Work Suspended After Night-Time Vibrations
Adif has confirmed it will resume construction work near Trinitat Vella in Barcelona this Wednesday, after halting operations following strong vibrations detected during night-time ground compaction last Thursday. The tremors were felt in at least three buildings on Pare Pérez del Pulgar street in the Sant Andreu district, prompting a precautionary evacuation of around 80 residents. The Barcelona Fire Department carried out structural assessments and allowed residents to return home after an hour and a half.
New Safety Measures for Remaining Works
The railway infrastructure company paused all activity at the Montcada undergrounding site to review its construction methods and install additional monitoring systems. According to Adif, works will now only take place during weekday daytime hours to minimise disruption. The firm is also installing enhanced auscultation and topographic control sensors to monitor ground movement in real time. Residents report that so far, only one of the three affected buildings has received monitoring equipment. Adif has committed to optimising its soil compaction techniques and improving communication with locals about disruptive activities.
The impact is not minor, because it is the same work that has been carried out until now, where vibrations are perceived, which are also surface works.
Roberto Rodríguez, from the Taula Trinitat Vella Neighborhood Association, stressed that the area’s buildings are already weakened by aluminosis, a structural degradation caused by poor-quality concrete. He urged authorities to extend surveillance beyond the most recently affected blocks, noting that nearby buildings on Barcino street are also shored up and vulnerable.
Ongoing Concerns Over Structural Integrity
Although no structural damage or detachments were found after the incident, residents remain anxious. Some described feeling doors, beds and sofas shake during the early hours. Local officials, including acting mayor Jordi Valls, have attributed the vibrations to a compactor machine used in reconfiguring rail tracks between Vallbona and Trinitat Vella. The works are part of a larger project to build a flyover, known in railway terms as a 'salto de carnero', at the Aigües junction, where R2, R2Nord and R11 lines diverge from the route connecting to R3, R4 and R7 services at Montcada-Bifurcació station. This structure will allow new tracks to pass over existing ones as they descend into a tunnel beneath Montcada i Reixac. Despite assurances, Rodríguez highlighted that many of the 432 apartments across 75 stairwells in the neighbourhood have long awaited a city-led rehabilitation plan to address aluminosis. That project remains stalled.
Final Phase of Works Under Way
The remaining phase of Adif’s work at the Trinitat junction is expected to last four more weeks. Once completed, residents of the most deteriorated buildings are due to be rehoused on the site of the former Trinitat Vella prison, after which the old structures will be demolished.
Reported by elperiodico.com, Pau Lizana Manuel, beteve.cat, Mari Latorre, Pau Lizana Manuel,Jordi Ribalaygue, Jordi Ribalaygue, ACN, El Periódico Barcelona.
