The new tram section will connect Glòries and Verdaguer in 6 minutes and link to four metro lines, L1, L2, L4 and L5, plus thirteen bus lines. An increase of 24,000 more daily tram journeys is anticipated, almost doubling the current volume.

Following 28 months or work, the testing which got under way on Monday must allow for all the checks and adjustments needed to get the service operating in the autumn of 2024. The goal is to test the compatibility of the tracks between the new section and the rest of the civil engineering project executed, the station platforms and the track with the power feed.

The Glòries interchange will be the starting point for the route, and the point where the tram (one of 18 adapted to use the power feed from the third lane along the ground) will switch from the overhead power feed to the ground-level supply, lowering its pantographs and its collector shoes. The first test was conducted at night to minimise any possible disruptions to circulation.

Testing a continuous power feed system along the ground

The connection of the tram systems in Av. Diagonal will be completed without overhead power feeds, instead using a continuous power supply at ground-level based on a power lane beneath the surface between the two tracks. The power in this third lane only feeds trams when they pass overhead, providing safe and continuous power. This way trams can switch from one section with overhead power to the other with ground-level power by lowering or raising their pantographs.

Besides the installation of this third track and specific equipment in sub-stations, the system means the current fleet of trams has had to be adapted for the new tracks. This will be the first time in the Spanish state that this technology has been implemented and the second time in the world that a fleet of trams has been adapted to this technology. Consequently, the testing on Monday was very important in checking the system works properly.

Operational changes to lines T4, T5 and T6

The new tram section from Glòries to Verdaguer, which is expected to come into service in the autumn, will be operated by the T4 Trambesòs, which will stop circulating in the direction of Ciutadella – Vila Olímpica and instead follow the route towards the city centre. The T5 and T6 lines will cover the service from Glòries to the beach.

The new tram service will cover 2 kilometres in the city centre and enter the street layout of L’Eixample. The service is expected to handle an additional demand of 24,000 journeys a day and to take around 2,000 cars out of the central section of Av. Diagonal. The future service in stage one of the tram will cover an area with few public transport options, providing a high-capacity rail option.