Traveling back in time to visit Barcelona's Correus metro ghost station

The meeting point is Àngel Square, next to the Jaume I metro station. The time is 1:00 am on a warm October night in Barcelona.

A group of journalists and city enthusiasts will travel back in time in a 30-minute visit to Correus, one of Barcelona's metro ghost stations.

After entering Jaume I metro station as a group, we were shown a two-minute video on the history of the Correus station, giving spectators an idea of the different renovation works the station has seen.

Correus shut down in 1972 when authorities extended the L4 metro line, the yellow line, to the south, opening the Barceloneta station. Because of the proximity to Jaume I and Barceloneta, metro management decided to close down the station for good.

After the video, the 15 to 20-people groups walk for around 150 meters on the tracks to reach Correus. To arrive at the station, it is as easy as walking down a small ramp and a set of stairs at the end of Jaume I’s platform, and then walk in a straight line.

During the walk, you can see the different security elements that make the metro work, as well as recently installed cardboards with the figures of tunnel workers. Metro officials explained that the idea is to transport visitors to what it was like when workers had to build the tunnel in 1934 under Via Laietana boulevard. The experience also has sound effects to make it more realistic.

Adrián was one of the lucky ticket holders who said that "from inside the tunnel, you experience it differently," as he relates his previous experiences with Correus when he passes on the metro.

"This is an important part of the city's history that explains how we move," he added. Arnau, another of the visitors, said that it "was very interesting to see how the metro was built," and highlighted that the metro station "had been frozen in time for the last 50 years."

The station is now part of the L4 metro line, trains pass through it without stoping, and all lights are switched off, so metro users would have a hard time seeing the old posters.

Some of the posters, still hanging, announce a new product by the French yogurt maker Danone, and a candidate for a regional election in the early 1970s, still during Franco’s regime.

Before it was expanded, Correus used to be the last stop of the metro at the time, with passengers boarding trains from what is now the tracks facing Jaume I. But the most unique sight is the area where the metro used to stop (the tracks facing Barceloneta), as visitors will still be able to read ‘Correos’ in capital letters and written in red.

During the visit, Barcelona’s public transport president Laia Bonet said that this is the first time that it is open to visits in over half-a-century, and that this is an “exceptional” event, as they cannot repeat the experience as often as they would like to.

”We wanted to schedule this activity to explain the metro’s history,” Bonet told media outlets.

Centenary celebrations

Visits have been offered to 270 lucky attendees, who were the fastest ones in obtaining one of the free-tickets to visit the metro station known as Correus. Ticket booking opened in early September, and in a matter of minutes, all tickets were sold out.

There are a total of 18 groups of around 15 people each, divided between October 20, 21, and 22, and November 17, 18, and 19.

TMB, Barcelona's public transport organization, launched a campaign to approach the metro to the city residents to commemorate the centenary of the metro. 

Aside from Correus, TMB also offered visits to Gaudí ghost station, next to Sagrada Família, and discovering metro simulators where drivers train daily.

While Correus will be more difficult to schedule new visiting opportunities, Bonet had already announced that they will open more dates to enter Gaudí's ghost station.

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