FCC Construcción has completed the development work on the 1.8-kilometre-long Barcelona tramway junction project between Glories and Verdaguer, which includes the Monumental, Sicília and Verdaguer stops. This contract corresponds to the first batches of the civil works of this project corresponding to the Trambesós and Trambaix junction phase, which runs from Plaça Glories to Verdaguer.

The works have included the complete redevelopment of the Diagonal, with new urban planning, replacing and extending new service networks, pacifying areas, eliminating traffic lanes by widening pavements, green areas, and incorporating the city's new cycle lane network.

The new section will connect the Glòries and Verdaguer stops in six minutes and will link up with metro lines 1, 2, 4 and 5 and thirteen bus lines. With the entry into service of the new section, an increase of 24,000 daily journeys is expected, almost double the current number.

The connection of the tramway networks along Avinguda Diagonal will be made without catenary and with a continuous ground supply system based on a third rail flush with the surface between the two rails that feeds the trams exclusively as they pass, continuously and safely. In this way, trams making this route will pass from one section to the other by changing the power supply system and deploying or retracting the pantograph.

In addition to the installation of the third rail and specific equipment in substations, the implementation of this system has required adapting the current fleet and equipping the new trams. This will be the first time in Spain that this technology has been implemented in trams and the second time in the world that a fleet of trams in operation has been adapted to this technology. Hence the great importance of the tests to check all aspects of its operation in detail.

The new section from Glòries to Verdaguer will change the operation of lines T4, T5 and T6. Thus, the new section will be operated by line T4 of the Trambesòs, which will stop running in the direction of Ciutadella - Vila Olímpica and will run towards the city centre. The T5 and T6 will now cover the service from Glòries to Barcelona beach.

The new tram service will run two kilometres through the city centre and enter the Eixample urban area. It is expected to incorporate an additional demand of 24,000 journeys per day and is estimated to remove around 2,000 cars from the central section of the Diagonal. The future phase 1 tram service will cover an area with little public transport supply with a high-capacity rail mode.