Opened in 2016, the station is located underneath the airport terminal and consists of two levels. The trains run on the lower level, where there is a 16-metre (52 ft) island platform featuring screen doors. Adjacent to the station is a depot that can accommodate 12 trains.[1] A new commuter rail link is projected to reach the station around 2018.[needs update]
History
A tunnelling machine began excavating the tunnel for Barcelona Metro line 9 from Mas Blau to the Airport T1 station in March 2008 and finished in April 2009. The completion of the station's main structure was part of the construction of terminal T1, which opened in June 2009.
When the terminal opened, the airport branch of L9 was expected to be ready for passenger service in 2012.[2] In March 2012, however, the Government of Catalonia announced that the opening date for the 20-kilometre (12 mi) section of the line between the airport terminals and Zona Universitària station would be postponed until 2014.[3] In June 2014, the government announced that the section, apart from the Airport Terminal de Càrrega, La Ribera and Camp Nou stations, would open in the first half of 2016.[4] The first day of passenger service was 12 February 2016.[5]
Train service
Service on the airport section of Barcelona Metro line 9 (L9), designated L9 Sud ("South"), operates driverless with a service frequency of 7 minutes in each direction between Airport T1 and Zona Universitària in western Barcelona. Additional partial services may be added if necessary, reducing the frequency to 4 minutes.[5] Passengers using the metro stations located at the airport terminals are required to purchase a special ticket known as an airport ticket; basic single tickets issued by the operating company Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) are not valid.[6] The airport ticket costs €4.50 and also gives access to the rest of the TMB-operated Barcelona Metro system. Multiple-use tickets and unlimited passes issued by the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM)—a public agency in charge of coordinating public transportation operators in the Barcelona area—are valid, with the exception of the T-10 ten-trip ticket.[7]
Future
Commuter rail services to central Barcelona will also serve the station once a new airport rail link is built. Although a rail link has existed since 1975, it only reaches terminal T2, which is 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) from terminal T1.[8] Construction work for the new link began in July 2015, originally with completion expected in 2018,[9] with opening currently expected around 2022. There is also a project to extend Barcelona Metro line 2 (L2) southwards using the route of the L9 between Parc Logístic and Airport T1 stations.[10]
