Passengers who were on the L1 train affected by the 27 July fire between Clot and Glòries have told the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) municipal group that smoke entered the carriages before anyone opened the doors. Their account conflicts with Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the city's public transport operator, which said the train stopped at 17:36 and passengers opened doors at 17:39.
For L1 commuters, TMB has said it will audit tunnel linings across the Metro network and review emergency information for passengers after the incident. The fire was in the catenary, the overhead electrical equipment that powers trains.
“The smoke entered before the doors opened.”
The statement was sent to ERC councillor Elisenda Alamany by a passenger representing ten people on the train, according to Tot Barcelona's reporting. The passenger said the group opened the doors after breathing smoke for about half an hour.
Another passenger, Valèria, previously told Tot Barcelona that smoke entered while the doors were shut. She said passengers spent ten minutes inside the train before leaving it, then walked on the tracks for five minutes towards Glòries.
TMB says opened doors prevented the train reversing
TMB's account, reported by Tot Barcelona, says the driver stopped the Clot-bound-to-Glòries train 60 metres from the fire at 17:36 and alerted the Metro Control Centre. The driver was instructed at 17:38 to take the train back to Clot, which required moving to the cab at the other end.
TMB said some passengers activated emergency door handles and entered the track area at 17:39. It said this allowed smoke to spread through the train and made the planned reverse movement impossible because people were on the tracks.
The passenger representing the group disputed that account, saying the driver did not say he intended to move the train when they spoke and that no doors had yet been opened. The driver was the last person to leave after checking that the train was empty, TMB said. Barcelona Fire Department confirmed the evacuation was complete at 18:08.
The Medical Emergency System, Catalonia's public ambulance service, treated 137 people: 131 with minor injuries and six with less serious injuries, according to Tot Barcelona. Initial estimates put the number evacuated at about 300, while Barcelona Fire Department chief Sebastià Massagué later put it at about 120.
Network-wide lining audit and passenger guidance planned
TMB chief executive Xavier Flores said the fire involved a 48-metre waterproofing lining installed in December 2019 during reinforcement work on the L1 tunnel vault linked to the Glòries road-tunnel works. TMB said the lining partially detached and came into contact with the catenary.
“If any element is found to behave differently from expected in a fire, it will be replaced.”
Flores said TMB's audit will include laboratory analysis of the lining involved in the fire, an inventory of waterproofing elements across the Metro network and an assessment of their behaviour in a fire, as reported by El Nacional. TMB says the lining that burned is not used elsewhere on the network.
The extraordinary TMB board meeting was requested by ERC and Junts per Barcelona, a municipal political group. ERC councillor Jordi Coronas called for emergency protocols to be reviewed and for measures that reduce the risk of passengers entering panic and opening train doors during an incident.
TMB has also said it intends to add safety advice inside trains, alongside messages from the Metro Control Centre and drivers during disruptions.
Primary sources: noticies.tmb.cat. Reported by Source Text Link, europapress.es, thetraveler.org, Joan Antoni Guerrero Vall, Mar Puerto, Judit Bertran, Tot Barcelona.
