In railway and rapid transit parlance, the Spanish solution is a station layout with two railway platforms , one on each side of the track, which allows for separate platforms for boarding and alighting.
76-528: The "Spanish solution" is used in several stations of the Madrid Metro (e.g. Avenida de América ) and Barcelona Metro (e.g. Sant Andreu ). This platform arrangement allows the separation of passenger streams by using one platform only for boarding, and the other one only for alighting. The separate designation of platforms for boarding and alighting has been proven effective at reducing dwell time at stations with high passenger numbers. The Spanish solution
152-501: A 40 km loop called MetroSur serving Madrid's southern suburbs. MetroSur , one of the largest ever civil engineering projects in Europe, opened on 11 April 2003. It includes 41 km (25 mi) of tunnel and 28 new stations, with a new interchange station on Line 10, connecting it to the city centre and stations linking to the local train network. Its construction began in June 2000 and
228-416: A long history: the first trainsets were delivered in 1974 for the newly opened, first wide-profile line 7, while the latest subseries, 5500, of which 24 trainsets of 6 cars each were built, entered service in 1993. They were the last to use the old, square "box-like" design from CAF, which was already becoming unpopular for its exaggerate priming of effectiveness versus aesthetics. The first iteration featured
304-682: A manufacturer other than CAF, and to a non-Spanish dealer, 37 series 7000 trainsets service the extremely busy line 10. They were the first in the network to feature a full "boa" layout, allowing commuters to traverse the whole six cars. They are extremely functional, with ample 1.3m doors and a sleek, unobtrusive design for a total capacity of 1,260 people per trainset (180 seated). This model also features two TV screens in each car, but they are left unused, both regularly or in emergencies. Series 9000 trains are similar to their previous incarnation, but include better accessibility for disabled people and more safety measures, such as visual and auditive warnings for
380-400: A maximum of 1,070 passengers (144 seated). The interior distribution is rather like that of series 7000, with a bigger clear area (i.e. without seating) in the first car for people carrying luggage to/from the airport and disabled people in wheelchairs. Like the narrower series 3000 trainsets, its bogies are insonorized and feature a hybrid rubber-pneumatic suspension system. Series 8000 primed
456-474: A new, sleeker and rounder design. As it was to serve TFM, the stretch of line 9 connecting Madrid to Arganda del Rey (the first extension of the Metro network outside Madrid proper), its interior resembles the regional Cercanías trains more closely than any other Metro trains: compact seats in couples set perpendicularly to the train walls, more places to grasp in case of a sudden brake/acceleration, etc. They were also
532-494: A patented system for its installations: a solid rail hung from the ceiling of the tunnels, instead of the usual copper or aluminium wire hung from overhead gantries at regular intervals. This type of overhead line is rigid, making it more robust and less prone to failures. Installations outside tunnels are rare, as they require many more support structures compared to traditional wire based overhead lines, making them more expensive to install. This system of rigid overhead power supply
608-430: A project on line 8 connected it to the new T4 terminal of Madrid-Barajas Airport . The Great Recession and subsequent European debt crisis, which affected Spain particularly hard, brought metro expansion to a halt as austerity measures all but dried up available funding. The age of many Madrid Metro stations is evident by their design: Older stations on the narrow lines are often quite compact, similar to stations of
684-595: A total of 8 aboveground stations. Additionally, some 30 km (19 mi) of Metro Ligero (light rail) lines across serve the various regions of the metropolitan area which have been deemed not populated enough to justify the extraordinary spending of new Metro lines. Combined, they have 38 stops, of which 4 also connect to the conventional Metro system. Most of the ML track length is on surface, usually running on platforms separated from normal road traffic. However, ML1 line has some underground stretches and stations. Traditionally,
760-443: A wood lookalike coating for the inner walls and a novel seat distribution in two-seat rows perpendicular to the train walls, making them look not unlike older regional trains. Subseries 5100–5200 returned to the traditional seating along the train walls, but still included another feature from the first iteration, automatic opening of all the gates in the train. The final subseries, 5500, has a distinct, darker color scheme and returns to
836-402: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Madrid Metro Network map [REDACTED] The Madrid Metro (Spanish: Metro de Madrid ) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid , capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its growth between 1995 and 2007 put it among
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#1732851903997912-529: Is a copy of a statue (possibly of Venus, and so the restored pedestal claims), which marks the place of a former fountain displaying that figure. The kilómetro cero is a plaque on the ground directly north of the Post Office serving as the symbolic center of Spain, and the point from which kilometer distances are numbered in the Spanish road system. The Puerta is located in the very heart of Madrid. It serves as
988-537: Is activated when the train approaches a station or a level crossing with pedestrians, which has given rise to complaints from people living near the tracks because of the noise generated. Safety features also include door activity warnings for passengers and emergency brakes comparatively more effective than in any other train dedicated to Metro service, as the trams, though remaining in their own lanes separated from other traffic, can cross roads and populated areas. Currently, Metro Ligero has four lines, although one of them
1064-676: Is also used in other metro systems. Similar installations exist in some mainline rail tunnels where space is limited, e.g. Leipzig City Tunnel or the lower level of Berlin Hauptbahnhof , The Metro conventional network has 242 stations on 12 lines plus one branch line, totalling 294 kilometres (183 mi), of which approximately 96% of stations are underground. The only surface parts are between Empalme and west of Eugenia de Montijo ( [REDACTED] ); between Lago and north of Casa de Campo ( [REDACTED] ); and between south of Puerta de Arganda and Arganda del Rey ( [REDACTED] ), for
1140-625: Is closest to Puerta del Sol. Immediately to the southwest lies the Plaza Mayor ; the Palacio Real , the official home of the Royal Family , is further west. Parliament and the museum district are to the east and the train station Atocha is to the southeast. Under the square lies a public transport hub served by lines 1, 2 and 3 of the Madrid Metro . A commuter service was inaugurated on 27 June 2009, four years behind schedule. The lateness of
1216-608: Is currently doing service on line 9b (TFM). In 2013, 73 of the 108 cars ordered were sold to Buenos Aires for operation on Line B of the metro system; the sale totalled €32.6 million for the retirement of Japanese-built units, with a further 13 cars ordered at a later date. These trains have been widely criticised in Argentina, and been called the worst purchase in the history of the Buenos Aires Underground. Ansaldobreda series 7000 & 9000 : The first purchase to
1292-497: Is located outside the city of Madrid in its entirety: Until the early 1990s and the transfer of the Metro system to the Autonomous Community of Madrid , the rate of investment in the network by the central government was extremely low, and thus very old trains were used way beyond their intended lifespans. Particularly loathed was the case of line 5, which was serviced by the nearly 40-year-old series 300 and 1000 from CAF. It
1368-498: Is made up of: CAF series 2000 : This series has two separate sub-series usually called A and B. The first batch, while reliable and practical, was extremely "box-like" in its looks. They are nicknamed 'Pandas', after a car by Seat with the same name and similar boxy design. In contrast, the B sub-series train sets can be told apart by its sleeker, rounder forms, which has granted them the nickname of "bubble" ( burbuja ) for their round driver cabin window. Series 2000A are currently
1444-419: Is most commonly applied at high-frequency underground metro stations. Stations are sometimes retrofitted to include a Spanish solution layout to expand the capacity of existing stations when there is no space to widen the existing platform, an issue that can occur in island platform configurations. To encourage passengers to exit to the correct platform, arriving trains typically first open their doors facing
1520-751: Is not the norm. Most stations are built with two side platforms , but a handful of them (the busiest transfers) have a central island platform in addition to the side platforms theoretically dedicated to exits. This system was originally used on the Barcelona Metro and is called the Spanish solution . The 12 stations with this setup are: Two stations have cross-platform interchange arrangement with two island platforms, which allows extremely fast transfers between lines. Both of these stations are on Line [REDACTED] , with cross-platform interchanges at Príncipe Pío (with [REDACTED] ) and Casa de Campo (with [REDACTED] ). On both occasions, Line 10 uses
1596-438: Is required for passengers to change to smaller trains to continue their journeys, normally to towns outside Madrid like Alcobendas or Coslada . This is done so the island platform can be used for passengers to change easily between trains. In the latter three stations, the island platform is equipped with fare gates for tickets to be validated for travel between fare zones. These stations are: Since 1999 Metro de Madrid has used
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#17328519039971672-516: The 15-M Movement . This continued throughout the summer of 2011 until the dawn of 2 August, when the national police decided to evict the structure and protestors. Currently, dozens of committees have their assemblies in the iconic square. Despite once being the meeting point of the six major radial roads of Spain, in 2020 the square was pedestrianized and closed to most traffic. Exceptions are made for supplies to shops, emergency services and blood donation campaigns. During New Year's Eve 2018–2019,
1748-633: The Calle de Alcalá and the Carrera de San Jerónimo ( Apple Store today) for a long time, now is on top of the former Paris Hotel. Also on the east side lies the statue of The Bear and the Strawberry Tree (in Spanish, el Oso y el Madroño ), the heraldic symbol of Madrid. Until 2009, the statue stood on the north side at the entrance to Calle del Carmen . The Mariblanca (a female figure named for its white marble)
1824-545: The Line 1 from Sol with the new stations Progreso , Antón Martín and finally Atocha . The latter was then and is now an important train station for mainline rail. On 31 July 1920 the company submitted it proposal to extend Line 1 from Atocha to Puente de Vallecas . In 1921 the company declared its interest in beginning the line from Sol to Ventas , with the first phase of the project being built from Sol to Goya , along Calle Alcalá . Work began on 27 March 1921 to expand
1900-547: The Paris Metro . They were decorated with tilings in different colour schemes depending on the station similar to the scheme architect Alfred Grenander implemented at Berlin U-Bahn around the same time. In recent years, most of these stations have been refurbished with single-coloured plates matching those in the newest ones, alongside other improvements such as modernized signalling technology and elevators. The stations built between
1976-403: The light rail lines are low-floor articulated trams in a five-section "boa" configuration, which allows for a maximum of about 200 passengers per tram (60 seated). They can reach a top speed of 100 km/h (65 mph), but in practice, they are limited to 70 km/h (45 mph) in most track stretches, and even less in urban sprawls. The tram features a bell-like proximity warning that
2052-446: The 4 million they needed. King Alfonso XIII intervened and invested 1.45 million pesetas of his own money. The first phase of construction was finished in 1919. It was constructed in a narrow section and the stations had 60 m (200 ft) platforms. The enlargement of this line and the construction of two others followed shortly after 1919. The Madrid metro was inaugurated on 17 October 1919 by King Alfonso XIII. At
2128-530: The Christian Wall of the 12th century. The name of the gate came from the rising sun which decorated the entry, since the gate was oriented to the east. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the area was an important meeting place: as the goal for the couriers coming from abroad and other parts of Spain to the Post Office, it was visited by those eager for the latest news. The stairs to the Saint Philip church at
2204-558: The Line 1 from Atocha to Vallecas, and to begin construction on a line from Sol to Goya. On 26 December 1921 the Sol-Atocha section of the Line 1 was inaugurated, adding three new metro stops to the line: Progreso, Antón Martín, and Atocha. The king and queen, Don Alfonso XIII and Doña Victoria , attended the inauguration. In 1924, traffic in Madrid switched from driving on the left to driving on
2280-490: The Madrid metro was restricted to the city proper, but today nearly one third of its track length runs outside the border of the Madrid municipality. Today, the Metro network is divided in six regions: At most of the borders between the regions, one has to switch trains even when staying in the same line, because the train frequency is higher in the core MetroMadrid than in the outer regions. Madrid also has an extensive commuter train ( Cercanías ) network operated by Renfe ,
2356-518: The Metro, in recent years the Italian AnsaldoBreda has also provided trains for the wide-profile lines. Every rolling unit in the Madrid Metro has a unique ID that singles it out in the whole network. Those IDs are grouped by the rolling unit model (the "series") and thus is used to categorize the trains, as they bear no user-visible statement of the model specified by the manufacturer. An ID
Spanish solution - Misplaced Pages Continue
2432-438: The bus and Metro hub Príncipe Pío ( [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] ). Notes: Traditionally, the trains operating in the Madrid Metro have been built and supplied by the Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) . This was particularly true under Francisco Franco 's dictatorship, due to the politic of autarky his administration initially pursued. However, despite CAF still working for
2508-537: The clock of the Puerta del Sol for the first time in history rang the bells according to the schedule of the Canary Islands . After the traditional twelve strokes of midnight, the clock delayed itself one hour to adjust to Canary Islands time, and also gave the chimes at the same time as the archipelago. The Puerta del Sol contains a number of well known sights both domestically and internationally associated with Spain. On
2584-477: The construction was in part due to the discovery of the remains of the Church of Our Lady of Good Success during the excavation of the main chamber. The new station connects the Puerta to Madrid's commuter rail system and, by extension, to Spain's railroads via direct connections to Atocha and Chamartín railway stations [2] . The square connects several commercial and recreational areas together, and thus both it and
2660-411: The eastern and northern outskirts as well ( Coslada , San Fernando de Henares , Alcobendas , San Sebastián de los Reyes ). For the first time in Madrid, three interurban light rails ( Metro Ligero or ML) lines were built to the western outskirts ( Pozuelo de Alarcón, Boadilla del Monte ) – mL2 and mL3 – and to the new northern districts of Sanchinarro and Las Tablas – mL1. As a last minute addition,
2736-498: The enlargement of the Metro network. In the 2003–2007 term, President Esperanza Aguirre funded a multibillion-euro project, which added new lines, and joined or extended almost all of the existing metro lines. The project included the addition of 90 km (56 mi) of railway and the construction of 80 new stations. It brought stations to many districts that had never previously had Metro service ( Villaverde , Manoteras , Carabanchel Alto , La Elipa , Pinar de Chamartín ) and to
2812-465: The extension of lines 1, 4 and 7 and the construction of a new Line 11 towards the outlying areas of Madrid. Lines 8 and 10 were joined into a longer Line 10 and a new Line 8 was constructed to expand the underground network towards the airport. The enlarged Line 9 was the first to leave the outskirts of Madrid to arrive in Rivas-Vaciamadrid and Arganda del Rey , two satellite towns located in
2888-484: The famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live since 31 December 1962 on major radio and television networks including Atresmedia and RTVE . The Puerta del Sol originated as one of the gates in the city wall that surrounded Madrid in the 15th century. Outside the wall, medieval suburbs began to grow around
2964-545: The fastest-growing networks in the world at the time. However, the European debt crisis greatly slowed expansion plans, with many projects being postponed and canceled. Unlike normal Spanish road and rail traffic, which drive on the right , Madrid Metro trains use left-hand running on all lines because traffic in Madrid drove on the left until 1924, five years after the system started operating. Trains are in circulation every day from 6:00 am until 1:30 am, though during
3040-402: The first phase of the project, the construction of Line 1 from Sol to Cuatro Caminos . Carlos Mendoza made contact with Enrique Ocharán, the director of Banco de Vizcaya , who offered 4 million pesetas on the condition that the public pledged an additional 4 million. Mengemor published a brochure to persuade people to make donations. The men were able to raise 2.5 million pesetas of
3116-436: The first to include luminous panels stating their destination, as the line they service was effectively split in two stretches, and travellers had to switch trains at Puerta de Arganda. Finally, they primed the "boa train" layout, but the walkable aisle only spanned two cars, while a trainset would usually carry 4 or 6. These trains are equipped with automatic train protection (ATP) and automatic train operation (ATO). Series 6000
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3192-681: The head of the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (not to be confused with the Madrid City Council, which is housed in the Palacio de Cibeles ). There are two commemorative plaques in the front of the Royal House of the Post Office: one is devoted to the neighbours of Madrid who rose up against the Napoleonic invasion of Spain on May 2, 1808; the other one is a memorial of
3268-497: The head to the tail without actually exiting the train. This has earned them the nickname of "boa", a term usually applied in Spain to double-length buses with such joints. They are currently servicing lines 2, R, 3, 4 and 5. Series 3000 trains look rather like a narrowed version of series 8000, while the interior uses mainly yellow and light blue tones. CAF series 5000 : Currently servicing line 9 and occasionally line 6, this model has had
3344-464: The inclusion of air conditioning and station announcements through pre-recorded voice messages and LED displays. They are currently used in line 5, with no plans for retirement. CAF series 3000 : The newest of the narrow line trainsets, series 3000 were commissioned for the reopening of line 3 after its complete renewal in the early 2000s. Their constituent subunits can be completely joined through crossable articulations , making it possible to go from
3420-516: The influx of population and urban sprawl from Madrid's economic boom. New lines were planned with larger 115 m long platforms. Lines 4 and 5 were enlarged as well. In 1979, bad management led to a crisis. Works already started were finished during the 1980s and all remaining projects were abandoned. After all those projects, 100 km (62 mi) of rail track were completed by 1983 and the suburban railway had also disappeared since it had been extended to Alonso Martínez and subsequently converted to
3496-409: The introduction of regenerative braking in the Madrid Metro. The system reverses the normal circuit of the electric motors when braking, thus making the deceleration return power to the network. Also, they feature the now-standard informative panels and gate activity warnings in the interior. A second batch was ordered for line 11 to replace the series 3000 operating on the line since the extension of
3572-418: The kilometre zero from which all radial roads in Spain are measured. This is demonstrated by a plaque on the floor of the square, marking the exact point of Km.0. This was established in 1857, setting six major radial roads, clockwise: The old plaque was replaced in 2009, as it had become faded after years of foot traffic. It is also the reference for street numbers in Madrid, which begin at the street-end that
3648-413: The late 70s and the early 90s are slightly more spacious, with most of them having cream-coloured walls. On the other hand, the most recent stations are built with space in mind, and have natural-like lighting and ample entryways. The colour scheme varies between stations, using single-colored plates and covering the whole station in light colors. Recently built transfer stations have white walls, but this
3724-493: The line to La Fortuna in 2010. The original batch currently services lines 12 and 8, while also providing rush hour support to lines 9 and 10 while the second batch currently services line 11. CAF series 8400 : Derived from the recent series 8000 trains, the 8400 series are the newest train type to enter service on the Madrid Metro on line 6 since 2010 to complement the older series 5000 serving on that line. It currently services line 6. Alstom Citadis 302 : The vehicles serving
3800-439: The metro, and the company earned 8,433 pesetas in ticket fares. During November and December 1919, the metro had an average of 43,537 passengers a day and earned an average of 6,530 pesetas a day in ticket sales. Due to their success, the company decided to expand more, and created 12,000 new shares to sell to the public to raise more funds to fund further expansion. The Company then began to gather materials necessary to expand
3876-419: The metro, with a majority of its stations providing access to the underground network. As of January 2024, the Madrid Metro has 1,710 escalators and 559 elevators . On 19 September 1916, a royal decree approved the 4-line plan for the creation of the metro of Madrid. The engineers who created the plan, Mendoza, González Echarte, and Otamendi then began the process of raising the 8 million pesetas to begin
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#17328519039973952-435: The middle of the plaza (@acampadasol), which began on 15 May 2011 amidst the election campaign for city halls and Autonomous Communities governments and which was fueled by social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The demonstrations then spread to more than sixty other cities throughout Spain. Since 12 June 2011, the square has held a free-standing domed structure made from pallets, which served as an information point for
4028-464: The more numerous in the network: 530 cars were built and delivered between 1985 and 1993, having serviced every narrow profile line. They are also among the oldest stock in operation in the Madrid Metro. The most reliable ones are being refurbished and painted with new, lighter colors like the ones used in Series 3000. Series 2000B were delivered in lesser numbers (about 126 cars) between 1997 and 1998, with
4104-645: The national rail line, which is intermodal with the metro network. In fact, 22 Cercanías stations have connections to the Metro network, which is indicated on the official map by the Cercanías logo. Many of the new lines since 1999 have been built to link to or end at Cercanías stations, like the ML2 line , which ends at the Aravaca station providing a fast entry into Madrid though the C-7 or C-10 commuter lines and arriving in only one step to
4180-484: The new Line 10 . Work on a major expansion of the metro began in 1995, with 172 km (107 mi) of new line and 132 new stations opened by 2011, built in 4 phases. The average construction pace throughout that era (more than 10 km (6 mi) of new line per year) was among the fastest in the world at that time and was equalled or surpassed by only very few metros in the global north (one notable example being Seoul Metro ) either then or since. This included
4256-523: The old red corporate image), but they were also retired with the arrival of more series 2000B and, finally, series 3000. Puerta del Sol The Puerta del Sol ( Spanish: [ˈpweɾta ðel ˈsol] , English : "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid , one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ( Km 0 ) of the radial network of Spanish roads . The square also contains
4332-444: The outside tracks, so passengers unboarding there leave through the "right" side of the train instead of the usual left side. In addition, 10 stations are built with just one island platform instead of the usual side platforms. These stations are: Another system is where there is one island platform with one side platform. This system is used in two stations on lines 2 and 4 as termini, and three stations on Lines 7, 9, and 10 where it
4408-628: The platform for alighting passengers, and then open the doors for boarding passengers after a slight delay. An example of the Spanish Solution is the Karlsplatz (Stachus) station on the Munich S-Bahn , which has island platforms for boarding and side platforms for alighting. Additionally this solution can be found on several Metro de Madrid stations: Sainz de Baranda, Avenida de America and many others. This rapid transit -related article
4484-505: The right, but the lines of the Madrid Metro kept operating on the left hand side. In 1936, the network had three lines and a branch line between Ópera and the old Estación del Norte (now Príncipe Pío ). All these stations served as air raid shelters during the Spanish Civil War . After the Civil war, the public works to extend the network went on little by little. In 1944, a fourth line
4560-453: The sold 6000s. CAF series 8000 : Originally designed for the MetroSur line 12, 45 trainsets were built and delivered by CAF in 2002. Each one is composed of three cars or four cars joined in the "boa" layout, with the three car version servicing line 12 and the four car version servicing line 8 as-is, while line 9 & line 10 services use two such trainsets to form a MRM-MRM configuration for
4636-624: The south side, the old Post Office was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security in Francoist Spain . The basement of the DGS (Spanish: Dirección General de Seguridad , lit. 'General Directorate of Security') was infamous for being a place where Dissidents to the regime were subjected to torture . The building now serves as the office of the President of Madrid ,
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#17328519039974712-400: The southeast of Madrid. Control of the network was transferred to a public enterprise, Metro de Madrid S.A. In the early 2000s, a huge project installed approximately 50 km (31 mi) of new metro tunnels. This construction included a direct connection between downtown Madrid ( Nuevos Ministerios ) and the airport , a further extension of Line 8, and adding service to the outskirts with
4788-605: The square were known as the Gradas de San Felipe , and were among the most prolific mentideros de la Corte (this Spanish idiom sounds as " lie-spreaders of the Court", but it is related with the verb mentar , "to say about someone", not mentir , "to lie", so it is more appropriately translated as "places of the City where people gossip"). The House of the Post Office was built by French architect Jacques Marquet between 1766 and 1768. The building
4864-461: The surrounding streets consist mainly of shopping establishments catering to locals and tourists alike, like the several El Corte Inglés department store buildings in Preciados Street, La Mallorquina cafe, and numerous, ever-changing restaurants. The area remains active late into the night and early morning since nearby bars and dance clubs often only start entertainment at 1 am. Street music
4940-491: The time of inauguration, the metro had just one line, which ran for 3.48 kilometres (2.16 mi) between Puerta del Sol and Cuatro Caminos , with eight stops. The king, the royal family, and others, then took part in the first official metro ride which went from Cuatro Caminos to Río Rosas , and took 40 seconds. There they stopped for one minute, before traveling to the Chamberí station which took 45 seconds. The trip went all
5016-444: The train gates and more effective emergency brakes, they also brought small aesthetic changes like the removal of the wood effect from the ceiling and the change of the red top stripe of the doors to a blue color. Series 7000 currently service the main part of line 10 from Puerta del Sur to Tres Olivos and occasionally on line 9; while series 9000 comprise the main fleet of line 7 and 12, occasionally on line 10, and on line 9 to cover for
5092-479: The usual on-demand opening of train gates with a button on each one. Being the oldest rolling stock in operation in the wide profile lines, many cars were retired or sold to the Buenos Aires Underground for operation on Line B to make up for shortfalls on the line following extensions. CAF series 6000 : This model, of which 29 trainsets were built and delivered in 1998, was the first by CAF to feature
5168-524: The victims of the March 11th, 2004 terrorist attacks. In 2020, another plaque was added, conmemorating those who died during the COVID-19 pandemic . Also on its south side, the square holds a mounted statue of Charles III of Spain , nicknamed "el rey alcalde" ("the mayor-king") due to the extensive public works program he set in motion. The famous Tío Pepe lighted sign was above the square's eastern building between
5244-510: The way to the end point, Sol. The king and his family then rode the metro back to Cuatro Caminos from Sol, this time without stopping. The journey took 7 minutes and 46 seconds. After the journey, a lunch was served on the Cuatro Caminos platform, and the engineers were congratulated for creating a "miracle." Two days later, on 19 October 1919, the Madrid metro was opened to the public. On its first day, 390 trains ran, 56,220 passengers rode
5320-461: The weekends, this schedule is to be extended by one more hour in the morning in 2020. Furthermore, the regional government intends to keep stations opened around the clock during these days from 2023 onwards. It has only stayed open 24 hours during the 2017 World Pride and during the 2021 Madrid snowstorm . A light rail system feeding the metro opened in 2007 called Metro Ligero ("light metro"). The Cercanías system works in conjunction with
5396-429: The whole loop was completed in less than three years. It connects Getafe , Móstoles , Alcorcón , Fuenlabrada , and Leganés , five towns located in the area south of Madrid. As the metro line is part of a project to develop the area, some stations lay in sparsely populated places or were even surrounded by fields at the time of opening. Most of the efforts of Madrid regional government in 2000s were channeled towards
5472-410: Was constructed as well with narrow sections, but 90 m platforms. Shortly after opening the first section of Line 5, the platforms of Line 1 were enlarged from 60 to 90 m, permanently closing Chamberí station since it was too close to Iglesia (less than 500 m). Chamberí has been closed ever since and was recently reopened as a museum. In the early 1970s, the network was greatly expanded to cope with
5548-436: Was constructed, absorbing the branch of Line 2 between Goya and Diego de León in 1958, a branch that had been intended to be part of Line 4 since its construction but was operated as a branch of Line 2 until construction works had finished. In the 1960s, a suburban railway was constructed between Plaza de España and Carabanchel , linked to lines 2 (at Noviciado station with a long transfer) and 3. A fifth metro line
5624-420: Was disturbed for several years as some stations at a time were closed and refitted, while line 3 was closed for two consecutive summers in order to expand its platforms to 90 m. Then, new rolling stock was also requested: 1998 saw the arrival of the first CAF series 2000B, retiring the infamous series 1000. Initially, the better-preserved series 300 were refitted and painted in the new blue-white colour scheme (from
5700-479: Was not uncommon that a child would ride to school on the same train his/her parents took decades earlier. Some renewals, along with the purchases of series 2000A and 5000, were started by the socialist regional government of Joaquín Leguina , but in 1995 the People's Party took over the government with the promise to widely extend and improve the Metro service. New lines were built and old ones refurbished: line 5 service
5776-660: Was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security in Francoist Spain . It is currently the seat of the Presidency of the Madrid Community . Sol has seen protests against the March 11th 2004 attacks on commuter trains, and Spain's involvement in the Iraq War [1] . In 2011, the square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Spanish democracy demonstrations . The demonstrations included camping in
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