880 million and Formula 1 in the spotlight of the great Metro expansion

When Madrid announced that it will be a Formula 1 World Cup event until next year 2035 the focus was on good connection that you would have by public transportation. Just a few days ago, the Community of Madrid once again stressed this with a controversial video starring Carlos Sainz (Williams driver) in which he claimed that you can get to the circuit from “the city center” in nine minutes when in reality he left a station almost four kilometers from the emblematic Puerta del Sol.

Now, the Community of Madrid once again mentions the Madringthe name of the Madrid circuit, in another promotional video. In this case to announce the definitive layout of Metro Line 11, which was not completely confirmed despite the fact that The expansion works in the southern area had already begun.

Now, the project is final. The problem is that the “Gran Diagonal” has nothing to do with the original project. And that has raised many blisters in a northern area of ​​Madrid where many have been left out of the project.

880 million euros for a historic expansion

Since the project was presented, Madrid was clear that it wanted to completely change the appearance of Line 11. This line only has seven stops spread over about 8 kilometers. With the expansion, the line is expected to measure more than 30 kilometers and will have 20 stops.

The Great Diagonal will have a final cost of about 1,100 million euros but it has not been until now when the region has unlocked an expenditure of 880 million euros dedicated mainly to the northern end of the expansion. And here comes the trouble.

With the announcement it is confirmed that the line will use two already operational stations such as Mar de Cristal and Terminal 4 of the airport as supports. The rest of the stations are new: IFEMA-Cárcavas, Ciudad de la Justicia, Hospital Isabel Zendal and Valdebebas Norte.

In the promotional video, the Community of Madrid highlights that the new Line 11 will connect with the Formula 1 circuit, the Isabel Zendal Nursing Hospital and the future City of Justice. All of them are projects created or defined recently and that have raised controversy over their convenience or not.

The health center was built as a “pandemic hospital”in the words of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid. Since the crisis eased, its activity has been very low and it has been studied for a long time how take advantage of it for other medical areas. It was said about Formula 1 that it wouldn’t cost a euro of public money. And the city of Justice is a frozen megaproject that In 2015 it had already cost Madrid residents 105 million euros but what has not yet seen the light.

Line 11 aims to be a new handle to bring people to these spaces and events, in addition to the surrounding homes that until now have to deal with the inconveniences of a PAU: gigantic streets that discourage the walk and the use of public transport.

But the criticism is especially harsh for those who saw it possible for a new Metro line to reach their homes. Neighbors to the north of Madrid but who are a few kilometers from where the new section of Line 11 will run.

And it is that the original design It involved turning off at Arturo Soria (before reaching Mar de Cristal) and heading northwest. Crossing the city to the left and passing under Paseo de la Castellana, one of the main arteries of the city, the new link was projected to the Barrio del Pilar, with its final destination on Avenida de la Illustration.

However, In 2020, the detour to the east was already proposedwith destination Valdebebas as it finally happened. Since then, the neighborhood associations They have asked that, at least, the line not stay in Valdebebas and return westwards past the last station currently contemplated to link with the Barrio del Pilar. These associations defend that the initial project would improve the connection of more than 120,000 residents compared to the 30,000 who currently live in the Valdebebas neighborhood.

And although the northern zone has focused attention because the modification of the project was substantial, the residents of the southern zone demand new stations that improve their connection with the Metro. And in the southern section, between the current La Fortuna station and Cuatro Vientos, where the line will end connecting with Line 10, new stations will not be excavated either, everything will be a continuous link of more than two kilometers.

Photo | Madrid Metro

In Xataka | 1,500 tons in weight, 100 meters long and one objective: excavate Metro Line 11 in Carabanchel