An important railway tunnel in a suburb of Barcelona has been taken out of service for seven weeks following a short‑notice decision by the Spanish infrastructure operator ADIF.

According to Spanish media, the organisation notified affected rail companies only a few days before the interruption was due to begin.

Freight trains linking the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona with the French border have relied on this route, as it is built to the standard gauge of 1,435 millimetres. This design enables cross‑border movements to Perpignan without any gauge change or reloading, making the tunnel a key link for international services.

ADIF has stated that immediate reinforcement and stabilisation work inside the tunnel is required. Reports from the Spanish business newspaper El Marcantil indicate that trains already en route to Barcelona will be redirected to the La Llagosta Combiconnect intermodal terminal, situated immediately before the tunnel.

Spanish media have also reported that diverted trains must now travel 521 kilometres rather than the usual 192 kilometres, increasing total transit time from three to seven hours. The port of Barcelona typically records around 35 train movements each day.

Information from industry sources indicates that European traffic will operate via Zaragoza during the seven‑week period instead of the usual route. While this diversion is expected to increase congestion, the Barcelona–Zaragoza service itself continues to run normally.

Additional confirmation from Maersk notes that the Rubí tunnel, located between Castellbisbal and Rubí, was fully closed from 14 March 2026 for urgent structural repairs.

Maersk states that the interruption makes it impossible to run its services between Barcelona and France.