Spain’s Rubí tunnel reopens for freight on single track
SPAIN: Adif will reopen the Rubí tunnel near Barcelona for freight from 28 April on a single-track regime, seven weeks after structural damage forced a full closure.
Adif confirmed the partial reopening on 22 April. The provisional regime runs on a single track between Castellbisbal and Rubí-Can Vallhonrat — 12 hours daily from Wednesday to Sunday, and 21 hours on Mondays and Tuesdays, when tunnel works pause.
The full closure from 14 March was triggered when monitoring sensors detected deterioration in a 60-metre section requiring immediate intervention, after a partial closure introduced in late January following storm Harry.
Single track, timed windows
The emergency reinforcement programme covers 123 metres of the tunnel’s total 900-metre length, using custom-fabricated steel arches anchored to the tunnel floor and set in a reinforced concrete ring. Works on the remaining sections are pending, with full two-track restoration expected only after at least a further month of construction.
During the closure, freight operators were diverted via Lleida — adding seven hours per journey — or transferred to road haulage from the La Llagosta terminal.
Mediterranean Corridor bottleneck
The Rubí tunnel sits on the Mediterranean Corridor, the TEN-T spine connecting the Port of Barcelona to the French border. The tunnel serves freight traffic in both Iberian broad gauge and European standard gauge, making it a critical link for international rail freight between the Iberian Peninsula and France.
Passenger services on the R8 Rodalies line remain suspended. Adif has indicated it continues working to make the infrastructure available for passenger traffic in the coming weeks.