Barcelona’s X1 express bus is about to become much more useful for people travelling along the western end of Avinguda Diagonal. TMB has confirmed that the X1 XPRESBus extension to Zona Universitària begins on Monday 21 September, pushing the route beyond its current Francesc Macià reach to the university corridor and Jardins de Torre Melina.
The practical change is simple: riders arriving from the Glòries side will be able to stay on the X1 for new stops around Maria Cristina, Palau Reial and the university area instead of changing earlier. In the opposite direction, people starting around Torre Melina and the upper Diagonal gain a more direct express-bus option toward the centre and Glòries.
TMB says the change is designed to improve urban connectivity and intermodality in a corridor with heavy daily demand. It should be especially relevant to students and university staff, residents around Les Corts and Pedralbes, and commuters arriving from Baix Llobregat who connect into Barcelona via Diagonal.
1. What changes on 21 September
From 21 September 2026, the X1 XPRESBus becomes a Torre Melina–Glòries route rather than effectively ending its western express reach around Francesc Macià. TMB’s current English and Catalan service information says the extension adds seven new stops from the Francesc Macià area onward.
The new western end of the line is at Jardins de Torre Melina, beside Avinguda Albert Bastardas. The route then joins Avinguda Diagonal and continues along the established X1 corridor toward central Barcelona and Glòries.
This is not a separate shuttle or temporary diversion. It is a permanent route extension announced as part of TMB’s 2026 mobility programme and timed with the start of the 2026–27 university year.
2. How the route changes in each direction
Toward Glòries: the X1 will start at Jardins de Torre Melina, travel along Avinguda Albert Bastardas, turn onto Avinguda Diagonal and then continue on its usual route toward Glòries and Roc Boronat.
Toward Torre Melina: the line keeps its eastern origin around Roc Boronat and follows its established route through the city before continuing farther west along Diagonal beyond Francesc Macià to Torre Melina.
That makes the extension most useful as a through service. Someone travelling from the university area toward Eixample, Plaça Universitat or Glòries can remain on the X1 instead of treating Francesc Macià as the western edge of the express corridor.
3. New stops and the most useful interchanges
TMB’s detailed service notice lists the new western stops by direction. Toward Glòries, the extended section includes Torre Melina–Albert Bastardas, Diagonal–Avinguda Doctor Marañón, Palau Reial and Plaça Reina Maria Cristina before the bus continues along the established route. Toward Torre Melina, the extended section runs from Diagonal–Plaça Francesc Macià via Plaça Reina Maria Cristina, Palau Reial and Diagonal–Manuel Ballbé to Torre Melina–Albert Bastardas.
For most riders, the important place names are Maria Cristina, Palau Reial and Zona Universitària. TMB says these stops are intended to make transfers easier between the X1 and the metro, tram and interurban or metropolitan buses arriving from Baix Llobregat.
4. Who benefits most
TMB specifically highlights the university community. The extended corridor serves the major university and education zone along Diagonal and also improves access to nearby health and tertiary facilities. Earlier TMB planning material also cited the future Campus Clínic as part of the strategic importance of this corridor.
There is a second audience: people arriving from Baix Llobregat on interurban and metropolitan bus services. By extending the X1 deeper into the western Diagonal interchange zone, TMB aims to make it easier to switch onto a fast cross-city bus without first travelling farther into Barcelona on another service.
Visitors can benefit too. The X1 already provides a relatively direct bus link across parts of the city that are awkward to join in a single metro trip. The extension gives travellers staying or visiting around Les Corts, Palau Reial or the university zone another option for reaching central Eixample and the Glòries/Poblenou side.
5. Two extra buses are being added to protect service quality
Longer routes can become slower or less reliable if the operator simply stretches the same fleet across more kilometres. TMB says it is addressing that risk by assigning two additional buses from its reserve fleet to the X1.
The stated aim is to maintain the line’s usual frequency, speed, regularity and reliability after the extension. TMB also says using reserve vehicles means the change should not reduce the scheduled offer on other bus routes.
That is useful context for existing X1 riders: the extension adds running distance, but TMB is not presenting it as a trade-off that requires a worse normal service interval elsewhere on the line.
6. Why TMB is extending the X1 now
The X1 has grown quickly since it was introduced in 2021. TMB says the line recorded 1.2 million validations in 2024, up 31.65% from the previous year. It registered nearly 1.13 million validations in 2025.
From launch through April 2026, TMB puts cumulative X1 demand at 4.5 million validations. Average daily ridership in 2026 is around 4,800 journeys.
Those numbers help explain why TMB is extending an existing express corridor rather than introducing a completely separate route. The X1 already has established demand; the September change connects that service to another high-demand destination cluster at the western end of Diagonal.
7. What to do before you travel
If you use the X1 before Monday, nothing changes yet. From 21 September, check the direction on the stop display carefully because Torre Melina becomes the western terminal name while the eastern side continues toward the Glòries/Roc Boronat area.
If you are planning a transfer at Maria Cristina, Palau Reial or Zona Universitària, use TMB’s live route information on the day. Stop assignments and real-time arrival information are more useful than memorising a static timetable, especially during the first days of a route change.
For accessibility or stop-specific questions, TMB’s official transport notice is the safest reference. The operator’s customer-service line is 900 701 149, available daily from 07:00 to 21:00.
8. Sources & verification
- TMB — X1 XPRESBus reaches the Diagonal university area — current English service feature; checked 18 September 2026.
- TMB — detailed X1 route extension and stop notice — current Catalan service notice; checked 18 September 2026.
- TMB News — European Mobility Week and X1 extension announcement — published 13 September 2026.
How we know
This update is based on TMB’s current route notice, its English and Catalan X1 extension feature and the operator’s 13 September press release. We prioritised the current detailed route notice for stop-by-stop information and the English/Catalan service feature for the seven-stop total, service resources and ridership figures.