Metro screens show how full oncoming trains will be

Simple but effective, a screen overhead on the platforms at three stations on Line 5 shows how full or otherwise trains are before they arrive.

Sensors attached to the trains enable the screen to show where the disabled carriage is, and features four 'person shapes' in outlines of each carriage – if all four are filled, passengers know there is little point in trying to squeeze on and can sit back and wait for the next, and if only one or none is lit up, they do not have to rush to the platform edge to be the first on board, since there will be plenty of room and a choice of seats.

This pilot scheme will run for two years and data will be collated to work out how useful it has been.

Travellers on Line 5 will find these information panels at the stations of Hospital Clínic, Entença and Sants, which is one of Barcelona's main national and cross-border stations.

The idea is to extrapolate the idea to all stations on the underground network eventually.

Text on the screens is shown in three languages – catalán, Spanish and English.

And the sensors on the trains linked to the panel will help the transport board, too: management will be able to work out how long it takes for passengers to get on and off, and figure out which lines are oversubscribed and when, and which ones are rarely occupied, so they can schedule trains accordingly.

And it will ensure better distribution of passengers throughout each train.

Barcelona Metropolitan Transport (TMB) chairwoman and councillor for mobility, Rosa Alarcón, says: “This way, we can avoid situations like having one carriage with passengers like sardines and another practically empty.”

The above photograph of the information panel at one of the stations is provided by TMB.