Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has been guaranteeing mobility in the city since the start of the general blackout yesterday. The bus service has been operating with almost 900 vehicles on the street from the very beginning, and the metro was restored as soon as the tension was reinstated. The buses reached a historical record with 1,250,000 passengers. The metro resumed partial operations five hours after the blackout and restored its usual service throughout the entire network by 3 am.

The president of TMB, Laia Bonet, expressed her ‘incredible appreciation for TMB workers’ for keeping up bus mobility despite the traffic circumstances and for restoring the metro service. Bonet also recalled that ‘the bus service was extended until 12 midnight and the metro had an additional 125 professionals working to offer non-stop service all night long’.

The TMB continued running when the power went out across the country at 12:30 pm, although with changes in its timetable caused by traffic jams and problems with stop lights. This service extended its timetable until 12 midnight, with the sole exception of the on-request and neighbourhood bus lines. This extension of the service was possible thanks to the dedication of the professionals in the bus area, who decided to work longer shifts.

The metro service was totally out of service at around 12:30 pm, when the electricity was out everywhere. Trains began running again at around 5:30 pm, with the launch of the stretch on line 1 between Fondo and La Sagrera. By 12 midnight, the metro service was operating at 90% capacity, and by 3 am it had been fully restored.

Gradual restoration of the metro

The first thing the metro staff did after the blackout, in cooperation with the Guàrdia Urbana (city police), the fire brigade and the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police force) was to rescue the users who remained in the 24 trains that had been stranded between stations.

The restoration of part of the energy supply allowed the service to start being restored, L1 first on the stretch between Fondo and La Sagrera at 5:34 pm. Shortly thereafter, the L5 was able to restore its service between the Cornellà Centre and Diagonal stations. The automatic L9 North and L10 South lines were also restored, while line 1 extended its service running between Hospital de Bellvitge and Mercat Nou. Thirty percent of the metro lines were operating by around 6:30 pm, and all the automatic lines, including L9 and L10 South, had been restored. Line 5 was totally restored by 8:30 pm, while L4 was running between Maragall and Passeig de Gràcia.

When more than half the network was operating (52%), TMB decided to extend the service all night long on an exceptional basis and provide citizens with non-stop service on the available train lines. This measure was possible thanks to the decision of more than 125 metro professionals to work double shifts in order to offer this service.

By 10 pm, the metro had also restored service on L3 between the Montbau and Zona Universitària stations, and L4 was working as far as the Via Júlia station. Ninety percent of the service had been restored by 12 midnight, with the addition of L3 in its entirety and L2 between La Pau and Badalona Pompeu Fabra.

Finally, the entire metro service was running as usual by around 3 am, guaranteeing citizens’ right to mobility this Tuesday.