Community of Madrid Approves €880.6 Million for Metro Line 11 Valdebebas Extension and Advances Line 1 Expansion into Madrid Nuevo Norte

Community of Madrid Authorizes €880.6 Million for Line 11 Northern Corridor

MADRID, Community of Madrid — In a monumental commitment to expanding rapid transit connectivity across Spain's capital region, the Governing Council of the Community of Madrid has formally approved an investment of €880.6 million to construct the northern extension of Metro Line 11 from Mar de Cristal to Valdebebas Norte. Spanning 7.2 kilometres of high-capacity underground rail line, the strategic infrastructure expansion will deliver four brand-new metro stations: IFEMA-Cárcavas, Ciudad de la Justicia, Hospital Isabel Zendal, and Valdebebas Norte.

Crucially, the alignment incorporates direct multimodal interchanges at Mar de Cristal (connecting Lines 4 and 8) and provides a frictionless high-speed connection into Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport Terminal 4, establishing a continuous diagonal transit spine linking northern innovation precincts directly to Madrid's international air gateway.

Madrid Nuevo Norte Mega-Project Gains Dedicated Metro Line 1 Branch

Parallel to the Line 11 investment, the Regional Ministry of Housing, Transport, and Infrastructure has officially advanced planning for the extension of Metro Line 1 into Madrid Nuevo Norte, Europe’s single largest and most ambitious urban regeneration development. The extension project will introduce three brand-new underground stations: Centro de Negocios, Fuencarral Sur, and Fuencarral Norte.

The engineering plan incorporates an innovative dual-terminus operational model, allowing Line 1 trains to alternate between terminating at Pinar de Chamartín and Fuencarral Norte, directly linking the historic southern districts of Madrid through the newly renovated Chamartín-Clara Campoamor multimodal transport interchange and into the heart of the capital’s future financial hub.

South Line 11 Tunnel Boring Passes Key Milestones Between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal

Across the southern half of the city, heavy civil construction on the first phase of Line 11—a 6.7-kilometre stretch connecting Plaza Elíptica directly to Conde de Casal—has officially passed 45% completion. Engineering teams have successfully excavated the main tunnel tube between Comillas and Madrid Río, while station box cavern excavation progresses rapidly at Palos de la Frontera and Atocha.

Once commissioned, the comprehensive Line 11 diagonal axis will serve as Madrid’s 'second circular line,' distributing over 500,000 daily passenger trips away from congested inner-city transfer hubs like Sol and Avenida de América, and slashing cross-metropolitan travel times by up to 25 minutes.

Decarbonized Autonomous Transit and Sustainable Urban Renaissance

The regional transport grid expansion is paired with Metro de Madrid's massive technological modernization program, featuring the procurement of 80 high-efficiency automated trainsets engineered with Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling, full-width open gangways, and regenerative dynamic braking that returns electrical energy back into the traction grid.

Regional authorities emphasized that linking world-class zero-emission subterranean rail with high-density sustainable business campuses in Madrid Nuevo Norte ensures Madrid remains a foremost European beacon of clean mobility, high productivity, and exceptional quality of life for decades to come.