(22/01/2018) 

These doors are an alternative to the horizontally moving platform gates already installed on automatic lines 9, 10 and 11 in Barcelona Metro. They consist of a permanent vertical structure with guides where there are three rigid panels (transparent or opaque) that work like a blind: they fold down to form a physical barrier of around 180 cm high between the train and the edge of the platform, or fold upwards to allow passengers to enter and exit the train. The doors are designed to operate automatically, synchronised with the arrival of the trains.

Unlike horizontal screen doors, vertical ones provide wider space to pass through, and do not require trains to stop in the exact position to line up with the gates, nor for all trains to have the same door layout. Consequently, they are suitable for lines that combine trains of different series, as is the case of some lines in Barcelona Metro.

The tests at Can Cuiàs will be the first with automatic vertical doors in a metro system, since to date they have only been used on some suburban train lines in Asia. At the same time, the manufacturer will be performing other tests in Paris suburban network.