Barcelona breaks its all-time Sant Jordi metro record with more than 2 million journeys in one day

Barcelona experienced an unprecedented Sant Jordi on the metro. More than 2 million validations in a single day. Mobility exceeded all forecasts. Public transport was key to moving between streets packed with people. The city chose to strengthen the service.

Last Sant Jordi transformed mobility in Barcelona and produced a historic figure: the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) metro network exceeded 2 million journeys in a single day for the first time. The city, fully immersed in the celebration, filled carriages and stations as never before, reaching 2,002,000 validations, 7% more than the previous record set last year.

The day did not only set a milestone on the metro. Adding bus journeys, TMB came close to 2.7 million validations in a single day. The deployment was exceptional: the train service was expanded to its maximum, with 138 running at peak time and notable reinforcements in the afternoon period. On lines such as L1, frequency increased by up to 42% compared with a typical working day, while on L3 and L5 the reinforcement was 32% and 25% respectively. From 21:00 onwards, the service was still 31% above normal.

The special operation included more customer service, security and cleaning staff at the most central stations, anticipating the massive influx and street closures. TMB president Laia Bonet stressed the importance of the whole team's involvement in achieving this record and highlighted citizens' trust in public transport as the backbone of urban mobility.

Until this Sant Jordi, the day with the most journeys in the history of the metro and TMB had been the previous year's, with 2.61 million validations between metro and bus, and 1.88 million on the metro alone. Growth has been constant: in 2025, TMB public transport exceeded 700 million annual journeys, with the metro celebrating its centenary and breaking its own record with 479.9 million validations, while buses reached 220.6 million.

Barcelona's metro, with more than a century of history, has established itself as the heart of urban mobility. Its capacity to adapt to mass events such as Sant Jordi demonstrates the importance of a modern and flexible network. The commitment to reinforce frequencies and services on key days responds to growing public demand and to the need to facilitate access to every corner of the city, even when streets fill with life and celebration.

TMB Sant Jordi record, 23 Apr: 2M metro validations (+7%), 2.7M total (+ metro/bus). 138 peak trains (↑42% L1), +31% 21h.