Madrid

Maps

Metro Overview

Madrid (3.1 million inhabitants) is the capital of Spain. The city and its adjacent municipalities (including cities like Alcorcуn, Leganйs, Getafe, Mystoles, Fuenlabrada, Coslada, Alcobendas, etc.) form a huge urban zone, which has 5.8 million inhabitants. It is the largest metropolitan area in Spain.

Madrid's Metro is composed of twelve metro lines, with 281.58 km and 318 stations. The Metro service is complemented by the Metro Ligero, a modern tram network. There is also Cercanias Renfe network (suburban commuter railways, similar to the Paris RER) running through a downtown tunnel connecting north and south suburbs.

The Metro has trains of two sizes, wide and narrow. The wide trains are approx. the same size as New York IND subway 60 foot cars. The narrow cars are REALLY narrow-- smaller than New York IRT cars. The older lines are the narrow ones but unfortunately some of those are the most used lines. Line 6, a newer ring line, is a deep bore tunnel way, way below all of the others. For example at the transfer station at Cuatro Caminos between line 6 and line 1 requires *four* escalators the length of those at 53rd/Lex in New York or those at the PATH World Trade Center station. There is some surface running on lines 5, 9, and 10. Metro tickets are extremely inexpensive-- (in 2001 prices, 80 pesetas each if bought in multiples of 10, approximately 50 cents each!) The Madrid metro is left hand running like in London, and none of the trains have railfan windows. The lines are all operated via overhead catenary wire, not third rail.