{"id":67652,"date":"2016-05-17T15:09:26","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T13:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=67652"},"modified":"2016-06-10T14:06:07","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T12:06:07","slug":"public-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/public-transport\/","title":{"rendered":"A history of public transport in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona has a well-organised and world-class integrated <strong>transport<\/strong>\u00a0system, comprised of subways, trams, buses and suburban railways. It took over a century for this modern transport system to take shape. Let&#8217;s read about some of the major developments.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/public-transport\/#Early_public_transport_in_Barcelona\" title=\"Early public transport in Barcelona\">Early public transport in Barcelona<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/public-transport\/#Public_transport_in_modern-day_Barcelona\" title=\"Public transport in modern-day Barcelona\">Public transport in modern-day Barcelona<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Early_public_transport_in_Barcelona\"><\/span>Early public transport in Barcelona<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_67893\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Tramvia-Blau.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67893\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-67893\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Tramvia-Blau-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: paul_appleyard via VisualHunt.com \/ CC BY-NC-SA\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-67893\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: paul_appleyard via VisualHunt.com \/ CC BY-NC-SA<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first <strong>trams<\/strong> in Barcelona were pulled by horses. Horse-drawn trams were introduced to the city in 1872, closely followed by the introduction of steam <strong>trams<\/strong> in 1877. The first steam <strong>tram<\/strong> line ran from the Pla\u00e7a Catalunya to St Andreu. The steam-operated tramway network was rapidly expanded towards the end of the 19th Century, with many people believing this to be the <strong>transport<\/strong> of the future. The 45-degree cut corners of residential blocks in the Eixample district were in fact built to facilitate the movement of steam <strong>trams<\/strong> around this new area of the city. Although electrification of the <strong>tram<\/strong> network followed, and there was further expansion of the <strong>tram<\/strong> lines early in the 20th Century, the ascendancy of the <strong>tram<\/strong> was to be relatively short-lived. By 1971, all of the tramlines except that of the <em>Tramvia Blau<\/em> had been removed, having been replaced by <b>subway<\/b>, suburban <strong>rail<\/strong> and <strong>bus<\/strong> services.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 1863, the first suburban <strong>rail<\/strong> service in Barcelona, a line running from Sarri\u00e0 to the city centre, was opened. Part of this line survives today in its conversion to <strong>metro<\/strong> L6. The first funicular to open was the Funicular del Tibidabo, in 1901, followed by the Funicular de Vallvidrera in 1906. The former carried passengers to the amusement park which was under construction at the same time, while the latter linked the neighbourhood of Vallvidrera in the Collserola mountains to the Sarri\u00e0 suburban train line.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona\u2019s<strong> metro<\/strong> service began life in 1924, with the opening of the first section of line running from Lesseps to Pla\u00e7a Catalunya. This was to become part of the modern-day L3 line. Next came Monju\u00efc Funicular in 1928, and the following year, a line running from Catalunya to la Bordeta. This line was constructed in order to link the city centre to the Pla\u00e7a Espanya and Montju\u00efc in time for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. It has today been extended into the L1 line running from Hospital de Bellvitge to Fondo.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Buses<\/strong> were introduced to the city in 1906, with the first permanent urban bus service beginning in 1922. Since then the network has expanded and bus services have evolved to meet the needs of the modern world, connecting all the major districts to the city centre.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Public <strong>transport<\/strong> was affected greatly by the ravages of the Civil War. Many of the tram lines were damaged by air-raids, and sabotages of the <strong>rail<\/strong> networks also took place. In addition to this, there was very little capital available with which to run the <strong>transport<\/strong> system. In the aftermath of war, the city&#8217;s <strong>transport<\/strong> networks were gradually repaired and reinstated. In 1951, the municipal government gradually began to take over the management of transport services which had previously been run by private companies. The transport system had been fully municipalized by 1958, and this led to the eventual formation of the <strong>TMB<\/strong>, FGC and TramMet companies which are responsible for running Barcelona\u2019s transport systems today.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Public_transport_in_modern-day_Barcelona\"><\/span>Public transport in modern-day Barcelona<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_67894\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/TramBarcelona.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67894\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-67894\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/TramBarcelona-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: UT440 131M via VisualHunt \/ CC BY-NC-ND\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-67894\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: UT440 131M via VisualHunt \/ CC BY-NC-ND<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The municipal <strong>transport<\/strong> system grew rapidly in the 1980s, with the <strong>rail<\/strong> network almost doubling in size and extending well beyond the boundaries of the city. In the 1990s the L2 line was opened, running from Paral\u22c5lel to Badalona. A new tram network was introduced in 2004, comprising the Trambaix (lines T1, 2 and 3, linking Baix Llobregat to the city) and Trambes\u00f2s (T4, 5 and 6, connecting Badalona &amp; St Adri\u00e0 de Bes\u00f2s to the Sant Mart\u00ed district of Barcelona).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Today\u2019s <strong>metro<\/strong> system consists of 11 lines and the Funicular de Montju\u00efc, with L9 and 10 having been opened most recently (the section of L9 linking the airport to the Zona Universit\u00e0ria opened only this year). Work to extend these lines is still under way. In addition, there is an extensive bus network crisscrossing the urban and suburban areas, with the greater Catalonia region being served by FGC and <em>Rodalies de Catalunya<\/em>, both of which operate metropolitan services within Barcelona itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As Barcelona\u2019s public<strong> transport<\/strong> fare system is integrated, you can buy a <strong>TMB<\/strong> ticket and travel on all of these modes of transport within the urban and suburban area (check the map for the zone boundaries). However, not all integrated tickets include travel to and from the airport. When visiting Barcelona for a short time, you have the option of buying a \u2018Hola BCN\u2019 2,3,4 or 5-day ticket, which includes your travel to and from the airport. If you are staying for a longer period, the T-tickets represent better value, as you have a choice of 10 integrated journeys, 50 journeys within 30 days or monthly tickets (for which a photo-card is required: ask at <strong>TMB<\/strong> offices for further details). Now you have the<strong> transport<\/strong> system at your disposal, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SH Barcelona<\/a> for all your short-, mid- and long-term accommodation needs so that you can experience the best of Barcelona whatever the length of your stay.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"67652\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Rate us!<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona has a well-organised and world-class integrated transport\u00a0system, comprised of subways, trams, buses and suburban railways. It took over a century for this modern transport system to take shape. Let&#8217;s read about some of the major developments. Table of Contents Early public transport in BarcelonaPublic transport in modern-day Barcelona Early public transport in Barcelona The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":67653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4597],"tags":[1930,4202,769],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67652"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110117,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67652\/revisions\/110117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}