Tickets to visit Barcelona's metro driving simulators sold out in one hour

The expectation was high as many wanted to visit the newly unveiled metro simulators of the Barcelona network. It was a historic occasion coinciding with the centenary of the underground, and in just one hour, all tickets were gone.

Gone as the metro the moment you rush to the platform.

Barcelona's Metropolitan Transport Authority (TMB) announced on Wednesday morning that the tickets were already available on the obrimelmetro.cat website. People could visit the Metro's Control Center and driving simulator facilities, the latter located at Plaça de Catalunya.

There have been only 768 fortunate people, and around 40 children, bringing the total to 800 people, who will be able to visit these two sites.

TMB announced past 10 am on Wednesday that tickets were available for the 768 spots divided between the Control Center and the driving simulators for July 19, 20, 26, and 27.

But one hour later, around 11 a.m., the official account of the city's public transport announced that "tickets were sold out."

In the fall, new days will be available, and visitors will have the opportunity to visit the metro workshops and the ghost stations of Gaudí and Correos, as well as the simulator facilities and the Control Center.

The Control Center operates all year round, every hour of the day, to ensure smooth operation of the 126-kilometer network. It supervises nine metro lines, 185 train stations, 165 trains at peak hours, and over 1.5 million daily passengers.

There were 576 slots for the control site (144 people per day) and 192 for trying the new simulators (96 people per day).

Metro drivers use these facilities to practice before entering the real world. Since the site opened its doors to the first drivers, 441 trainees have been trained, totaling 2,800 hours. The simulators replicate, to the millimeter, the metro network and all the incidents a driver can face during their working day.

This has helped reduce incidents by 10%.

"It could feel like less valuable work, but it has allowed drivers to gain a lot of experience in identifying incidents," said Laia Bonet, president of the Barcelona public transport authority (TMB).

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