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Barcelona has one of the world’s oldest, most interesting, and potentially the most confusing metro systems, and in today’s video we give it a much needed explainer! Enjoy.
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Ever wondered why your city’s transit just doesn’t seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.
32 Comments
S1 and S2 now stops at all the stations!
Barcelona is one of Europes finest Cities
I love Barcelonas transit system. Absolutley amazing. Could you do an explainer video on the transit system in La Paz, Bolivia? It's such a unique system and we could learn a lot from it.
Barcelona's urban planning is definitely unique! Heck, they PIONEERED it! Barcelona's Ildefons Cerdà was the guy who coined the term urbanization and changed the way we think about cities! Constricted by its medieval walls, Barcelona was suffocating as its population overflowed and couldn't handle the density with high mortality rates, until the then unknown Ildefons came up with a radical expansion plan. His plan consisted of a grid of streets that would unite the old city with seven peripheral villages (which later became integral Barcelona neighborhoods such as Gràcia and Sarrià). The united area was almost four times the size of the old city (which was around 2 sq km) and would come to be known as Eixample.
Cerdà decided to avoid repeating past errors by undertaking a comprehensive study of how the working classes lived in the old city. He concluded that, among other things, the narrower the city’s streets, the more deaths occurred. He added gardens in each block, made sure access to services for the rich and poor were equal, and made room for smooth-flowing traffic. The octagonal blocks, chamfered in the corners, were his unique idea to deal with traffic, allowing drivers to see more easily what was happening to the left and right. Cars of course didn't exist then, but when he learned about trains, he figured there would be some sort of thing powered by steam that would use the streets. His gravestone, fittingly, is a model of the Eixample.
Both the Sagrada Familia and Park Güel served as inspiration for parts of Mesagoza in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet. Montjuïc was the perfect setting for the 1992 Olympic Park. Not only because the main stadium was already built there in 1927 (when Barcelona made a bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics; losing to Berlin), but also because Montjuïc is the birthplace of the city and its strategic location on the Mediterranean and the Llobregat River has made it significant throughout history. So what better way to show the tourists what Barcelona is all about than to have them all gather at a place of huge significance. Fun fact, Montjuïc means Jewish Mountain in medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery was discovered there.
Construction of the Sagrada Família began under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar in 1882. In 1883, when Villar resigned, Gaudí took over as chief architect. By the time he passed in 1926, less than a quarter of it was complete. The project has gone through so much from the Spanish Civil War to anarchists partially destroying his original plans. But it has continued, and Barcelona has something to be proud of. The construction of the Sagrada Família shows what it means to never give up!
Day 56 of asking for Tehran
Hi, I heard in another video on the l line that you'd made a video on Brisbane's cross river rail but couldn't track it down? I was wondering if this video was still up or have I misunderstood?
Man… As my home city, I tend to use the metro a lot, not for methods of travelling, but enjoyment. It's just such a large system but yet really compact, that the fact that you can ride around the network for hours without getting bored, as there are so many different lines, trains and operators. It's genuinely a privilege to be able to live in Barcelona, as such well organized system can't be found in not that many places. L9/L10, If you ever ride the Southern Branches, enjoy the terrific english announcements, the voice is quite funny at times (The Tri-Language announcement which play on L9S/L10S do not play on L9N/L10N as it's meant for airport passengers, as the Southern section goes to the Airport). By the way, L1 does not stop at Sants Estació, but at Plaça de Sants, which is a horribly long interchange with a ton of stairs to get to L5. However, that doesn't beat the interchange you have to do at Passeig de Gracia between L3/Rodalies and L2/L4. It takes an average of 5 minutes, if you ever visit, try to avoid it, as it's just long and tedious (because it has to avoid a car park).
Okay now that I've said what I had to say, I'm grateful you did an explainer video on Barcelona, it's been a couple of years of anticipating this video, and honestly, you did a great job describing it, you got the information right. (And I have to agree, FGC logo looks nice and simple, the old orange one is similar just more rough as the curves weren't rounded but the new green one is pretty amazing, however it doesn't match with FGC's Liveries which did match with the old orange logo).
P.S. I'm pretty sure it's North and South, not East and West in terms if you are talking about L9 and L10 (Since technically one is in the North and one in the South)
I'd like to see a Sevilla Metro Explained. Would make a great 15 sec video.
Is there an integrated fare card like our Ontario Presto?
FINALLYYYY
The seemingly haphazard way that the lines wander all over the city means that they interconnect a LOT, which makes for less complicated trips–it's very likely that you can get where you want to go with only one transfer if any.
I studied abroad to here last semester and the metro itself is INCREDIBLY easy to figure out. Especially considering they include colors and numbers everywhere.
Do one for Shanghai Metro pls. Today is her 30th birthday! (1993-2023/05/28, for line 1)
What a hodgepodge!
FGS the underground for rich people xD the lines cover the most wealthy neighbours of barcelona
Hey Reece, I've found something bizarre about Barcelona's metro and that questions the reality, feasibility and/or time frane of lines 9/10 central tunnel's completion.
A French Urbex YouTuber specialized in extreme explorations has managed to go canoeing in front of the cutting wheel of what looks like to be an abandoned TBM and building site in an abandoned tunnel in Barcelona.
When I saw that, I became quite worried about line 9/10's effective completion.
To avoid people doing the same thing and risking their lives, he never gives the precise location of its explorations but many have found out that it was Barcelona and lines 9/10's central tunnel.
What's your take on the effective completion of lines 9/10 ? And the schedule ? The video here makes it look like a distant dream given the state of delapidation of the TBM.
My comment keeps disappearing because of the video link, I'll try to send it to you through other means.
In the meantime here are the titles of both videos (another Urbex YouTuber has found the entry and also explored it more recently) :
1) "Je navigue devant un tunnelier abandonné ! (Top a de mes exploitations)"
By "Nico Mathieux", 3 years ago.
2) 'Impossible de prédire ce genre de chose … le tunnelier abandonné infiltration / urbex 23"
By "Max Von Croft", 6 months ago.
Your video is brilliant as always ! And Barcelona's metro is great, I love using it every time I'm in Barna.
llobregat anoia meter gauge trains s213 have standard gauge loading gauge
I'm glad you changed the title of the video.
For me at least the only problem with Barcelona's metro are L9 ridiculously low speeds. It takes forever to go from the airport to the city center. You spend 30 min on the train, slowly dragging itself through the line's curvy alignment, hearing the same 3 PA announcements over and over again.
A must city to visit. Love the rolling stock.
Just rode it. Pretty bloody good
IM DIYING THE PRONUNTIATION😭😭😭😭😭
Careful because not all the data you're giving on the Barcelona-Vallès line is actually precise. The line was electrified on 600V DC and converted to international gauge from Barcelona to Sarrià on the 10s. The extension of the line to Sabadell and Terrassa (Vallès region) was already built in standard gauge and electrified on 1200V DC on the 20s-30s. Nowadays all the line operates on 1500V DC. Also, the segment between Sarrià and Reina Elisenda was built in 1976.
I'll just add to the "confusing / not confusing" debate that it's been surprising to me, over various visits, that with so many Metro lines there's not a simple, direct service between the airport and the Eixample and city center– although it sounds like that's in the works. And that being said, the airport bus is outstandingly frequent and reliable. Still, it just seems odd that with such a straightforward road route into the city, the very extensive Metro has been so complicated in providing what's clearly one of the most important connections for any city.
Should be noted that the Provença to Diagonal link, while being marked on maps as a link, requires going above ground. It'd be nice if one day they dug a foot tunnel, but it's not planned.
That tram at 2:30 is so cute. I want to kiss it gently on its forehead.
I visited Barcelona for a October Half Term holiday in 2014.
I enjoyed travelling on the Metro and visiting Montjuic.
Hispania 220 BC.
Originally L4 (yellow) did reach almost the end of L2 (purple) and the rest of the L2 line wasn't used (but parts of it were build in the 60s, 70s and 90s). L2 was inaugurated in the 59, but closed in the 1970, and reopened again the year 1995 and in the 2001 the last stations of L4 were transferred to L2 reaching the current shape in 2010.
Finally❤
Sants Merto is L3 and L5, L1 doesn't go there.