(Almost) all you need to know about: The TMB
A guide to the public transport system of Barcelona.
AN OVERVIEW
• The first metro line to open in Barcelona was the Gran Metropolitano de Barcelona (we now know it as Line 3). It ran between the Plaça Lesseps and the Plaça Catalunya and opened on December 30th, 1924. It was then followed by the Metro Transversal, which is now part of Line 1, between Bordeta and the Plaça Catalunya.
• Currently there are 11 metro lines, three of them run by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), and a total of 141 stations.
• There are currently 106 bus lines, with a total number of 2,615 bus stops. This past October saw the inauguration of 28 new bus lines.
• Barcelona’s transit system consists of the metro, bus, Barcelona Bus Turístic, Tramvia Blau, the Telefèric de Monjuïc and the Funicular de Monjuïc.
HOW THEY FARE
• In addition to the one-way ticket, there are a number of other tickets and cards:
• T-Dia allows unlimited journeys within a day
• T-10 allows 10 journeys
• T-50/30 allows 50 journeys made within 30 consecutive days
•T-Mes allows unlimited journeys within a month
•T-Trimestre allows an unlimited number of journeys within 90 consecutive days
•T-Jove allows an unlimited number of journeys within 90 consecutive days for those under 25 years of age
•T-70/30 which is a multi-person travel card for 70 journeys made within 30 consecutive days
•In addition, there are cards which offer free public transportaton for child and senior residents, and reduced fare cards for single-parent families and large-family discounts
QUICK FACTS
• The metro station Uriquinaona is named after the 19th century bishop of Barcelona who lends his name to the Plaça d’Urquinaona.
•The metro station Les Corts, which comes from the Latin cohor does not refer to any court but to rural houses or masias that used to be in the area.
•The metro station Drassanes is named after Drassanes Reials de Barcelona, the medieval shipyard that currently holds the Museu Marítim de Barcelona.
•The metro station Fontana is named after an old fountain which used to exist in Gràcia.
BARCELONA'S GHOST STATIONS
Barcelona’s metro has a few ghost stations:
• Correos: Closed down in 1972 in order to make way for an extension towards Barceloneta. You can still see the station’s old platforms when you travel on the Metro, so keep an eye out for it when you pass between the stations Jaume l and Barceloneta on Line 4.
• Ferran: It was closed in 1986 when the line was extended to Drassanes.
• Gaudí: Constructed in 1968, it was supposed to function within the old Line 2, with a connection to Line 5. It is located just below Avinguda Gaudí, in front of the Sagrada Família. It is the only station on the TMB network that was never used. The station is sometimes illuminated and visible, and you can still see the original station entrances. www.tmb.cat