SPANISH high-speed infrastructure manager Adif AV has signed a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to provide €115m for the project to increase passenger capacity at Barcelona Sants. This will increase the surface area of the city’s main station by 30%.
The project includes the reorganisation of the station building, creating a new boarding area for high-speed services and implementing separate flows for departing and arriving passengers. The area used by passengers on Renfe’s Barcelona commuter network will be extended, while at platform level ventilation will be improved and emergency exits upgraded.
Once completed, the project is expected to ease passenger flows and make it easier to reach the metro station, bus terminal and taxi rank. This will help avoid congestion and reduce queues, improving the passenger experience.
In total, the area available for handling high-speed passengers will increase from 3700m2 to 10,220m2, and that for commuter traffic from 2600m2 to 4400m2. Adif AV forecasts that Barcelona Sants will be used by 74.7 million passengers in 2030, 55% up on the figure recorded in 2019.
In November 2024 Adif AV awarded the first three work packages for the Barcelona Sants project, worth a total of €153m and to be undertaken by a joint venture of Acciona and Copcisa. A separate contract worth €7.1m was awarded to a joint venture of Typsa and Ardanuy Ingeniería to provide technical assistance for supervising civil works.
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