Community of Madrid Advances €880 Million Line 11 Diagonal Metro Extension to Connect Valdebebas and Airport Terminal 4

Northern Section Contracts Mobilize 7.2-Kilometre Strategic Corridor

MADRID, Community of Madrid — In a monumental expansion of Western Europe’s most extensive subway network, the Community of Madrid has formally advanced into the construction commissioning phase for the northern section of Metro Line 11, backed by an approved investment of €880.6 million. Stretching 7.2 kilometres from the Mar de Cristal transport interchange to Valdebebas Norte, the strategic subterranean corridor will provide transformative rapid rail access to northeastern Madrid's fastest-growing residential districts, legal campuses, and international business hubs.

The project represents a central infrastructure priority for the regional executive, engineered to decentralize urban transit flows away from congested downtown junctions and provide high-frequency mobility to over 200,000 residents and workers.

Four New Underground Stations and Direct Airport Terminal 4 Link

The northern expansion delivers four brand-new, fully accessible modern stations: IFEMA-Cárcavas (serving Madrid’s premier trade fair complex), Ciudad de la Justicia (connecting the newly unified judicial administrative campus), Hospital Isabel Zendal, and Valdebebas Norte. Each station will incorporate high-capacity glass elevators, energy-saving LED illumination, tactile floor guidance systems, and cutting-edge passenger information displays.

Crucially, the alignment incorporates a dedicated high-capacity interchange at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport Terminal 4, enabling travelers to connect seamlessly between Metro Line 8, the Cercanías commuter rail network, and Line 11 without transferring through the central city core.

Tunnel Boring Machine 'Mayrit' Surpasses 2,500 Metres on Southern Segment

Concurrently, subterranean excavation is advancing at record velocity along the southern section of Line 11 between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal. Regional engineering authorities announced that the mammoth tunnel boring machine (TBM), named 'Mayrit', has successfully bored and lined more than 2,500 metres of tunnel, progressing deep beneath the Manzanares River toward its imminent breakthrough milestone at Palos de la Frontera station.

The southern extension will add major multimodal interchanges at Comillas, Madrid Río, and the historic Atocha railway hub, establishing vital relief for the heavily congested circular Line 6.

Completing the 33.5-Kilometre 'Gran Diagonal' Rapid Transit Spine

Madrid transport planners emphasized that these parallel investments will culminate in the completion of the 'Gran Diagonal'—a single, continuous 33.5-kilometre rapid transit artery running diagonally from Cuatro Vientos in the southwest to Valdebebas in the northeast.

By drastically reducing cross-city travel times by up to 30% and eliminating millions of private car trips annually from the M-30 and M-40 motorways, Metro Line 11 establishes a world-class model for sustainable urban transit that solidifies Madrid’s leadership in global mobility.