Sabadell Metro
Sabadell Metro (Catalan and Spanish: Metro de Sabadell) will be the name of the future subway in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain, operated by the Catalan government-owned rail company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It could be more accurately defined as an underground addition to the already existing FGC commuter train network in the city, located in the region of Catalonia, Spain.
Construction of the subway line started in late 2006 and was due to be finished by 2011 or 2012, depending on which project the FGC finally decided on.[1] However, in January 2012, work was halted due to the Spanish economic crisis.[2]
The proposed line will join the city centre of Sabadell with its northern neighbourhoods, where it will join the Renfe network line, and will effectively link the city with Barcelona through the main FGC lines. The terminus of the current general FGC line, a station called Sabadell - Rambla, will disappear as it will be replaced by this network. The original project, if fulfilled, will be 4.2 km long.[3]
Stations
There are two main projects so far:[4]
First project
Proposed by Generalitat de Catalunya and composed of a single line:[3]
- Ca n'Oriac
- Sabadell Nord
- Eix Macià
- Plaça Major
- Sabadell Estació
Second project
Proposed by Sabadell Cruïlla and composed of two lines:
- Line 1
- Ca n'Oriac
- Sabadell Nord
- Parc Catalunya
- Sabadell Estació
- Line 2
- Sabadell Estació
- Turull
- Sabadell Centre
- Torre Romeu
Initial controversies
The initial project has been criticised for devising a subway line that would run nearly parallel to the Renfe line, which has been deemed not effective enough to suit the needs of a city the size of Sabadell (of roughly 200.000 inhabitants, and located in a very dense region which is in turn a substantial part of the metropolitan area of Barcelona). Also, a civic association called Sabadell Cruïlla has proposed the construction of a larger metro system to link Sabadell with other large cities in the immediate region such as Terrassa and Granollers.[5] In addition to that, it has proposed several changes to the initial project so the subway line would reach Torreromeu and Polinyà.[6] The association also reclaimed on 24 July 2007 the creation of an eastbound link to Granollers crossing the Vallès plain, hopefully reaching Castellar del Vallès, as well as reducing the interference the large public works are to cause to daily life in Sabadell.
A larger network
Parts of the Vallès line operated by FGC are actually already known under the collective name of Metro del Vallès, which will include the Sabadell service and a proposed Terrassa Metro in the almost adjacent municipality of Terrassa, which will be built starting in 2008.[7]
See also
- Transport in Sabadell
- List of FGC lines
- Metropolitan area of Barcelona
- Metro del Vallès
- TramVallès
- Terrassa Metro
- Barcelona Metro
References
- ↑ Un año de obras en el centro de Sabadell para hacer 5 paradas de FGC - 20minutos.es
- ↑ "El Govern també paralitza el 'metro de Terrassa i Sabadell." Diari Ara (Barcelona), 26 January 2012, p.10
- 1 2 Perllongament de la línia d'FGC a Sabadell - DPTOP
- ↑ http://www.elperiodico.com/EDICION/ED070505/CAT/CARP01/PDF/g036mR90.PDF
- ↑ Vecinos de Sabadell cuestionan la prolongación de los Ferrocarrils | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona
- ↑ S'anima el debat sobre les obres del "Metro de Sabadell" :: sabadellcruilla.org :: Sabadell, cruïlla de camins
- ↑ Notícies - Terrassa.net : Una gran ciutat per viure-hi
External links
- Sabadell Metro website (Catalan)
- Generalitat de Catalunya - first news release about the Sabadell metro. (Catalan)
- Sabadell Cruïlla official website (Catalan)