Barcelona's largest train station kicks off

High-speed trains, regional trains, subways and buses will combine into the greatest transport hub of Barcelona, La Sagrera. The Catalan President considers this huge project as ?an example of cooperation between the different administrations?.

Laura Matalonga

June 22, 2010 03:58 PM

Barcelona (CNA).- The Spanish Minister for Public Works, José Blanco, gave the go-ahead on the construction of the Sagrera train station in Barcelona. Blanco said the task will be finished in 2012 and emphasized the value of this project in a context of economic crisis. The Minister also added that the construction of the station will contribute to Catalonia being the “engine room of the economic renovation that Spain needs”. Blanco confirmed that the high-speed train connecting France with Barcelona and València along the Mediterranean shore is a priority. In this sense, the President of the Catalan Government, José Montilla, assured that these kinds of projects are necessary to put an end to the depressive cycle provoked by the current financial climate.
Blanco emphasized that the Sagrera station is destined to become one of the most relevant projects within his Ministry and will become an icon of the “dynamic”, “modern” and “innovative” modern day Catalonia. 600 million euros will be invested in the station, one of the biggest projects of urban transformation in Barcelona since the 1992 Olympic Games. It will also be one of the more extensive European transport projects with a surface of 260,000 square metres and the largest railway covering in Europe.

The President of the Catalan Government, José Montilla, is convinced that this project can contribute to “breaking the vicious circle of discouragement and unemployment”. The Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, stated that this station will act as a new productive model at the service of the citizens.