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Bad design is, apparently, hot
How unscalable design decisions made over 200 years ago are turning subways into urban ovens.
Subways are sweltering — and the designers are to blame
There’s a saying: you could finish a whole book while riding the escalators of the Arsenalna metro station. I’ve been there, and I agree! It takes a solid 5–7 minutes to ride the nearly endless, smooth, and calm escalators up from the (almost) deepest station in the world.
Arsenalna would often feel hot in the summer, but it’s nothing in comparison to a city like Mediterranean Barcelona. Its metro this July was scorching.
Barcelona’s Plaça de Catalunya station is quite deep underground, too.
Unlike Arsenalna, it has over ten short, disjointed escalators to get to the bottom. The whole process often causes nausea and crowding at the elevators that are supposed to be reserved for disabled persons. But, temperature-wise, using these escalators to get to the station feels like you’re descending to the 9th circle of hell.
I remember nearly passing out from the heat while women around me fanned themselves like flamenco dancers. It was well over 30°C (86°F).
Naturally, it got me thinking — why are the subway stations so unbearably hot? I’ve discovered that it’s tied to poor design decisions made almost two centuries ago.
The London Underground — where the unscalable decisions began
London’s metro, famously known as “the Tube,” carries around 1.8 billion passengers annually and is the oldest metro in the world, with its first line dating back to 1863. Despite its impressive engineering, it’s not without flaws — especially the growing heat issue.
In 1900, the average temperature in the tunnels was about 13°C (57°F) and was even advertised for its cool:
