Categories: Accessible Customer ServiceAccessible TransportAccessible Transport in EuropeBarcelonaEuropeSpainTransportation

Barcelona Metro Launches New Accessible Customer Service Centre

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SPAIN: As of 15 March, there is a new citizen service centre (Punt TMB) operating in the lobby of the Sagrada Familia station of the Barcelona Metro. TMB, the operator company, described the new office addition as a pioneering in certain aspects. Among other things, it will be the first to offer information in Catalan sign language. The new space is part of a larger renovation of the heavily-visited station, which is the gateway to one of the most popular tourist sites in the city – Gaudi’s cathedral La Sagrada Familia.

This is the fourth service centre to open in the subway network

The design of the new service space has been thought out to provide maximum comfort and accessibility for everyone, including people with hearing and visual impairments.

Hard of hearing customers are supported with SVision technology which features screens with services in the aforementioned sign languages, among them Catalan. There is also an inductive ring that is connected to the emergency loudspeaker system and the individual microphone equipment in order to facilitate the hearing impaired.

For people with visual deficiencies, there is the Navilens system which works similarly to a QR code and can be recognized by a smartphone, however, with the advantage that this can happen from a greater distance and without the need to focus the camera on the signs.

The new centre is located in the lobby of the recently renovated Sagrada Familia station, which also has been remodelled in a way not only to freshen up its look but also to allow for better accessibility and pedestrian flow.

Visual route arrows have been installed on the floor, entrance barriers have been replaced with sliding doors and elevators which lead directly from the street level to the platforms have already been operating since 2008.