15 years later it is closer to expanding it

The project to extend the C-5 between Móstoles and Navalcarnero had been paralyzed for more than a decade. However, the Ministry of Transport has recently offered news. And now is being studied the possibility of including Boadilla del Monte and Villaviciosa de Odón in an alternative branch. It would be the first time in history that both towns are connected by train. We tell you all the details.

A history of half-finished works. Cercanías Madrid line C-5 is the most used of the entire network, with more than 72 million travelers annually, according to the Ministry of Transportation itself. Despite everything, the continuation of the line from Móstoles-El Soto to Navalcarnero It has been abandoned for fifteen years after the suspension of the works and the contractual problems that paralyzed them in 2019. The result was half-built viaducts and an outstanding debt with the affected municipalities.

What has changed now. The Ministry of Transportation has put out to tender a new feasibility study to update that project and evaluate route alternatives. The novelty is that the analysis would not be limited only to Móstoles–Navalcarnero, as it would also will contemplate a branch towards Villaviciosa de Odón and Boadilla del Monte.

According to assured The Villaviciosa City Council’s inclusion in the tour came after having negotiated it directly with the Ministry. In the statement they conveyed to the Ministry “the importance of Villaviciosa de Odón being part of the technical evaluations related to this railway connection, given its strategic position in the metropolitan southwest and lack of interurban transportation beyond the road connection through regular buses.” The study is currently in the award phase.

Connected. Both Boadilla del Monte and Villaviciosa de Odón do not have a direct train connection between them. Both depend on the private car, the intercity bus and, in the case of Boadilla, the Light Metro. They are municipalities that have grown significantly both in population and economic activity, but are still tied to the saturation of the A-5, the M-50 and the M-501. For this reason, a Cercanías line would be really good for these municipalities. In fact, they would connect for the first time with Móstoles and the rest of the network.

Expectations vs. reality. The town councils involved have received the news with enthusiasm and describe this step as a “first decisive step”, according to share the Madrid Secreto medium, because it is the first time that the branch appears in official documents. But both the councils and the Ministry itself warn that the road is long: first you have to complete the study, then finalize a project, then seek financing and, finally, execute the works. So there is still a long way to go.

What’s for sure? Apart from this hypothetical branch, the great transformation of the C-5 You already have a roadmap and budget. The modernization plan includes 28 actions worth 1,350 million euros to expand platforms, build new lanes, renew signaling and build a new station in Móstoles-El Soto. The objective is to increase the capacity of the line by 60% and reduce the incidents that hundreds of thousands of travelers suffer daily.

Cover image | Falk2 (Wikipedia)

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