Looking for some unusual shooting while in Madrid? Then, Chamberi ghost metro station might be something you really enjoy.
Chamberi is a defunct metro station on Line 1 of the Madrid Metro, one of the largest and oldest rapid transit systems in the world.
Madrid inaugurated Chamberí in 1919 as one of the first eight metro stops in the city. Spanish architect Antonio Palacios designed it. He helped define the architectural identity of the Spanish capital at that time. Palacios drew inspiration from Parisian metro stations, adopting their bright tiles and colorful materials.
As passenger traffic increased significantly in the 1960s, Metro Madrid decided to upgrade Line 1, commissioning new and longer trains to accommodate the growing number of passengers. To do so, engineers needed to expand every platform along Line 1 by a further 30 metres. This proved possible for every station except Chamberi. That was because Chamberi sat too close to the neighbouring stops of Bilbao and Iglesia. For this reason, Metro Madrid closed Chamberi station on 22 May 1966.
The station remained unused for almost half a century. Following restoration works, Metro Madrid reopened the Chamberi stop as a museum with guided visits only.
During my recent photo journey in Madrid, I had the opportunity to visit the station thanks to an authorization that Metro Madrid granted me. This gave me the chance to photograph inside the station and enjoy the vintage beauty of Chamberi metro station.
Shooting photos inside Chamberí was like making a journey into the past. Billboards, turnstiles, signs — everything looked exactly as it did when Metro Madrid closed the station in 1966.
For best results, I used my tripod to keep ISO at low levels. I shot with a wide-angle lens to capture the views of the curving platform and the vintage billboards. I shot in Aperture priority mode, keeping values at f/8.
You can visit Chamberi ghost metro station on guided tours only, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For bookings and opening hours visit the Andén Cero Museum website. The ghost metro station sits at Plaza de Chamberí in Madrid.