autumn 2021 start.

    These two projects are the redevelopment of Av. Diagonal, between C/ Girona and C/ Los Castillejos, and the development of the urban canopy area, which will involve a restructuring of the current uses of these spaces. It will mean a reduction in private motorised traffic, with the space available for pedestrians and cyclists to be improved and extended and more green space added.

    Redevelopment of Av. Diagonal

    The plan is to carry out the work associated with the provisional link-up of tram services between the lines currently in operation along Av. Diagonal and Gran via de les Corts Catalanes (Besòs side). The development of a section of Av. Meridiana and C/ Alava is also planned, to permit a connection with the T4 tram line.

    Remodelling of the urban canopy at Glòries.

    The development of the entire side of the urban canopy nearest the sea includes the section between C/ Cartagena and C/ Badajoz and will involve the construction of the new transport hub for tram lines T4, T5 and T6, various urban and interurban bus lines and the link with the Glòries station on Metro line 1.

    The development of this part of the Besòs section of the canopy is still to be finalised, as the project envisages trams leaving the interchange and heading towards Diagonal Mar and Gran Via Besòs, and linking up with the existing lines. The definitive development will be carried out in conjunction with the project for the semi-covering of Gran Via, which will define the location of the future tram tracks on both Diagonal and Gran Via.

    Collaboration agreement with the ATM (Metropolitan Transport Authority)

    The Full Council meeting of December 2020 approved the collaboration agreement between Barcelona City Council and the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) for the execution of the works and the subsequent operation of the unified tram network.

    The first stage of the work to link the existing tram networks corresponds to the Verdaguer-Glòries section, and the second to the Francesc Macià - Verdaguer section.