Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família
June 7, 2008
Barcelona is Spain’s second largest city and has a large and extensive public transit system. The Autoritat del Transport Metropolità is responsible for coordinating throughout the city of Barcelona and the surrounding areas. Systems that fall under ATM’s perview are the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) Metro and bus lines, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) Metro lines, RENFE Rodalies Barcelona, Funicular de Montjuïc, Funicular de Vallvidrera, and other regional bus operators. ATM fare media is valid on all ATM systems.
The Barcelona Metro opened in 1924. As of 2008, there are nine lines in operation with two under construction. Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 11 are operated by TMB and lines 6, 7, and 8 are operated by FGC. Currently, there are 63.75 miles (102.6 km) of track serving 125 stations, an additional 26.6 miles (42.6 km) will be added when lines 9 and 10 are complete. The Barcelona Metro was the first subway to adopt “The Spanish Solution” where a station will have two side platforms and an island platform to facilitate passenger flow in busy stations.
TMB also operates the Funicular de Montjuïc that connects the Montjuïc hill to downtown Barcelona. The funicular was first opened in 1928 to serve the International Exhibition of 1929, and was renovated prior to the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. A more recent addition to the TMB network is the Barcelona Tramvía system, currently consisting of two sets of tram lines, one on each side of the city. Trambaix (Lines T1, T2, and T3 connect Baix Llobregat to the city center; Trambesòs (Lines T4, T5, and T6) connect the Olympic Village and Downtown Barcelona to Sant Adrià de Besòs and Badalona. There are plans to connect Trambaix and Trambesòs with a line on the Avinguda Diagonal. Finally, TMB operates 109 bus routes throughout the city, using a fleet of MAN, Iveco, Irisbus, and Mercedes-Benz buses.
The 2100 Series operates in 5 car trainsets. About half of the 15 trainsets were manufactured by CAF and the other half were manufactured by Alstom.
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The 3000 Series was manufactured by CAF from 1986 until 1988. The cars were rehabilitated in 2007.
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The 4000 Series was manufactured by CAF and delivered starting in 1987. The cars are in 5 car sets and have been rehabbed to extend their useful lives. They operate on Line 1.
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The 5000 series was manufactured by CAF starting in 2005. There are 39 trainsets with 5 cars each.
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The 6000 Series was manufactured by CAF and delivered from 2007 until 2009. It is similar to the 5000 Series, however, it is built to the Iberian gauge in use on Line 1.
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The 9000 Series was originally envisioned to be a fully automatic, driverless train car that would run on lines 9 and 10. However, TMB modified the order so that semi-automatic trains with cabs would also be ordered for lines 2 and 4. The cars were built by Alstom. They entered service starting in early 2008.
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The Class 111 EMUs were manufactured by Alstom from 1983 until 1987.
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The Class 213 EMUs were manufactured by Alstom and operate on the Llobregat–Anoia lines operated by FGC.
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The Barcelona Metro has a total of 163 stations, of which 141 are managed by TMB. Stations have the logo of the company operating at that station (TMB or FGC or both) at the entrance. Most stations, once inside, are devoid of artwork or notable architectural features.
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Barcelona had an extensive tram network from 1872 until 1971; by the latter year all but one line had been replaced by bus or metro lines, and the remaining line was primarily a tourist attraction. In 2004, two separate tram systems, Trambaix and Trambesòs opened. Although they are not connected, they use the same rolling stock, are part of the regional ATM fare structure, and there are plans to build a line on the Avinguda Diagonal that would link the two networks.
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The Funicular de Montjuïc first opened in 1928 to serve the International Exhibition of 1929. It was renovated prior to the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, because many venues were located in Parc de Montjuïc at one end of the funicular line, and the other terminal is in downtown Barcelona at Paral·lel. The funicular line is 758 meters (0.47 miles) long, has two, three car trains that each hold 400 people, and takes 2 minutes to travel from end to end. Funicular de Montjuïc is operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona and is fully integrated into the ATM fare structure.
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The Funicular del Tibidabo operates from Plaça del Doctor Andreu to Tibidabo. This funicular is not officially part of the Barcelona public transit system. As a result, ATM system tickets are not valid on the funicular. The Funicular del Tibidabo opened on October 29, 1901 and is 1152 meters (0.72 miles) long. An interesting feature of the funicular is that its cars' exteriors are repainted every so often by local artists.
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