The single track of the Vic line has been the ugly duckling of the Rodalies network for years. When investments arrived in Catalonia there was always a more urgent priority than the R3, whether it was the Vilafranca line, the Garraf line, the Mediterranean corridor… After several decades demanding the doubling of the line to gain reliability and be able to improve schedules, your time has come.
“We close a period of disbelief, we finally see the works!” celebrates Marçal Ortuño, mayor of Torelló and vice president of the Osona Regional Council. The demand of local administrations and entities in defense of public transport has been constant. Her cry has finally been heard, a complete demonstration that whoever follows her gets it, and that something is moving in Rodalies.
The mountain of ballast accumulated next to the Les Franqueses station, or the Parets del Vallès parking lot full of sleepers to be installed in the stations between this municipality and La Garriga are the most visible sign for the neighbors and the most observers from the train. All travelers on line R3 will be aware of this starting next Thursday, October 12, and until the end of January, when circulation will be cut off on that 17.1-kilometer stretch of single track to adapt the stations to the future double track. from Parets, Granollers-Canovelles, Les Franqueses and La Garriga. The work includes railway works, as well as new underpasses and a modernization of the facilities. Later, next summer, the road will be doubled along the entire section, which will involve another even longer cut.
That is the visible part, the most advanced of the comprehensive project to improve the R3 line, in which 155 million are being invested and which will be a reality in 2025 if nothing goes wrong. The rest of the sections will be left for later, each one at its own pace. To the north of the section under construction, between Vic and Centelles, the informative study is already being drafted, while from Centelles to La Garriga has just been put out to tender and has a term of two and a half years. To the south, the informative study of the duplication between Mollet and Montcada was also put out to tender this summer, a section of special complexity because the road is embedded in the urban fabric.
“The cry that the ministry does not invest is false, this action shows that this mantra has already been overcome,” highlights the Secretary General of Infrastructure, Xavier Flores, who yesterday moved to Vic with officials from Renfe and the Infrastructure Administrator. Railways (Adif) to explain the details of the works to the mayors of the area and members of local entities. Representatives of the Department of Territory of the Generalitat were also present, led by the Secretary of Mobility, Marc Sanglas, who insisted on the usual reproaches towards the Ministry of Transport and announced a reinforcement of express buses between Vic and Barcelona – with five frequencies. more in the morning and four in the afternoon – to deal with the effects of the cut.
It is precisely the cutting process that is most worrying in the short term in the affected municipalities. On both sides of the cut, the service will be maintained with the usual frequencies, but those who pass through the affected section must combine the train and the bus. Renfe has invested 13 million euros in an alternative bus service that covers the affected route between Mollet and Figaró and incorporates direct buses from the latter point as well as from Centelles to La Sagrera-Meridiana in the morning and in the opposite direction in the afternoon. This seeks to minimize the effects on the 12,000 travelers who use this line daily, especially for those who come from further away and already have a long journey in themselves, although there are cases such as those of the students from the University of Vic who displaced from Vallès that have been left unattended and have even caused a collection of signatures. Both Renfe and the Generalitat are committed to analyzing the passenger flows of the first days to adapt and reinforce the service if necessary, to avoid a repeat of the collapse of the buses that R4 users suffered in Vilafranca during the construction works. Mediterranean corridor.
