Still no date for completion of train line to El Prat T-1

Spanish governments and Ministers of Public Works come and go, and the state’s lack of interest in deciding a completion date for the works to take the train to Terminal 1 at El Prat airport remains the same. Yesterday, a public note issued by the company Adif announcing the imminent resumption of tunnel work to connect the two airport terminals failed to mention the completion date.

The arrival of a train link to T1, which will compete with the still underused line 9 of the underground, requires the excavation of a 3,385-metre long tunnel, of which 2,830 metres have already been excavated by a digger. Work was stopped last February as the digger’s proximity to the airport’s main runway meant it was inadvisable to continue until after the summer, when El Prat is at its busiest.

Drilling will resume on November 6th and last until 25th of that month. The tunnel-boring machine will advance 300 metres under the runway, 70 of which correspond to the paved area where aeroplanes land or take off and the rest security zones.

The arrival of the commuter train at the airport is valued at €305 million, in its first phase. The second phase will add an investment of €95 million in the superstructure, the station architecture and the connection with the current network.