Who has not dreamed of getting some time, even for a few minutes, at the helm of the Barcelona subway cars to see life pass between platforms from that crystallized office that lets us glimpse the driver every time a train enters the station? Well now you can do it, because TMB will open, for the first time to the public the simulation cabins where train drivers are trained.
It will be on 26 and 27 July, as part of the centenary of the city’s metro. And yes, indeed, it will be like getting into a life-size video game with the Barcelona metro as the protagonist.
What the subway simulators are like
The simulation booths are located at Plaça de Catalunya station, and have eight simulators that replicate to the millimeter the real desks of the different train models.
In addition, there are also 3 stations for training in traffic telecommand, identical to those that exist in the Metro Control Center (CCM), and which allow the training of future traffic controllers. In total, 11 simultaneous training stations. In the future, there is the possibility of extending the facilities by adding two more simulation cabins for driving.
Since they opened in November 2024, more than 441 professionals have passed through these rooms, and it is planned to close 2025 with 328 more driver candidates, who will have a total of 2,800 hours of training in the new simulators.
In these cabins, future drivers are trained (such as those who will start this summer), and also serve to update the knowledge of active staff. In fact, according to TMB itself, thanks to these training sessions, driving-related incidents have been reduced by more than 10%.
When will the simulations take place and how to sign up?
The visits will take place on July 26 and 27, and during the tour the attendees -prior registration, whose process will be detailed soon- will be able to discover how these technological tools work and even try some of the available simulators.
In addition, the Metro Control Center (MCC) will also open its doors to the public. In this case, it can be visited not only on the last weekend of July, but also on the 19th and 20th of the same month. On the other hand, the previous weekend (July 19 and 20), it will also be possible to visit the metro control center, an equally exclusive experience normally reserved for internal staff.
All visits will require reservations, but TMB has not yet specified when the period for making these reservations will open.