Barcelona metro pilots real-time car occupancy information screens

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has begun to show the occupancy level of trains arriving at three stations on line five of the Barcelona metro, thanks to new screens on the platforms that receive information from load sensors installed on the trains. This is a pilot test of transport scanning which aims to benefit the user by providing real-time relevant information.

Through an ad hoc development, the information is transmitted to the platforms so that users can know the actual position of the train arriving, as well as the level of occupancy of each car, on a scale of one to four. This aims to allow users to decide where to stand on the platform to board the least busy part of the train, or whether the best option is to wait for a second train. TMB aims for this feature to offer more comfortable journeys, as well as allow better operation, which will optimise the occupancy of trains.

The pilot test is to be carried out at three stations on L5 of the Barcelona metro (Cornellà Center – Vall d’Hebron), because it is considered one of the most popular lines of the metro network. All three stations were chosen from those of medium to high affluence. In two of the stations (Sants Estació and Hospital Clínic), the screens have been added to existing systems, whereas screens in the third station (Entença) have been replaced.

All new screens are 37 inches, and text appears in Catalan, Spanish and English. The test is carried out by means of an external contract and the system will be studied to decide whether to extend it to other stations on the network.