Noise barriers or eyesores? 24 towns reject railway infrastructure manager's 'invasive' plans

Plans put forth by Adif, Spain's state-owned railway infrastructure manager, to build up to 5-meter high opaque noise barriers to reduce sound pollution in urban areas are receiving pushback from local councils.

A total of 24 municipalities in the Barcelona and Tarragona areas – Badalona, Caldes d'Estrac, Cambrils, Cardedeu, Cubelles, Cunit, El Masnou, El Vendrell (Sant Vicenç de Calders), Gavà, l'Arboç, l''Hospitalet de Llobregat, Mataró, Montgat, Premià de Mar, Roda de Berà, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Sant Pol de Mar, Sitges, Tarragona, Torredembarra, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Vilaseca and Viladecans – have signed a manifesto calling on Adif to come up with a "less invasive" solution.

Aside from Adif, this manifesto will also be presented to the Ministry of Mobility, Transport and Urban Agenda, as well as public business entities, and public rail transport company Renfe. 

According to these local authorities, rather than building large barriers they believe will damage the urban landscape of their municipalities, Adif should focus on renovating trains the trains themselves as well as modernize braking systems.

Badalona agreement and protest

Although the city of Badalona and Adif reached an agreement last Friday to look into alternative noise-reducing solutions in the Rambla avenue area, hundreds of residents nonetheless took to the streets on Sunday to express their discontent with Adif.

Esta mañana en la concentración convocada por la @FAVBBadalona hemos mostrado nuestro rechazo a las pantallas acústicas en la vía del tren #Badalona. Tenemos el compromiso de Adif para trabajar juntos y encontrar soluciones alternativas q reduzcan sonido y protejan nuestra Rambla pic.twitter.com/rZRfa0heTQ

— Xavier García Albiol (@Albiol_XG) September 26, 2021

"This morning at the rally organized by the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Badalona, we rejected installing noise barriers along the railroad tracks," Badalona mayor Xavier García Albiol tweeted on Sunday. "With Adif, we are committed to working together to find other solutions that reduce noise levels and protect our Rambla."