Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona has launched Metrolinera as a pilot project, with nine modular cabinets allowing users to recharge personal mobility vehicles with energy recovered from the metro. The cabinets are located in the Ciutadella – Vila Olímpica metro station, by the Zoo entrance, which provides access to the platforms at this Line 4 metro station.

The cabinets act as a battery-recharging point thanks to energy recovered from the braking process of metro trains. The efficient use of energy and resources generated by the metro system itself addresses the demand for recharging personal mobility vehicles, which are used by more and more people every day.

Testing stage

The service, which will charge for its use, gets under way with an initial testing stage for students at the Pompeu Fabra University (building next to the Ciutadella – Vila Olímpica station), who will be able to try it out at no cost. The general public can also access the service, in this case with a discount of 50%.

As from 24 October, the promotional service period will come to an end and users can subscribe at the full price, except for members of the JoTMBé club, who will continue to benefit from a 50% discount.

“Stations of the future” challenge

The initiative starts life as an internal challenge launched by TMBInnova among its workers. Adopting the slogan “Station of the future”, the challenge is for different teams of workers to come up with a solution to integrate leisure, connectivity, comfort and interaction at metro stations, improving user experience for the thousands of people who use the service every day.

Source: TMB