metro

Asbestos found in trains leads to workers calling for better conditions

The second day of the congress sees various technological wonders in robotic technology, with the metro strike continuing since Monday

Event director reveals fair was about to move out of Catalonia last year due to independence issue

The stoppage is to last for the four days of the Barcelona fair starting February 25

Cab owners to decide whether to end strike, continue it, or consider further protest next month

Territory minister warns that not raising ticket prices means government will have €25m less for improvements

Workers denounce "repeated violations" by heads of Barcelona transport operator (TMB)

The Barcelona Metro is on strike today, Monday, which means that service is reduced to a minimum between 7 and 9 am, 4 and 6 pm, and from 8:30 to 10:30 pm. The Barcelona Metro strike began this morning after the negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement between the unions and the Metro board. The first visible signs of the conflict were the crowds on the metro platforms and in the metro trains, which increased from 7 o’clock on. The strike had previously been announced and the passengers who had heard about it had advanced their travel schedule to prevent delays.

The new ‘Metropolis’ trains will be manufactured at the company factory in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, in Barcelona. Alstom has signed a €200 million contract with Graña y Montero Ferrovías to supply 20 train sets (120 cars) for Line 1 of the Lima Metro, in Peru, and 19 additional new carriages to complete the existing train sets already in use on the line. The Catalan factory will design and manufacture the new carriages, which are inspired by the Barcelona Metro. With the new trains the Lima Metro will more than double its transportation capacity, from 20,000 passengers per hour to 48,000.

Barcelona commuters have endured this Monday long queues and delays due to a new strike by employees of the city’s metro. Despite the minimum services agreed by the Catalan Ministry of Work, platforms have been especially crowded during peak time this Monday morning, with some trains so full that no more passengers could be taken on board. Metro workers have called a week of strikes between the 30th of May and the 2nd of June, with an interruption in service expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on the metro, and on Friday in the bus service.

From this Monday until the 25^th of February leading brands in the mobile phone-related industries such as Samsung, LG and Sony will present their latest wares and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton will be amongst the speakers. A record figure of 100,000 visitors are expected and 2,100 international exhibitors have confirmed their attendance at the fair, consolidating Barcelona as a true meeting point for the sector. The 2016 edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) will take place amid major security measures due to the terrorist attacks in Paris last November and will also be affected by the metro strike, whichTransports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) will carry out on the key days of the MWC. Thus, the recently opened new metro line, the L9, won’t contribute as much mobility as expected.

Every party with representation in the 41-seat Barcelona City Council, except for one small party holding 3 seats, were present at the signing of the official proposal that will be sent to the Mobile World Congress' organisers in order to continue hosting the event until 2023. The MWC is the world's main event of the mobile phone-related industries and since 2006 has taken place each year in Barcelona. The current contract expires in 2018 and there are other cities that want to host the event besides the Catalan capital. The 2015 edition attracted 93,000 visitors in Barcelona, 9% more than in 2014. Most of those who attended were executives from international companies staying for 4 or 5 days in town. It was estimated that the 2015 edition had a €436 million impact on the local economy and generated more than 12,600 temporary jobs. Furthermore, Barcelona has been named the Mobile World Capital, a long-term project to make the Catalan city a hub for this industry, hosting standardisation organisations, multinationals and international research centres focused on related technologies.

Barcelona’s main airport should be finally connected by underground railway by February 2016, after years of accumulated delays due to the economic crisis. Works in the stretch of the Line 9 that will connect Barcelona El Prat Airport with the rest of the metro network were completed months ago and now trains have started to circulate to run functioning trials. According to the announced schedule, passengers should be able to use this service as of February 2016, in time for the Mobile World Congress, which is the main event of the mobile phone industry at world level, which takes place each year in Barcelona. The Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Santi Vila, also announced that passengers travelling to and from the airport by metro will have an additional fee on top of the regular underground tariff. However the fee’s amount has not been announced yet. 

40 municipalities in Barcelona's Metropolitan Area, are to half the price of public transport during incidents of high air pollution. This is part of a Catalan Government plan for the improvement of air quality with the goal to fight climate change, affecting 4.3 million people. The main objective of the plan is to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and of particle matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10). The plan also includes the promotion of rail travel and increasing highway tolls and the fares of municipal parking within these areas by 25% on polluted days. In addition, there will be tax breaks for those industries achieving lower emissions. The measures are aimed at the mobility of people and goods, industrial activity, and citizens’ habits.

On Friday early morning the 10km metro tunnel of Barcelona that links Universitat and Gorg stations became the track of the second edition of Discovery Underground. This is the only urban underground race in the world going through the centre of big cities and it is an original idea of the Spanish television channel Discovery MAX. 300 men and women with background stories that assimilate the channel's premise "ordinary people living extraordinary experiences" ran for about 1.45h, with the first two people arriving at the minute 39. 2014 Discovery Underground Barcelona marks the beginning of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the Metro of Barcelona.