Transport enthusiasts will be able to visit Barcelona’s “ghost stations” this autumn.
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) announced that for the first time in history visitors will be allowed into the unused Correos and Gaudí metro stations.
As part of its centenary celebrations, TMB has opened eight different spaces that are usually closed to the public for free in September, October, and November.
The first ghost station to open will be Gaudí, which was built in 1968 but never put into service. Guided tours of the platform will allow visitors to hear about 100 years of the transport network’s history.
The second, Correos station, was in operation from 1934 to 1972.
Correos does not have an access point from the street. This means that visitors must walk along the tracks to reach the site when the metro is not running.
Alongside the ghost stations, other heritage sites in the metro system will be available to visit, including the old Urquinaona spiral staircase and the Santa Eulàlia workshop, the oldest on the metro, which opened in 1922.
The ZAL, another workshop where the systems that allow the metro to operate are found, will also be open, as well as the Mercat Nou electrical substation, a Renaissance-inspired building featuring traditional and modern Catalan art.
Visitors will also be able to experience what it is like to be a metro train driver at the control centre’s driving simulator room.
Xavier Flores, CEO of TMB, said: “We are celebrating 100 years of the metro with its protagonists: the metro professionals, who make the service possible every day, and the citizens of Barcelona.
“For this reason, we want to open the most emblematic spaces of the metro network both for those who work there and for users.”
TMB is offering 5,033 free tickets to these heritage sites, with registration for these places available on its website.
The first visits to the spaces began on 13 September, but the ghost stations will be available for visits on several days in October and November.
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