18 km of tailbacks on A-2 towards Barcelona amid AP-7 closure 

Motorists faced as much as 18 kilometres of tailbacks on Thursday morning on the A-2 motorway between Cornellà de Llobregat and Martorell, heading towards Barcelona, amid the ongoing closure of the AP-7 nearby, Catalonia's traffic authority said.

The AP-7 has been shut southbound between Martorell and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia since shortly after 6pm on Wednesday because of the risk of a collapse at the site of a commuter rail accident earlier this week.

The Catalan Traffic Service (Servei Català de Trànsit, SCT) said the closure is expected to last several days. As a result, some traffic has been diverted onto the A-2.

The SCT stressed, however, that the congestion on the A-2 was not a direct consequence of diversions.

Nevertheless, the motorway was carrying unusually heavy volumes towards Barcelona on Thursday morning.

The entire Rodalies rail network remains suspended across Catalonia, although service had been expected to resume gradually from early Thursday morning. 

Barcelona provincial council has restricted heavy goods vehicles on several local roads around Gelida, including the BV-2433 and the C-243b, to prevent congestion.

AP-7 shut

SCT Ramon Lamiel earlier said the AP-7 closure would begin at 3.30pm on Wednesday but police later confirmed it was delayed.

Authorities expect the shutdown to last several days after engineers identified what officials described as a "risk of collapse" in the area where the Rodalies train accident occurred on Tuesday, killing a trainee train driver and injuring several others.

Spain's transport ministry initially called for the motorway to be closed in both directions but agreed to limit the shutdown to southbound traffic after warnings that a full closure would severely disrupt mobility.

Police have also sealed access ramps to the AP-7 from Abrera and Gelida.

Drivers are asked to follow alternative routes via the A-2, C-25, and local roads.

Minister unsure who owns collapsed wall

Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente said on Wednesday that his department “does not know” who is responsible for the wall that collapsed onto the train cab, as there is uncertainty over whether it belongs to the AP-7 or to Adif, Spain's state-owned rail infrastructure manager.