A stunning Spanish city beloved by British holidaymakers is opening up eerie, abandoned “ghost stations” to the public for the first time. Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the Catalonian capital’s main public transit operator, announced that visitors will be able to walk through some of the city’s iconic hidden metro stations – one of which has been disused for decades – as part of its centerary celebrations.
To mark the occasion, the organisation making eight different spaces that are normally off-limits available to explore this autumn. Sites being opened in slots in September, October, and November include the famous Gaudi and Correos “ghost stations”. The Gaudi station is named after Antoni Gaudi, the celebrated architect and designer whose otherworldly constructions can be seen throughout Barcelona.
Located near Sagrada Família, one Gaudi’s most best-known constructions, the station was built in the 1960s and had originally been planned to be part of of the old Line II of the city’s metro system, but the plan was abandoned and the fully completed station was never opened.
However, normally the Line 5 train passes through it, meaning locals have previously only ever been able to catch a brief glimpse of it. They’ll now be able to enjoy a guided tour and learn about its intriguing story.
The Correos station, which sits between the existing stations of Jaume I and Barceloneta, was in operation for almost 40 years between 1934 and 1972, after which it became disused.
There’s no longer an entrance from street level, so visitors who have booked a visit will have to walk along the tracks from Jaume I station. The visiting slots are at night when the metro service isn’t running, as per Catalan News.
Other sites in the metro system not normally accessible to the public can also be seen, including areas normally entered only by maintainance workers and engineers, The Olive Press reports.
The old Urquinaona spiral staircase can also be seen, as well as the Santa Eulàlia workshop, which dates back to 1922, and is the oldest on the network.
Additionally, train enthusiasts can see how services are operated at another workshop, ZAL, and visit the famous Mercat Nou electrical substation.
You’ll even be able to test your skills as a metro train driver at a driving simulator room.
TMB’s chief executive Xavier Flores 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.”
5,033 free tickets are being made available by TMB to see the sites, which can be applied for on its website, where further information about the celebrations can be found.
Time slots to visit these spaces opened on September 13, though there will be a number of dates for visiting the ghost stations next month and in November, as per The Independent.
