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Metro In Barcelona
The most efficient means of transport to move around and explore the city of Barcelona is the underground Metro. It is convenient and reliable, apart from being the most economical, considering the various other means of transports. While the city centre is extensively covered by the five major Metro lines, other four lines cover the greater metropolitan area and the suburban. For convenience, the lines are coded in colours. During peak hours, there is a train in every three and half minutes, while those during the off-peak hours are available at an interval of four and a half minutes. On weekdays trains run between 5.00 and 23.00 hours, and on Fridays and Saturdays, they are available till 1.00 am. If you intend to take several trips then you can save by purchasing single ticket with many rides.
The first metro line in Barcelona was opened on 30 December, 1924, after the construction started three years earlier. The first metro line was between Lesseps and Catalunya. Two years later the line was extended to Liceo. The first full metro line in Barcelona was between Lesseps and Catalunya, which also covered Fontana, Diagonal and Aragon, and was known as the Gran Metro de Barcelona. This line is now known as the L3 (Green Line).
Today, there are nine complete Metro lines in Barcelona. The lines L1 to L5 and L11 are operated by the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), and the lines L6 to L8 are operated by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), under the local government of Catalunya. Till 2004, the metro lines covered a distance of about 102 kms, covering 140 stations. In 2000, considering the increasing passenger traffic the Barcelona Transport Authority approved a major expansion plan for the metro with two new lines L9 and L10 covering 43 kms., and extending over 10 years. After completing the project Barcelona will have one of the extensive Metro railways in the world.
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