If you’re looking for some unusual shooting while in Madrid, then Chamberi ghost metro station might be something you might really enjoy. Chamberi is a defunct metro station located on the Line 1 of the Madrid Metro, one of the largest and oldest rapid transit systems in the world.Inaugurated in 1919, the station of Chamberí served as one of the first eight metro stops in Madrid. It was designed by Spanish architect Antonio Palacios who helped to nicely define the architectural identity of the Spanish capital at that time. Palacios was inspired by the look of the metro stations in Paris by using also bright tiles and colorful materials. As passenger traffic increased significantly in the 1960s, a decision to upgrade the Line 1 was then taken by commissioning new and longer trains with greater capacity to accomodate the growing number of passengers. In order to do so the platforms of all the station along Line 1 needed to be expanded of further 30 metres each. This was possible for all the station but Chamberi as this one was too close to the other metro stops of Bilbao and Iglesia. For such a reason, it was decided to close the Chamberi metro station on 22 May 1966. The station remained unused for almost half a century. Following restoration works, Metro Madrid reopened the Chamberi stop as museum with guided visits only.
One month ago, during my photo journey in Madrid, I had the opportunity to visit the station thanks to an authorization released by Metro Madrid that gave me the opportunity to do a photo shoot inside the station and enjoy the vintage beauty of Chamberi metro station.
Shooting photos inside Chamberí metro station was like making a journey in the past. Billboards, turnstiles, signs, everything remained exactly the same when this station was closed in 1966.
For best results, I used my tripod to keep ISO at low levels and my 16-35mm lens to catch the wide views of the curving platform and the vintage billboards. I shot in Aperture priority mode by keeping values at f/8.
Chamberi ghost metro station can be visited during guided visits only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For bookings and opening hours visit the Andén Cero Museum website. The ghost metro station is located at Plaza de Chamberí in Madrid.