The agreement reached between the Generalitat and the Ministry of Transport for Catalan infrastructures as part of the budgetary pact between socialists and republicans allocates 20 million to the construction of two railway interchanges between Regionalita and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) stations in the Vallès
The paper of the protocol holds everything but the reality is very different. It is not intended to create a simple corridor between Hospital General (FGC) and Rubí (Region) stations or between Volpelleres (FGC) and Sant Cugat Coll Favà (Region). There is a huge distance between the two points where you want to build an interchange that facilitates the interconnection between the railway networks and the difficulties along the way are multiple.
The first step of the Central Government is to commission a functional study in which the possible solutions are determined through a technical work commissioned by the railway infrastructure administrator (Adif). It will then be the Generalitat who drafts the project and executes the works with the corresponding investment transferred by the Ministry of Transport.
Sources familiar with the technical difficulties warn that one of the most feasible solutions to the problem is to move the stations closer to each other or even build a new one, although the solution will not be the same for in both exchangers, each one will have to adapt to the specific situation. Depending on the type of work to be carried out, the investment will rise well above the 20 million euros initially planned.
In the case of the Volpelleres station (part of the FGC Sabadell line) and the Sant Cugat Coll Favà station (of the R8 de Rodalies), the construction of new accesses and the extension of the platforms de Rodalies would somehow bring the station closer to the point where it crosses the FGC tracks. This would put an end to the long walk that now exceeds 10 minutes through a totally unattractive area, with no shade to protect yourself during the day and with very poor and gloomy lighting at night.
The case of General Hospital (on the Terrassa line of the FGC) and the Rubí stop (also on the R8 line of Rodalies) is more complex. The AP-7 highway separates them from each other, located more than a kilometer apart. An excursion that takes more than a quarter of an hour to avoid the enormous road border and that discourages anyone who wants to bet on public transport. Here it is very likely that the most logical option is to build a new station to serve commuters next to the health center, where FGC trains now stop.
The construction of the two new interchanges is part of the package of 914 million euros of investments that will be executed through management orders from the Central Government to the Generalitat, as well as the transformation of the N-II and some of the new accesses the AP-7. If 20 million is earmarked for the interchanges, for the highway links there is an investment of 250 million planned to act on a total of 16 points, of which seven will be new and nine already exist and will be considerably improved. Among these points, the road junction where the AP-7, the B-30, the C-58 and the N-150 road between Barberà del Vallès, Cerdanyola and Ripollet converge. Congestion in this place is recurrent, just like in the connection of the C-60 de la Roca and the B-30 at the height of Cerdanyola, as well as the entrances to Girona both to the north and to the south.
