Madrid Metro

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A typical Madrid metro entrance, designed by Antonio Palacios, at Tribunal station
A typical Madrid metro entrance, designed by Antonio Palacios, at Tribunal station
A modern metro train (type 8000) on line 8 at Colombia station
A modern metro train (type 8000) on line 8 at Colombia station

The Madrid Metro is the large metro subway system serving Madrid, the capital of Spain.

It is the second largest metro subway in Europe (after London), overtaking Moscow as a result of the addition of the MetroSur stations in 2003. It is also one of the largest metro systems in the world, which is especially remarkable considering Madrid's population of approximately 3.5 million (Madrid city) to 6 million (metropolitan area). In fact, it is among the top 10 longest metros in the world, though Madrid is approximately the twenty fifth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Taking into account a kilometer per inhabitant ratio, Madrid has the densest subway network in the world. It is also one of the fastest growing in the world, rivalled only by the Seoul Metro (Seoul); the latest round of expansions, completed in spring 2003, have increased its length to 226.7 kilometres. The metro has 190 stations on 12 lines (and one branch line.) An additional 44 km of metro lines are expected to be constructed by 2007, as well as 30 km of light rail lines that will serve the western region of the metropolitan area.

Contents

[edit] History

The metro opened on October 17, 1919 under the direction of the Compañía de Metro Alfonso XIII. Metro stations served as air raid shelters during the Spanish Civil War.

Starting in the 1970s, it was sequentially greatly expanded to cope with the influx of population and urban sprawl from Madrid's economic ascendancy. A huge project in the late 1990s and early 2000s installed approximately 50 kilometres of new metro tunnels, including a direct connection between downtown Madrid and Barajas International Airport (line 8), and service to outlying areas, including a huge 40-kilometre loop called MetroSur (line 12) serving Madrid's southern suburbs.

MetroSur, the largest civil engineering project in Europe, opened on April 11, 2003. It includes 40.7 kilometres of tunnel and 28 new stations (including an interchange station and an additional station on Line 10, which connects it to downtown). Construction began in June 2000, the whole loop was completed in less than three years. It connects the cities of Getafe, Móstoles, Alcorcón, Fuenlabrada, and Leganés.

Madrid's subway includes one ghost station, between the current Iglesia and Bilbao stations. It was closed in 1966 because it was too close to the Iglesia station.

[edit] Commuter Train transfer

Madrid also has an extensive commuter train (Cercanías) network operated by Renfe, the national rail line, which is intermodal with the metro network. Several Cercanías transfer stations are included in MetroSur.

[edit] Lines

Madrid's metro consists of the following lines: (see also List of Madrid metro stations)

Line Length Stations Section Platform
1 Plaza de Castilla – Congosto 16.7 km 27 narrow 90 m
2 Ventas – Cuatro Caminos 7.9 km 15 narrow 60 m
3 Legazpi – Moncloa 6.4 km 10 narrow 60 m
4 Argüelles – Parque de Santa María 12.8 km 20 narrow 60 m
5 Alameda de Osuna – Casa de Campo 20.8 km 30 narrow 115 m
6 Circular 23.5 km 27 wide 115 m
7 Las Musas – Pitis 18.8 km 22 wide 115 m
8 Nuevos Ministerios – Barajas 13.9 km 6 wide 115 m
9 Herrera Oria – Arganda del Rey 38 km 26 wide 115 m
10 Fuencarral – Puerta del Sur 24 km 19 wide 115 m
11 Plaza Elíptica – Pan Bendito 2.3 km 3 wide 115 m
12 MetroSur 40.6 km (circular) 27 wide 115 m
R * Ópera – Príncipe Pío 1.1 km 2 narrow 60 m
Notes

* For Ramal, "branch" Old stations are not accessible to people with disabilities but all new stations must be accessible by law.

Network map
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Network map

[edit] Operators

The metro is operated by its own company, under the Department of Public Works, City Planning, and Transportation of the autonomous community of Madrid. The passage between Puerta de Arganda (Line 9) and Arganda del Rey (Line 9) is operated by Transportes Ferroviarios de Madrid (TFM). All of Madrid's rapid transit systems are members of the Consorcio Regional de Transportes, which sells monthly passes for unlimited use of the metro, bus and commuter train networks within the area covered by the pass.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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