Having never lived in a city with a well developed mass transit system (I just use my car in Indy and the surrounding suburbs), Madrid´s metro subway is a jewel. It is fast, efficient, and always reliable. Even though we´ve had the occasional hiccup due to construction (like line 1, my line, being stopped for a few hours (I wasn´t on it at the time) due to a water pipe being struck during construction on the streets above), I am told it is the most reliable subway on this side of the pond (sorry James!). Having not gone to the United Kingdom, I´ve yet to see if it´s true or not.
The metro has it´s own TV channel with gigantic projectors in the tunnels, like this one:
They often run their own version of news, showing the top stories from around Spain. Occasionally, they´ll run their own ads to encourage you to use the metro. Generally these are transmitted on TV but they show this one, which is relatively new, all the time (it´s one of my favorites).
For those who don´t speak Spanish, here´s a translation.
The guy comes back from Madrid, Spain to Madrid, Phillipines and the town sees him, saying, "Hey, he´s here!" They´re gathered around a table and they ask, "How´s the other Madrid?" The guy says, "La Cibeles (a plaza here in Madrid) is good. The Prado Museum is good, too. But what really makes the difference is the metro." They ask, "Metro?" and he lays down the map of the routes. The old guy looks up and says, "So, let´s build one!"
They bring in all the stuff and someone says, "Hey, the tunnel (for the subway car) is here!" They´re inside the tunnel and the guy says, "Hey, it´s just like the one in Madrid!" So, they get in the subway and this is the truly funny part. The car moves maybe ten meters and the new station tone (which is the real deal from the metro, as well as the sub way car) sounds and the automated voice says, "End of the line (also genuine)."
The voiceover says, "The metro that every city wants to have when it becomes big. Metro of Madrid, let´s go!"
A final thought: they had to have shot that commercial in one of the metro tunnels here because the scene where they step in to the car and it moves ten meters has too many aspects of one of the tunnels I frequent. Plus, I doubt they had an extra 30.000.000€ lying around to build everything again.
For those who don´t speak Spanish, here´s a translation.
The guy comes back from Madrid, Spain to Madrid, Phillipines and the town sees him, saying, "Hey, he´s here!" They´re gathered around a table and they ask, "How´s the other Madrid?" The guy says, "La Cibeles (a plaza here in Madrid) is good. The Prado Museum is good, too. But what really makes the difference is the metro." They ask, "Metro?" and he lays down the map of the routes. The old guy looks up and says, "So, let´s build one!"
They bring in all the stuff and someone says, "Hey, the tunnel (for the subway car) is here!" They´re inside the tunnel and the guy says, "Hey, it´s just like the one in Madrid!" So, they get in the subway and this is the truly funny part. The car moves maybe ten meters and the new station tone (which is the real deal from the metro, as well as the sub way car) sounds and the automated voice says, "End of the line (also genuine)."
The voiceover says, "The metro that every city wants to have when it becomes big. Metro of Madrid, let´s go!"
A final thought: they had to have shot that commercial in one of the metro tunnels here because the scene where they step in to the car and it moves ten meters has too many aspects of one of the tunnels I frequent. Plus, I doubt they had an extra 30.000.000€ lying around to build everything again.
The public transport system here consists of taxi cabs and one will see the odd bus, i like train travel when in the big smoke.
ReplyDeleteI'm still working this one out from Matt.
ReplyDelete