• In the Rambla lobby, the works enable to gain space in the lobby, improve passengers flow and install LED lights
• In the Bergara lobby, a lift will be installed to improve access for people with reduced mobility, which will enter into service in September

In February, Ferrocarrils of the Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) started the improvement works in the lobbies of Pl. Catalunya station, which is FGC’s most crowded station, registering an annual footfall of about 12 million people.

On the one hand, the works to redistribute the Rambla lobby have already finished. The action has made feasible to free up space and thus to improve users flow in the station entrance/exit and in the purchase of journey tickets from the ticket-dispensing machines. The main objective has been to facilitate mobility management and the operation of the lobby.

These same works, which have lasted three months and cost 200,000 Euro, have made it possible to centralize the sale of tickets in the space where the Customer Care Centre was located. The refurbishment also includes the installation of a new ceiling and of new luminaires with LED lights, the renovation of all the lobby pavement, the covering of the vertical surfaces with the FGC traditional white bevelled tile, the lining with board in the area of the ticket-dispensing machines, the dismantling of the metal lining of the two pairs of old round pillars, which recover their original appearance, as well as the conditioning of the current ventilation duct, among others.

On the other hand, in the lobby of the Bergara access, works are being carried out to improve the adaptation of the station to people with reduced mobility (PRM). To this end, work has begun to install a lift on Bergara street, at the crossing with Balmes street, which connects the surface with the lobby. Once inside the tariff barrier, the installation of another lift will facilitate access to the platforms. The adaptation of the station will enter into service in September and the actions have a budget of 370,000 Euro.

R&D&I to optimize the temperature of the station

One of the most innovative changes to be made at the station will be the implementation of a double curtain air system at the accesses in order to increase the feeling of comfort of both customers and FGC staff. This system consists of a curtain of air that on one side expels air and on the other one sucks it, what avoids air currents derived from the circulation of trains.

Remodelling of the vaults of the station

The vaults of the Pl. Catalunya station have also undergone improvements in recent months. The coating has been improved, the concrete has been repaired and the vaults have been waterproofed, which makes it possible to eliminate water infiltrations and to place value on the characteristic mosaics of the vaults of this station.

The works on tracks 3 and 4 have already been completed and works are currently being carried out on the vaults located above tracks 1 and 2, with an end date scheduled for next November. The total cost is 770 thousand Euro.