Barcelona Metro has a new director, with TMB appointing David Prat to the role this week. Prat, who was previously the Generalitat’s director general of Infrastructures, replaces Òscar Playà, who moved to Rodalies de Catalunya in January.
TMB began the selection process in January and considered both internal and external candidates. The appointment now completes that process. It also means Prat and Playà have effectively swapped roles between the Generalitat and TMB.
Prat is a civil engineer and worked closely with TMB chief executive Xavier Flores from 2013 to 2019. At the time, Flores was the Generalitat’s director general of Mobility Infrastructures, while Prat was his deputy. Prat later succeeded Flores in that post when Flores became Secretary of State for Infrastructures at the Ministry of Transport.
Before that, Prat had temporary responsibility at the Generalitat’s Tarragona delegation, where he helped set up the TramCamp project, which is now under construction. He was also known in the Territory department for explaining major infrastructure projects in Catalonia to politicians, journalists and local residents.
One of those projects was the L9 metro line, which Prat followed for many years from an engineering perspective. He will now work on it from an operational role, with new stations expected to open in 2027.
The selection process took longer than TMB wanted, partly because formalising Playà’s contract with the joint company was complex. His signing was completed two weeks ago. Playà holds a dual role, serving as CEO of Rodalies de Catalunya and as director of the Rodalies service at Renfe, with responsibilities split between the Territory department and Renfe’s Sants station.
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