Since 2013, AVE high-speed trains have passed near the Sagrada Família through a tunnel that runs beneath the centre of Barcelona. The tunnel's construction, which began on 26 March 2010, was controversial. The Ministry of Public Works of Spain ("Ministerio de Fomento") claimed the project posed no risk to the church. Sagrada Família engineers and architects disagreed, saying there was no guarantee that the tunnel would not affect the stability of the building. The Board of the Sagrada Família ("Patronat de la Sagrada Família") and the neighborhood association "AVE pel Litoral" (AVE by the Coast) had led a campaign against this route for the AVE, without success.