First tram tests between Plaça de les Glòries and Verdaguer get underway

Barcelona's tram lines are closer to being fully connected after Monday night, when the first tests between Plaça de les Glòries and Verdaguer station were underway.

The new tram is expected to start service during fall after the first tests at a speed of 5 km/h started around 11:30 pm on Monday. This was the first time the convoys drove over the new tracks and tested Spain's first ground-level power supply (APS).

Officials expect around 24,000 daily passengers and for the tram to replace around 2,000 cars on the Diagonal avenue.

Once the tram is fully in service, it will take around seven minutes to travel from the Glòries square to Verdaguer metro station, which is around two kilometers away.

From the fall, and with the tram already driving on the southern part of Diagonal avenue, the T4 tram line will cover the new route, while the T5 and T6 tram lines will reach the beach.

During the tests, local Guàrdia Urbana police accompanied the convoy to control nearby traffic. The tests are conducted at night to have the smallest impact on the road.

In Glòries tram station, which is already in service, trains will stop using overhead lines to get powered and switch to the new APS system. 18 out of 21 units have already adapted to this new technology.

These tests and the next ones will determine when the first (at normal speed) trains will do a 'marxa en blanc' where no passengers are allowed, but trains are part of the daily schedule.

At the moment, there still needs to be a date set for the first tram with passengers. Something authorities do not want to announce yet after over two years of construction and an investment surpassing €100 million.

"Everything is working out to see the full service begin from the fall," Laia Bonet, Barcelona deputy mayor, said during Monday's tests, but warned that the tests "will need to be repeated through the next days, as they are very important."

Tram between Francesc Macià and Verdaguer

One of the main pending questions is the connection between Plaça de Francesc Macià and Verdaguer metro station, which will also be the last tram station.

"In the upcoming weeks," the city council will receive the report on how to connect the two tram networks (Tram Baix and Tram Besós), and it will need to "study it," Bonet said.

The Catalan government has assigned €50 million to connect both networks, as it will unite nine different municipalities.