For over 100 years, the Metro de Barcelona has transported billions of tourists and residents around the city.
The city’s underground network of high speed trains extend through the metropolitan area and into Barcelona’s suburbs. It is operated by both Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, who share control of the 12 lines.
TMB controls L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L9, L10 and L11. FGC controls L6, L7, L8 and L12. As of November 2021, the network length is 170 kilometers over 183 stations.
The lines L9 and L10 are in the middle of construction, with both lines opening their most recent sections between 2009 and 2018. However, construction of those lines will be fully completed in 2026. Three lines, Line 11, Line 9 and Line 10, have opened automatic train operations or driverless vehicle systems since 2009.
Barcelona's Metro system is a part of the larger public transport system, the Autoritat del Transport Metropolita (ATM). The ATM also includes local and regional buses, tramways and some commuter and regional train services.
History
The Spanish industrial era brought a new wave of construction projects to Barcelona.
In the photo above, you can see how the Metro's engineers had to dig up huge chunks of the earth to put in the foundations of the current system.
The first rapid transit railway service in Barcelona was founded in 1863 by the private company Ferrocarril de Sarria a Barcelona. Parts of this line are still in use today as a part of the current L6 metro service.
Engineers Pau Muller and Octavio Zaragoza asked for a license to build an underground railway that would link Ciutadella and Bonanova in 1907. The state approved the project in 1912, but they were unable to secure funding and the project came to a halt.
That same year, engineer Fernando Reyes presented a second plan for a metro that would cross Barcelona from Sants to Sant Martí. However, his plans were also unable to come into fruition due to lack of funding.
Finally in the 1920s, a second and a third rapid transit railway systems were put into place.
The company Gran Metropolitano de Barcelona started construction between Lesseps and the Placa de Catalunya. This line is now a part of the current L3 line.
The other line was run by the company Ferrocarril Metropolitano de Barcelona and was known as El Transversal, which was initially intended to be a connecting line between the north and the south of the city. It is now a part of the current L1 line.
These systems were built between the Placa de Catalunya and la Bordeta to link the city center with the Placa d'Espanya and Montjuic.
Architecture
Barcelona's Metro system was modeled after the high speed train systems of London and New York, which were installed only a few decades before.
While the system has been modernized over and over again to accommodate increasing traffic, the stations themselves are kept in their original form.
The concrete structures of the L1 Clot station creates a pattern of thick cutout circles. These structures have been in the station for years.
Despite its beauty and history, the structures have been vandalized, as shown in the photo above.
The turnstile was added to Barcelona's train stations only a couple decades ago. The LED lights alert passengers and show them the direction they need to go.
One thing that Barcelona's Metro system is trying to improve on is its accessibility for disabled persons or people with limited mobility, such as the elderly or pregnant women.
The group thyssenkrupp has installed over 600 escalators and elevators inside Barcelona's Metro stations. Currently the design group is adding more accessibility to the stations on L9.
Shelley Francis, a 54-year-old New Jersey resident, said that she did not know that Barcelona's Metro system was over 100 years old.
"Transportation is very convenient within the city," she said. "Everything works very efficiently."
Today’s traffic
Eduardo Sanchez has worked for TMB for 15 years. He is a ticketer at the L1 Urquinaona station.
Sanchez has observed countless amounts of people go through the turnstiles of the station throughout the years.
“It really is incredible,” he said. “So many people use the Metro every day.”
Shelley Francis was traveling through Spain with her family last week. She was taking the L1 train to the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport on Sunday, May 22.
“[The Metro] is one of the easiest public transportation that I’ve ever used,” Francis said. “The train comes every few minutes and it’s always been on time for me.”
She said her family of four had no problems traveling to and from the airport and traveling within the city.
Other Metro systems in Spain
Madrid's Metro system is similar to Barcelona's system. However, the majority of its growth took place between 1995 and 2007, so it is much newer than Barcelona's system.
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