L9 metro line tunnel boring machine to restart operations in coming days

The tunnel boring machine working on the central part of the L9 and L10 metro lines will restart operations in the coming days, with the objective of reaching Lesseps Square in one year.

Catalan territory minister Sílvia Paneque announced the plan to restart construction on Monday morning during a visit to the tunnel boring machine of the L9 and L10 lines. The machine has been switched off since August 2024.

Back then, the machine bore to the future Mandri metro station, which will be located at Mandri and Bonanova streets in the Sant Gervasi neighborhood, but work had to be halted due to damage to the machine.

There is a distance of 1.6 km between Mandri and Lesseps, and three separate types of ground material that will challenge the machine: granite, slate, and sandstone.

Experts plan for the machine to dig around 130 meters per day.

Paneque said that with operations resuming, it will be possible to set "clear deadlines."

She also said that the plan remains in place to open the line between the stations La Sagrera TV and Guinardó | Hospital Sant Pau, and that the stops will be accessible from the end of 2027. This will add 3.6 kilometers to the northern stretch of the line.

The L9 line is Barcelona's first, and only, driverless, automatic subway. At the moment, it is divided into L9 Nord and L9 Sud. The L9 Sud area connects Barcelona's Zona Universitària with the Fira de Gran Via exhibition halls and the city's airport.

Once completed, it will be the city's longest metro line, spanning 47.8 kilometers and counting 52 stations spread across five municipalities: Barcelona, ​​Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Badalona, ​​L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and El Prat de Llobregat.

The L9 Nord started operations in December 2009, while the L9 Sud began service in February 2016.

'2030 horizon'

Despite the decade-long construction, experts forecast starting operations around 2030.

At the start of that year, Lesseps is expected to be completed, and Camp Nou station by the end of 2030.

It will be in 2031, when the line will be fully connected with the opening of the Campus Nord, Sarrià, Mandri, and Sanllehy stations.

However, trains will not stop at all stations until 2032, when the Manuel Girona and Putxet stations will come into service.

Paneque said that the "2030 horizon" plan includes an investment of €1 billion between 2025 and 2032. Adding this to the previous sums brings the total construction cost to €6.27 billion.

Studies expect that 113 million users will use the lines annually.