Barcelona Metro

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Barcelona Metro
Barcelona Metro Logo.svg
FGC.svg
Overview
Native nameMetro de Barcelona
OwnerTMB (Lines 1-5, 9-11), FGC (Lines 6-8, 12)
Area servedBarcelona metropolitan area
LocaleBarcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines12 lines (Total)
  • 8 TMB lines
  • 4 FGC lines
Number of stations189 (Total)
  • 189 TMB + FGC + Funicular de Montjuic stations
Annual ridership355,560,000 (2018)[1]
Website
Operation
Began operation1863 / 1924 / 1926
Operator(s)TMB (Lines 1-5, 9-11), FGC (Lines 6-8, 12)
Technical
System length166 km (103.1 mi) (Total)
  • 123.2 km (76.6 mi) TMB
  • 21.1 km (13.1 mi) FGC
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) for L8 barcelona.svg
1,672 mm (5 ft 5+13⁄16 in) for L1 barcelona.svg
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) for others
hideSystem map

Mapa metro Barcelona (actualitzat juliol 2019).svg

Can Peixauet.
Plaça de Catalunya station (L1)
Universitat station (L1)
Gavarra station (L5)
Ticket vending machines, Sants Estació station.

The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: Metro de Barcelona)[a] is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport system of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, Spain, with unified fares under the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) scheme. As of 2014, the network is operated by two separate companies: Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). It is made up of 12 lines, combining the lines owned by the two companies. Two lines, L9 and L10, are being built at present, with both lines having different sections of each opened between 2009 and 2016. They are due to be fully completed in 2026.[2] Three lines on the network have opened as automatic train operation/driverless vehicle systems since 2009: Line 11, Line 9 and Line 10, in chronological order.

The network length is 166 kilometres, with 189 stations, as of June 2019.

History[]

The first rapid transit railway service in Barcelona was founded in 1863 by the private company Ferrocarril de Sarrià a Barcelona ("Railway from Sarrià to Barcelona", after 1916 Sarrià joined the municipality of Barcelona). Later this line evolved in what now is basically the current L6 metro service. This railway system, now part of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya company, was later inspired by the London Underground naming style having long names for the lines ("Sarrià line", "Balmes line"...).

Much later, in the 1920s, a second and a third rapid transit railway systems were founded with the construction of the Gran Metro between Lesseps and the Plaça de Catalunya (part of the modern L3) and, two years later, the Metro Transversal (now part of L1). This third one was built between the Plaça de Catalunya and la Bordeta to link the city centre with the Plaça d'Espanya and Montjuïc, the site of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. These two later rapid transit companies contrasted with the first one in being inspired by the Métropolitain de Paris (from where the word "metro" comes).

Today[when?], the network consists of 12 lines managed by 2 different operators: Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC, or Catalan Government Railways). Fares and nomenclature are controlled by the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità, a citywide system that also includes local and regional buses, tramways and some commuter and regional train services.

Network[]

Since early 2020, the total length of the network is 166 km. and 189 stations, including the TMB+FGC+Montjuic[clarification needed] funicular.

The major network, operated by TMB, consists of eight lines, numbered L1 to L5 and L9 to L11 (which are distinguished on network maps by different colours), covering 102.6 kilometres (63.8 mi) of route and 141 stations.[3]

FGC lines are numbered L6, L7, L8 and L12. These lines, except all of L12 and part of L7, share tracks with commuter rail lines.

The Barcelona Metro lines do not have a name of their own but are generally referred to by their colour or by the number and the names of their termini.

Lines[]

The lines run as follows:

Line Number Termini Operator Current length Approved length Current stations Approved stations Year of opening Gauge Electrification
Barcelona Metro line 1L1 barcelona.svg
 Hospital de Bellvitge-Fondo TMB 20.700 km
12.862 mi 		29.758 km
18.491 mi 		30 38 1926 1,672 mm (5 ft 5+13⁄16 in) Rigid overhead wire
Barcelona Metro line 2L2 barcelona.svg
 Paral·lel–Badalona Pompeu Fabra 13.700 km
8.513 mi 		18.466 km
11.474 mi 		18 34 1995 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Barcelona Metro line 3L3 barcelona.svg
 Zona Universitària-Trinitat Nova 18.400 km
11.433 mi 		20.024 km
12.442 mi 		26 36 1924
Barcelona Metro line 4L4 barcelona.svg
 Trinitat Nova-La Pau 17.300 km
10.750 mi 		18.916 km
11.754 mi 		22 26 1973 (1926)
Barcelona Metro line 5L5 barcelona.svg
 Cornellà Centre-Vall d'Hebron 19.168 km
11.910 mi 		27 27 1959
Barcelona Metro line 6L6 barcelona.svg
 Pl. Catalunya-Sarrià FGC 4.884 km
3.035 mi 		8 (2[b] shared with L7) 1929 (1863) Overhead wire, 1,500 V DC
Barcelona Metro line 7L7 barcelona.svg
 Pl. Catalunya-Av. Tibidabo 4.634 km
2.879 mi 		7 (2[c] shared with L6) 1953 (1863)
Barcelona Metro line 8L8 barcelona.svg
 Pl. Espanya-Molí Nou-Ciutat Cooperativa 11.266 km
7.000 mi 		11 21 2000 (1912) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Barcelona Metro line 9L9 barcelona.svg
Aeroport T1-Zona Universitària
TMB
19.600 km
12.179 mi
47.800 km
29.702 mi
15
39
2009
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
La Sagrera-Can Zam 7.867 km
4.888 mi 		9 (3 shared with L10)
Barcelona Metro line 10L10 barcelona.svg
 La Sagrera–Gorg
5.570 km
3.461 mi
47.800 km
29.702 mi}
6 (3 shared with L9)
33
2010
Collblanc- 4.500 km
2.796 mi 		8 (3 shared with L9)
2018
Barcelona Metro line 11L11 barcelona.svg
 Trinitat Nova–Can Cuiàs 2.109 km
1.310 mi 		5 2003
Barcelona Metro line 12L12 barcelona.svg
 Sarrià–Reina Elisenda FGC 0.600 km
0.373 mi 		3.200 km
1.988 mi 		2 5 2016 (1976)

In addition to those, Renfe and FGC trains and the increasingly important Trambaix and Trambesòs routes and stations are displayed on most recent maps, including the info maps in the metro stations, all in a single variety of dark green.

L9 and L10[]

Details of the capacity of trains.

Construction work is taking place currently[when?] on L9/L10, which will run from Badalona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet to the Zona Franca district and El Prat International Airport. The lines, which share a central section between Bon Pastor and Torrassa (L1), will be the longest automated metro line in Europe, at 47.8 kilometres (29.7 mi), and will have 52 stations. The project was approved in 2000[4] but has been challenged by some technical difficulties and some of their sections are pending further geological analysis. The first section of Line 9 that runs between La Sagrera and Can Zam opened in 2009, and by June 2010 eleven new stations on the new Lines L9 and L10 had opened. As of February 2016, the 15-station, 19.6-kilometre (12.2 mi) south section of Line L9 between Zona Universitària and the airport opened.[5]

Rolling stock[]

  • TMB rolling stock

  • Series 500 L11 barcelona.svg

  • Series 2000 L3 barcelona.svg

  • Series 2100 L4 barcelona.svg

  • Series 3000 L3 barcelona.svg

  • Series 4000 L1 barcelona.svg

  • Series 5000 L3 barcelona.svg L5 barcelona.svg

  • Series 6000 L1 barcelona.svg

  • FGC rolling stock

  • Series 112 L6 barcelona.svg

  • Series 113 (4 cars) and 114 (3 cars) L6 barcelona.svg L7 barcelona.svg L12 barcelona.svg

  • Series 213 L8 barcelona.svg

Tickets and pricing[]

In addition to the one-way ticket there are a number of other tickets and cards. All of the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) transport cards are valid and can be used in the Barcelona Metro. These are:

  • Airport Ticket, is a one-way ticket for the airport stations, only required if travelling with a special airport ticket
  • T casual, which includes ten rides at a discounted price
  • T usual, unlimited journeys made in 30 consecutive days from the first use

All of the metro stations are within fare zone 1.

Stations[]

TMB (top) and FGC (bottom) logos outside Plaça de Catalunya station.
Elevators in Llefià station.
Llefià
Main article: List of Barcelona metro stations

At the end of 2018, there are 187 operational stations in the Barcelona Metro, served by the 12 lines in current use. The average distance between 2 stations is 807.50 metres.

An overwhelming majority of stations in the network lack related buildings or structures aboveground, mostly consisting of an access with stairs, escalators or elevators. The official TMB metro indicator, a red rhombus with a M inside, remains unused by FGC lines, which use their company logo and a different rhombus-shaped logo (actually rather similar to the one used inside the Madrid Metro) inside stations. Below ground their decoration is remarkably sober, with the exception of all the new stations.

Disused stations[]

Main article: Disused Barcelona metro stations

A number of stations in the network have been closed, were never inaugurated, or have been moved to a nearby location. See the main article for more details.

Accessibility[]

Accessibility for wheelchairs and for passengers with pushchairs is being improved but the metro system is not yet fully accessible. A project of improvements is gradually adding more lifts from street level to ticket office level and then from ticket office level to the platforms, though some stations remain without access. 17 of 180 are not fully accessible as of 2016. See Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona for more information on which stations are currently accessible. As of 2018, only 9 stations are not accessible for wheelchair users. These are: Espanya, Plaça de Sants, Urquinaona, Clot, Vallcarca, Maragall, Verdaguer, Ciutadella|Vila Olímpica, Virrei Amat. Around June 2018, accessibility works at Jaume I started. On December 28, construction finished, lowering the number of inaccessible stations to 9.

Transportation in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona[]

The Barcelona Metro is part of a larger transportation network, regulated and fare-integrated by Autoritat del Transport Metropolità.

Among these services, there are two large systems which operate both inside and outside the city limits of Barcelona: the commuter train lines operated by Renfe, amalgamated in the Rodalies Barcelona, or Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya lines which start in the metro lines the company operates (L6, L7 and L8) and which become a fully-fledged railway system which serves most of the metropolitan area: list of FGC lines. FGC is developing Sabadell Metro and Terrassa Metro as extensions of its network in the large cities of Sabadell and Terrassa respectively.

Network map[]

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

See also[]

Barcelona Metro topics[]

Rapid transit in Barcelona[]

Other metro systems in Spain[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Local pronunciation:
    • Catalan: [ˈmɛtɾu ðə βəɾsəˈlonə]
    • Spanish: [ˈmetɾo ðe βaɾθeˈlona]
  2. ^ In Plaça Catalunya and Provença stations share the same tracks, but in Gràcia not
  3. ^ In Plaça Catalunya and Provença stations share the same tracks, but in Gràcia not

References[]

  1. ^ "Metropolitan Transport Authority – ATM" (PDF). ATM.cat. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  2. ^ "El tramo central de la línea 9 de metro prepara su reactivación". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Transport in figures – Basic transport data". TMB. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2014. – length of TMB lines.
  4. ^ "News article" (PDF). people.reed.edu.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Driverless metro reaches Barcelona airport". Railway Gazette International. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

External links[]

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