The Ministry of Transport has finally decided to transform line C-5 of Cercanías de Madrid, which is, with some 72 million annual travelersthe most used in Spain. Won’t do it until they finish the underground works of the A-5but we already know all the details. It is the largest renovation of the line in decades and the heart of the change are 35 giant trains that are already being manufactured in Valencia.
ORa line to the limit. As we said, the C-5 moves about 72 million passengers a year and absorbs 29% of all Cercanías Madrid trips. It is the public transport line with the most users in the entire country, and today it operates with trains that do not exceed 150 meters in length, platforms that do not allow larger vehicles and an outdated signaling system. With a demand that has grown by 10% between 2022 and 2024the margin has narrowed so much that it is time for a change.
The protagonist of change: the Stadler Series 453. On March 4, the Ministry of Transportation presented the modernization plan of the C-5, endowed with 1,350 million euros, and confirmed that Renfe will allocate 600 million to the purchase of the 35 Series 453 trains manufactured by Stadler at its plant in Albuixech, Valencia. The service promises, since we are talking about trains that will measure almost 200 meters (specifically 191.16 meters) and will combine single-decker cars at the ends with double-decker cars inside.
QWhat changes for the traveler. Where today about 1,565 people fit in the current trains, the new ones will accommodate up to 1,884 people (524 seated and 1,360 standing) in a single composition. Double-decker cars are designed for longer journeys and with a seat; those with one floor, wider at the entrances, for quick ascents and descents.
Two-story interior cars
According to they count in Trenvista, they will include areas for wheelchairs, multifunctional spaces for bicycles and strollers, a fully accessible toilet, WiFi and USB sockets. In addition, the middle points to greater padding than in other Cercanías trains, but without armrests.
Why haven’t they arrived yet. Renfe put out to tender these trains in 2019 and the contract was awarded to Stadler in 2021. The Swiss firm had to expand its Albuixech factory to meet the order, which in 2022 was expanded with 20 additional 200-meter units, and began manufacturing in rented warehouses while the new facilities were ready, according to detailed at that time the medium.
The first tests on the Spanish railway network began in the summer of 2024. The arrival at C-5, however, will still take some time. And the Ministry’s plan places the entry into service of these trains with automatic driving in April 2030.
The problem that had to be solved before. For a 200-meter train to circulate on C-5, the infrastructure has to be prepared. Today it is not. The current platforms are too short, the LZB signaling system that regulates circulation has reached the end of its useful life, and there are no maintenance facilities capable of accommodating trains of that length.
The good news is that in the 1,350 million plan is included the extension of platforms between 40 and 50 meters, the construction of a new maintenance base in Móstoles, the replacement of the signaling system with the European ERTMS Level 2 standard and the construction of a new station in Móstoles-El Soto.
What’s coming now. The schedule foresees two service cutsin the summers of 2027 and 2028, to get to work with the most complex parts, and with free replacement buses and reinforcement in the Metro. Testing of the new signaling system will begin in April 2029, the first high-capacity trains will enter service in April 2030, and the project is expected to be completed in October 2031. The objective declared by the Ministry is to go from 72 to 100 million travelers annually, with a capacity 60% greater than the current one. It remains to be seen if the deadlines are met.
Images | Snooze123 (Wikipedia) and Stadler
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