Madrid

The enormous Mayrit tunnel boring machine on Metro L11 is already in Madrid. Now comes the real challenge: putting it together piece by piece

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In Madrid there are already the pieces of one of the largest machines that will work in the city’s underground in the coming years. It is about Mayritthe EPB tunnel boring machine 98 meters long and 1,500 tons in weight whose transport started in Germany, continued along the Rhine to Rotterdam and continued by boat to the port of Santander. After that journey, a special convoy has completed more than 450 kilometers by road to take its modules to the future Comillas station, where it will prepare to excavate the new section of Line 11 between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal. The work on which Mayrit will work is part of a broader intervention that the Community of Madrid describes in 2025 as the largest expansion of the Metro network in the last decade. Official data published in November put progress at 34% and maintain a budget of 518 million euros to complete the new section and the planned stations. The regional government maintains the year 2027 as a reference to close this phase of the project. Mayrit is already in Madrid: one hour left to convert its parts into a single operational machine When dealing with a machine of this size and complexity, each phase of the process requires precision that goes far beyond conventional engineering. Mayrit’s journey towards Spain began long before it appeared on the road: it started in Schwanau, the German town where Herrenknecht completed its manufacturing after about 20 months of work. There, more than a thousand kilometers from Madrid, the tunnel boring machine It was assembled for the first time in June 2025 to carry out initial verifications. This assembly showed the magnitude of the next step: converting the machine into a set of parts capable of traveling around Europe without risks. Disassembling it was not a quick procedure. For the next two months, Herrenknecht teams dedicated themselves to separating each module following a sequence calculated to the millimeter. The result was a set of sections ready to begin an international tour. The disembarkation in the port of Santander marked the beginning of the last stage of Mayrit’s journey, a phase that requires coordination very different from that of river and maritime transport. The pieces arrived distributed in separate shipments and were transferred to prepared platforms, a process that is carried out with specialized equipment to avoid any unexpected displacement. The organization of the road transfer incorporated common protocols in special transport, with large-tonnage vehicles escorted by technical teams in charge of checking clearances, turning radii and urban accesses. The authorities confirmed that the advance was carried out mainly at night to reduce interruptions and facilitate maneuvers in the most delicate sections of the route. The arrival in the Comillas area required a final deployment of personnel and machinery to accommodate each piece in the work area, where the assembly phase that will transform this set of modules into a single operational tunnel boring machine is already awaiting. The arrival of the pieces also marks the beginning of a phase that, according to forecasts distributed between June and November 2025, can extend until March 2026. Assembling a TBM requires joining modules in a strict order, connecting hydraulic and electrical systems, and performing tests that are concentrated between late January and February. It is a sequential process that is not resolved in a few days and that determines the date on which the machine will be able to start digging at the beginning of March. The official documentation describes Mayrit as an EPB machine adapted to the geotechnical characteristics of the layout. Its operation is based on maintaining a balance of pressures that prevents unwanted movements on the surface, especially relevant in urban environments. To sustain this process, shifts of specialists are involved who manage the control and evacuation systems of the excavated material. The expected performanceclose to 15 meters per day, will be decisive in setting the pace of mechanized advance. Comillas will be the point from which Mayrit will begin the mechanized sectionaccording to the forecasts that the Community of Madrid has been detailing since June 2025. From there it will advance to Conde de Casalwhile in parallel the manual excavation of about 700 meters towards Plaza Elíptica progresses, started in September with a performance of close to 50 meters per month. The beginning of the excavation will mark the jump between the preparatory work and the actual progress of the tunnel that will transform this section of Line 11. With each meter excavated, the planned layout will get closer to its final shape and will allow the progress of the project to be measured more clearly. It is a significant element within regional planning to reinforce mobility in one of the areas with the most demand on the network. Images | Community of Madrid In Xataka | Malaga has become a magnet for the most luxurious yachts in the world: the latest, that of the co-founder of Google

Madrid has so many tourists that a company tried to do business with paid bathrooms. Now it has entered bankruptcy

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The news revealed it in February Antonio Giraldo, geographer, urban planner and PSOE councilor in the Madrid City Council. In a tweet that ended up going viral told how a commercial ground floor in the city center that had once housed a bank branch was living a second life as a private bathroom. It might seem like a curiosity without much significance, but that ‘transmutation’ says a lot about Madrid and the tourism that other destinations in Spain experience. Now the toilets are back in the news, but for a very different reason: although Madrid tourism moves in record numbersthe business hasn’t taken off. Where I said bench, I say bathroom. To understand the controversy we have to go back a few months, to February 5, the day Giraldo published the tweet in which he warned of the change of use of a ground floor located in the heart of Madrid, to be more precise in the Plaza de San Miguel, near the Plaza Mayor. The space, which had once housed a bank branch, had been converted into private bathrooms. And to demonstrate it Giraldo included several photographs in which you could see the window with a huge ‘WC’ logo and the access to the new business, with automatic turnstile, lights, fence and card reader included. Click on the image to go to the tweet. “The tourism uncontrolled from the center”. Is it news that a commercial premises changes its use, that they open private bathrooms in the center of Madrid? The answer is yes. It may seem like a curiosity, but the change represents a much deeper and broader transformation: the loss of services aimed at residents in favor of others focused on passing customers, such as tourists. From BBVA office to private toilet that is accessed after payment by card. “The phenomenon of uncontrolled touristification in the center of Madrid brings us something new: a traditional commercial premises transformed into private toilets at a cost of one euro that you pay with a card at an entrance turnstile,” I was reflecting. “If the ultra-pressure that tourists put on public services, such as public bathrooms, is not passed on via a tax, ignore the fact that the private sector is already arriving.” Private bathrooms and much more. In reality, private toilets were just one piece of a much larger phenomenon. The residents of the Plaza de San Miguel may have seen how a commercial ground floor was converted into a paid toilet instead of hosting a pharmacy, fruit shop, shoe store, a supermarket or any other neighborhood business, but something similar has happened in other areas of the city with establishments clearly oriented towards tourism, such as slogans, accommodations or souvenir shops. It is nothing strange or exclusive to the capital. Not long ago in Santiago de Compostela they did the math and they discovered that in the historic center it is now easier to buy a souvenir than a loaf of bread. Another clear example Malaga leaves it. Over there a report of the City Council warns that “mass tourism can lead to the proliferation of low-quality gastronomic establishments” and points out the risks entailed by “the expulsion of native and value-added businesses, replaced by souvenir shops and other businesses for tourists.” A business not so business? The news about the private bathrooms in the center of Madrid could have stopped there, in another example of urban tourism. A few days ago, however, he once again made another headline, in this case in an information advanced by The Confidential: although Madrid has reached a record of overnight stays by foreign tourists, paying toilets have turned out to be less business than was believed. According to reveals the newspaper, the company behind it, The Mad Toilets, has filed bankruptcy proceedings overwhelmed by the losses. The news is even more interesting because initially the project was linked to Victor de Aldamaa businessman associated with such controversial episodes as the Ábalos case wave hydrocarbon plot. Political issues aside, The Confidential explains that the company presented the special procedure for microenterprises before the commercial court, suffocated by the accounts. In court they declared the opening of the special liquidation procedure and the company’s attorney opted for a continuation process. Now a Madrid firm specialized in restructuring has been chosen. Is there anything else known about the firm? Yes. According to the data sent to the court, the company found itself with losses that made its continuity unfeasible: the turnover was zero while the liabilities exceeded 750,000 euros. Consequently, the judge opted for the special procedure for liquidating the microenterprise. On the Empresite platform can be seen that its current status is that of competition. To provide the service, the company had four workers who were in charge of cleaning and supervision, for example. In its day, the premises were equipped with individual cubicles, paper dispensers, sinks and dryers. Searching for the causes. The question at this point is… Why didn’t the project work? Why has it not managed to become a profitable business in the midst of a tourism boom? From the outset, the place had a significant handicap: not far from there, a few minutes walk, there is public toilets that are part of the 129 WC network free access whose maintenance, clarifies the City Councilis paid for with advertising. Added to this competition is that exercised by other businesses such as cafes, bars and restaurants available to tourists. To access the private toilets it was necessary to pay one euro by card and the service was not available 24 hours a day either. In February elDiario explained that the business was operating with a provisional schedule, although the objective was to operate from nine in the morning to twelve at night. To do this, however, an employee explained, more staff would be necessary. In a post Published on LinkedIn, Esteban Mancuso points out that and some other key that explain what happened. Specifically speaks of an “underestimation of real … Read more

If the solution to the housing crisis in Madrid is to build, there is a municipality that has taken the lead: Alcobendas

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Madrid begins the countdown to have a new and large pool of apartments in the north, relevant news if you take into account how tense its market is and the serious deficit of housing that drags. The Alcobendas City Council has just given green light to the partial plan of the new neighborhood of Los Carriles-Valgrande, a new (and enormous) area of ​​​​the town that will have around 8,600 homesa good part of them (more than 4,600) protected. We will still have to wait before seeing the new blocks built, but its promoters are already anticipating that it will be “the largest urban development project in the north of Madrid”, with a wide range of residential, services and parks. What has happened? That Madrid is a little closer to reinforcing its residential offer with an injection of 8,600 homesa good part of them under protected regime. And that is always news in a market like the capital, marked by the price escalation (both in sales and rentals), certain access conditions each time more draconian and the imbalance between supply and demand. In fact in one of his latest reports The Association of Real Estate Developers of Madrid (Asprima) states that to meet the demand of the community it is necessary to create 40,000 homes per yearwell above the volume of new construction that is being generated right now. As a reference, remember that last year “a maximum peak” of 23,500 homes was delivered and everything indicates that the pace of completions will not reach that mark in the coming years either. Where will they be built? These 8,600 new homes will be built in Los Carriles-Valgrandea new (and ambitious) neighborhood planned in the municipality of Alcobendas. The initiative is interesting for several reasons. In addition to reinforcing the offer, its promoters they boast that it will be “the largest urban project” in the north of the community and one of the developments “with the highest proportion of affordable housing.” In addition, it will “complete” Alcobendas up to its limit with the capital. The new buildings will arrive accompanied by hectares of green areas, two new parks and more than 55,000 m2 dedicated to the tertiary and commercial sector. Its implementation will also generate employment: Alcobendas City Council speaks of 4,000 positions during construction and more than a thousand once the neighborhood is completed. In terms of mobilized capital, it is estimated that the investment will be around 2,300 million euros and the return for the municipality will be around 511 million. Do you know anything else? Yes. Of the 8,600 homes that will be built, around 4,600 (54%) will be protected and 40% will be built on municipal plots. The project also includes the creation of 570,000 square meters of green areas and open spaces, which will include two new and large parks, one next to Monte de Valdelatas and another near the Valdelacasa stream. “Each one will have dimensions that are equivalent to six times the Andalusia parkin Alcobendas”, they need the promoters of the project, who remember that all trees that are affected by the urbanization will be replaced. In fact, they estimate that the area will go from having 2,555 to more than 6,700. He dossier The urban planning area specifies that in total it will occupy about 2.17 million square meters, of which about 57% will be public surface. 25% will be dedicated to green areas and almost 20% to equipment and services. Once it goes ahead, its promoters estimate that it will be able to accommodate around 25,800 inhabitants, a considerable population injection for the area if one takes into account that right now Alcobendas has (according to the INE) 121,400 registered. Why is it news? The project is not new. In fact, Leopoldo Arnaiz, manager of the Valgrande compensation board, remember that there are people who have been working on it for more than 20 years. If it is news now it is because it has just overcome a key obstacle at a bureaucratic level: on Tuesday the local plenary session of Alcobendas gave the green light to the new partial plan, which will allow further progress in the processing of the urbanization. The approval has also been majority: the plan went ahead with the favorable photo of 26 of the 27 councilors of the corporation. “With the approval of the new partial plan we offer legal security for buyers, investors and to continue with the urbanization project in the area and maintain the action schedule,” stands out the mayor of the town, Rocío García Alcántara. Among other issues, the document details the distribution of homes, public spaces and parks, marks the location and layout of roads and what land will be reserved, for example, for green areas. And from now on? The step is also important because it helps urbanization overcome the legal obstacles those he had encountered. In his day the Supreme delayed it due to a technical defect after noticing a failure in the strategic environmental evaluation of an artificial mountain. Once the urbanization works allow it, the idea is to start the work to build blocks and have the first homes “as soon as possible”although the Consistory does not specify dates. “The final approval of the partial plan is great news,” claims Arnaiz. “Today we take a decisive step. We continue to advance and comply with the roadmap that we announced in June. And we reaffirm our commitment to this development, because it is viable, sustainable and necessary, since it responds to a real demand from the residents of the municipality and the north of Madrid.” Images | Valgrande and Alcobendas City Council In Xataka | Madrid needs to decentralize its tourism if it does not want to suffocate. So he’s betting on a “Chinatown” in Usera

The EU wants to connect Madrid and Paris by train, in six hours and by 2035. Or in 2042. Or maybe never

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The European Commission has approved an ambitious Action Plan for the high-speed railway that aims to triple the European network, going from the current 12,000 kilometers to 36,000 kilometers before 2040. The objective is to turn the train into a real alternative to the plane for medium-distance journeys, drastically reducing travel times between the main capitals of the continent. And Spain is going to have an important role. What changes for Spain. The plan directly affects our country with two priority connections: Madrid-Lisbon in three hours (compared to more than eight currently) and Madrid-Paris in six hours (instead of the more than twelve that are needed now). From Bilbao you can reach Lisbon in less than six hours passing through the capital. The proposal contemplates that these improvements be operational in 2035although the corridor with France raises more doubts than the plan to join with Lisbon. Why it is important. Currently, the 12,000 kilometers of European high speed are mainly concentrated in Spain, France, Italy and Germany, while the east and center of the continent remain poorly connected. Just like points out Commissioner for Sustainable Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, “Central and Eastern Europe remains woefully poorly connected.” Spain, with almost 4,000 operational kilometers, is European leader in high-speed infrastructure, only behind China globally. The money problem. Complete the planned network by 2040 will cost about 345,000 million euros. If we also want trains to run well above 250 kilometers per hour, the figure shoots up to 546 billion until 2050, according to Brussels. The organization admits that public financing it won’t be enough and seeks to attract private investment, in addition to loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the national public bank (ICO in Spain). The idea is that in 2026 an agreement will be negotiated between Member States, financial institutions and other organizations and companies to settle the investment issue. Between the lines. Although the plan sounds ambitious, Brussels recognizes that it is very late: In 2020, the goal of doubling the network by 2030 was set, but by 2023 it had only grown by 17%. France, key to connecting Madrid with Paris, maintains a more pessimistic calendar than Brussels and does not see the connection as feasible until 2042. The Spanish minister himself Óscar Puente has recognized that the direct connection with Paris “will not arrive next year”. Tzitzikostas has announced who works intensely with the ministers of Spain and France to “overcome border bottlenecks.” The effect on airlines. A Madrid-Paris flight lasts just over two hours, but adding waiting times, boarding and transfers from airports, it is close to the six hours that the direct train to the city center would take. Spain and France short flights have already been banned with a rail alternative of less than two and a half hours. In addition, the EU obliges airlines to use at least 70% green fuels by 2050, starting with 2% this year, which will make flights more expensive. And now what. The plan is certainly not written in stone and the roadmap will depend on the political will of each country and the ability to attract private investment. Spain is well positioned to take advantage of these funds, since according to the media Expansión, It has 700 kilometers under construction and another 700 projected that will take the network above 5,000 kilometers between 2030 and 2032. The Commission also promises a new ticket strategy in 2026 to “make it easier for passengers to book multimodal tickets” and a full liberalization of the sector in 2040, which should reduce prices. Cover image | Tim Adams In Xataka | There was a day when Japan was the leading high-speed country. It has been surpassed by China, a victim of its own country

If the question is whether you have to pay garbage tax for a parking space in Madrid, the answer is: good luck with the Cadastre

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April 8, 2022. The Government publishes in the BOE Law 7/2022, on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy. Behind this name hides a small bomb that has been exploding, little by little, in each municipality. In Madrid, that detonation has come this year. Beyond the calculation, there are thousands of car parks that are now wondering: do I have to pay the new garbage fee? Where do we come from? My colleague Carlos Prego explained it a few days ago in Xataka. Madrid has recalculated its garbage rate, making reference to the famous Law mentioned above with a calculation that the OCU has come to define as “original and unfair”. The point is that controversy has arisen because Madrid City Council said “eliminate” this rate in 2015, alleging that they removed the tax burden from the citizen. The 2022 Law obliges municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants to begin collecting it, following European guidelines. To calculate that rate, The City Council has taken into account the cadastral value of the apartments or the tonnage of garbage that is collected in each neighborhood. That is, those who live in a neighborhood where more garbage is generated will pay more… and that directly affects neighborhoods with great tourist activity (hotels, tourist apartments…), commercial or very densely populated. a truce. The criticism has been so virulent on the part of the oppositionof the neighbors and of the associations of consumers who the City Council has partially rectified. They assure that now it will be taken into account the number of registered in each household looking ahead to next year. But what happens where no one lives? Yes, where, for example, there is a parked car because we are talking about a garage. And the garbage rate also affects the owners of a parking space… At least, apart from them. and a battle. Because although the neighbors seem to have received a truce with the new calculation in the garbage rate, which, yes, the City Council continues to defend that it will have little impact on obvious changes for neighborsthe new open front is what happens to the parking lots. And the door had been opened for a neighbor to have to pay a garbage fee for his home and another garbage fee for his parking lot. Despite the fact that, obviously, the garbage generated by a parking space is minimal or non-existent. Little more than general cleaning if we talk about a community parking lot. However, the rate taxes the provision of the service of collection, transportation and treatment of urban waste, in the words of the College of Administrators. That is, the same person (house and garage) could be charged for a single garbage collection. Who pays then? Those who will pay. Those owners of parking spaces whose parking lot is registered in the Cadastre as a “parking-industrial-use warehouse”, in the words of a circular sent by the Madrid College of Administrators to the Property Administrators of the Capital. What does this mean? They clarify it from the Cadastre which, upon consultation with one of these administrators, have confirmed that they are those independent garages that cannot be accessed from a home or from the common areas of a building. That is, those in which garbage is collected individually. Those who will not pay. Those owners of a parking space whose parking is registered in the Cadastre as “residential use”. Or, in a simplified way by this last entity, which are accessed from a home or from common areas with another building. In that case, they may be communities of different owners (garage and building) but if access is from the same common areas, the former will not pay the garbage fee. What does the City Council say? That they adhere to the type of land use specified in the Cadastre and, therefore, that it is the latter that specifies who should or should not pay the garbage rate. The only solution given in this case by the College of Property Administrators of Madrid is for the community to present a declaration of cadastral alteration to specify that the land use is residential and does not correspond to industrial use. The other alternative is to present a written due to discrepancies with the description of cadastral use. Photo | Kertis Stick and Madrid City Council In Xataka | The best horror movie of this winter has been released. And the protagonists are the owners of a home in Spain

171 million euros later, Metro de Madrid wants to reopen line 7B. The big question is whether the tenth time will be the charm.

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Line 7B of the Madrid Metro will fully reopen this same month of November after more than three years closed. It is the tenth attempt to normalize a service that was inaugurated in 2007 and that has accumulated more than 800 days without functioning since then. The total cost of repairs reaches 171 million eurosnot counting compensation to neighbors, which already exceeds 23 million and continues to increase. A disaster that began in 2007. When Esperanza Aguirre promoted this expansion to have it ready before the regional elections of 2007, no one could imagine the consequences. The construction of the tunnel seriously altered the subsoil by bringing salt and water into contact, which caused the progressive dissolution of the soil. The result: collapse of the tunnels, massive water leaks and structural damage to hundreds of homes in San Fernando de Henares and Coslada. According to internal documents obtained by El Paísalready in 2008 the technicians warned of the “risk of collapses in the metro tunnel and the surrounding buildings”, and in 2009 they warned that action was “extremely urgent.” The figures of the disaster. The repair bill includes 117 million invested by the Ministry of Transport in works and compensation, 49.7 million from the Canal de Isabel II in hydraulic infrastructure, 2.4 million from the Metro itself and 1.7 million from the Ministry of Education to demolish the El Pilar educational complex. In total, more than 171 million euros. But the number will continue to grow: Property compensation, which in 2022 was estimated at 12 million, has already reached 23.3 million and there are nearly 300 open files. Additionally, 73 homes had to be completely demolished, leaving families paying mortgages on homes that no longer existed. The technical solution. To stabilize the ground, the Community has injected more than 11,000 tons of mortar of concrete in the subsoil through 26,000 drillings that reach up to 45 meters deep. It has also deployed 179 mini topographic prisms inside the metro and laser sensors that send daily data on ground movements. The Polytechnic University of Madrid analyzes also satellite images to detect any anomaly. According to the Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, 511 surveillance elements and five robotic stations have been installed that will constantly monitor the road, the land and nearby buildings. The neighbors don’t forget. Although the Community assures that the infrastructure now presents “stability” and meets “the necessary security conditions”, those affected they maintain their mobilizations and demand greater compensation in court. Furthermore, a study by the Polytechnic University detected “considerable movements” in distant areas “without stabilizing”, although without specifying more details. For the 120,000 inhabitants of San Fernando de Henares and Coslada, the November reopening is just the first step to move forward in almost two decades of nightmare. And now what. The Community will allocate an additional 8.2 million to surveillance and maintenance contracts to act immediately in the event of any incident without the need for emergency contracts. Line 7B will be the most monitored infrastructure of the Madrid Metro, precisely because it is the one that has caused the most problems. It remains to be seen if this time the line is truly stable or if it will close again, as has happened on nine previous occasions. Cover image | Zarateman (Wikipedia) In Xataka | Madrid and Lisbon will be linked by the AVE. It will only arrive (if it arrives) 24 years late

After renting swimming pools during the summer, a new business is on the rise in Madrid: private terraces in winter

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In a chalet in Boadilla del Monte, a group of friends drinks their wine as the afternoon falls. In the center of Madrid, a couple celebrates a birthday on a stranger’s terrace. In Lavapiés, a group of twenty-somethings toast in a room. In all cases, there is something in common: none of them are owners, but for a few hours they can pretend that they are. Madrid is rented in fragments: swimming pools in summer, terraces in autumn and lounges in winter. The everyday turned into a stage, intimacy turned into a product. Renting all year round. What started as a summer curiosity —renting private pools by the hour— has become a new form of urban leisure. Platforms like Cocopool, Born as the “Airbnb of water”now they also rent interiors for the rest of the year. However, behind this fashion there is something deeper than a simple leisure trend: an attempt to buy a life. aestheticthat ideal of calm, natural light and well-being that we see every day on social networks. From the dip to the shelter. Renting pools by the hour is still very popular and there are more and more platforms where you can choose where to take your next dip. What seemed like a seasonal business has become deseasonalized. In 2022 Cocopool launched as the “Airbnb of swimming pools”. Now, as explained by its CEO Gerard Xalabardéthe company has come up with “new verticals that cover the same needs the rest of the year.” In autumn and spring, users can rent terraces and gardens; in winter, private lounges with fireplace, sofas and equipped kitchen. In Madrid, the company has 15 interior spaces and 62 terraces or gardens, with prices ranging from 15 to 300 euros, depending on size and luxury. The average cost is around 32 euros for interiors and 34 for terraces, according to company data. The wish of a life aesthetic. This boom not only responds to a practical demand, but also to an aesthetic desire. Renting a well-kept terrace or a designer living room is not just about seeking comfort, but —as Xataka Home explains— “engage in an aspirational lifestyle, even if just for a few hours.” What used to materialize in Pinterest photos or TikTok videos is now experienced in the flesh: a garden with garlands, a light wooden table, a blue pool without background noise. According to Trendsthe phenomenon aesthetic It combines nostalgia for bygone eras with an obsession with the visually perfect: a life that seems orderly, beautiful and under control. In parallel, one could speak of “silent luxury” as the new form of exclusivity: minimalism, noble materials, neutral colors and absence of ostentation. In other words, renting a beige living room is not just leisure: it is a little aesthetic therapy to escape, for a few hours, from everyday clutter. “All for hours.” Pool rentals were just the beginning. The logic of sharing has been extended to almost any experience: terraces, gardens, living rooms, naps and even weddings. But beyond business ingenuity, there is a clear drift: the capitalization of any redoubt of private life. The intimate becomes the stage, the everyday becomes the product. Fewer and fewer things escape the logic of express rental. What was once shared among friends is now reserved with a card. What was rest is now sold as an experience. However, there are also those who find in these platforms a practical solution, not a fantasy. aesthetic. In a city where the flats they shrink and houses rarely allow more than six people to gather, renting a terrace or living room for a few hours can be a reasonable—and affordable—way to celebrate a birthday, a family reunion, or a meal with friends. Not everything is posturing: sometimes there is simply a lack of space. Although, in the words of geographer Vicent Molins, “Madrid has become a product.” And economist Juan Torres López warns that this trend “erodes urban ties and deepens inequality,” because it turns coexistence into business. In other words: if everything can be rented, everything can no longer belong to us. A copy of a copy. In just five years, Spain has gone from renting other people’s beds with Airbnb to renting moments of life: a pool, a terrace, a nap or, soon, a wedding. Everything is offered by the hour, everything is measured in experiences. Platforms like Cocopool, HolaPlace or Nap & Go They capitalize on a shared desire: to experience what we see on networks, even if it is for a while. A more orderly, beautiful, more aesthetic. Maybe, as El País warned“the brand grows, but the city gets worse for those who live in it.” Or maybe we’re just learning to put a price—literally—on what used to be free: the feeling of belonging, of having something of your own. Because, in the end, that life that we so long for on screens is nothing more than a copy of another copy. And we, paying to imitate her, are also a little bit. Image | FreePik Xataka | Neither air conditioning nor fan: the best thing to cool off in summer is a swimming pool. On these platforms they are rented by the hour

proposes an ERE for 1,200 employees in Madrid and Barcelona

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The round of more than 30,000 layoffs that Amazon announced at the beginning of the week seemed something far away. Finally, the figure was lowered to 14,000 layoffswhich is still dramatic. However, two companies linked to Amazon in Spain have initiated employment regulation files (ERE) for their workers in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​which indicates that Spain is also among Amazon’s workforce reduction plans. 1,200 jobs between Madrid and Barcelona Just a few days ago, Amazon announced a round of staff layoffs that would affect some 14,000 employees around the world. According what was published by EFE and Europa Press, the company’s corporate employees in Spain will be part of that adjustment. As confirmed by Amazon at the request of Xataka, two employment regulation files have been opened in the companies Amazon Digital Spain, whose offices are located in Madrid, and Amazon Spain Services, located in Barcelona. The combination of both processes will affect up to 1,200 employees of these corporate offices. Sources from EFE point out that the layoffs would be limited only to the staff of those offices, but not to the operations and logistics part that Amazon has spread throughout the national territory. Amazon’s global workforce is estimated at around 1.5 million employees, of which around 350,000 hold corporate positions. According to data from 2025 provided by Amazonits staff in Spain would be about 28,000 employees distributed in 19 provinces. Amazon indicated in its official statement on the reduction of 14,000 jobs globally, that those affected would be offered a period of 90 days to look for a new position within the company, although it was clarified that this period could vary depending on the legislation in force in each country, so we do not know if those affected by this ERE will be able to relocate to other positions within the company. It’s not for money, it’s for agility Amazon’s decision in Spain is known just after publishing one rrising economic resultsin a context in which the company continues to break turnover and profit records. The reaction from the Government has not been long in coming from the Minister of Labor, who from her profile on BlueSky has attacked Amazon and its founder: “A company that has million-dollar profits and that leaves its workers stranded is a model of shame. The “Amazon miracle” is this: Jeff Bezos at the service of Trump, not paying taxes, destroying small businesses and mistreating its workers,” wrote Yolanda Diaz. Unlike what usually happens, the constant layoffs that are taking place in large technology companies (and in other that they are not) They are not explained in a context of financial crisis of those companies (which, in fact, set records in your quotes) but in a scenario of optimizing their templates to be more agile in the race for AI. This is how Andy Jassy, ​​CEO of Amazon, explained it in recent statements reported by CNBC: “It’s actually a question of culture. If you grow as fast as we did for several years, you know, the size of the companies, the number of people, the number of locations, the types of businesses you’re in, you end up with many more people than before, and you end up with many more layers.” Eliminating those layers of middle positions reduces your internal bureaucracy and speeds up decisions. In Xataka | Big Tech doesn’t stop firing its engineers. At the same time, they have stepped on the accelerator in hiring Image | amazon

Portugal and Spain have proposed that traveling between Lisbon and Madrid be as comfortable as in 1881. This is excellent news

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31 years after the first promise, we will have a high-speed train from Madrid to Lisbon passing through Extremadura. We will have it, of course, if the plans are fulfilled. And four years later we will be able to travel the space that separates both capitals at high speed. 2030 and 2034. At least that’s what they’ve committed to. Portugal, Spain and the European Commission, who have reached an agreement to bring the connection between Lisbon and Madrid back to life in 2030 with a conventional train and in 2034 with a high-speed line that should make the journey in three hours. The calendar. To launch the line between the capitals, the project requires various phases and actions. Poceirão-Bombel section: new line that will begin construction in 2026 and should be completed in 2029. Évora-Caia section: this high-speed section should be ready in 2026. Lisbon-Évora section: the project study should be completed in 2027. Plasencia-Talayuela section: should be operational in 2028. Madrid-Lisbon at high speed: the new lines should allow travel between the Spanish capital and Portugal in three hours from 2034. In addition, the possibility of opening a Caia-Badajoz-Elvas high-speed line has been raised to reduce times and reach three hours if the planned times are not being met. Target: airlines. One of the great objectives that the European Union has with this new high-speed line is to reduce the number of flights between both cities. They point out in elDiario.es There are currently about 40 daily flights between Madrid and Lisbon. For years, European institutions have been working to reduce the volume of air traffic by improving rail connections. Spain either France These are some of the countries that want to implement policies to reduce them. A 600 kilometer railway line to travel in three hours is exactly the type of trip that can do a lot of damage to airlines if it works correctly. A good example is the Galician runner which, despite requiring more travel time, has made passengers turn their backs on the plane. And Galicia? If travelers who aspire to take their trains from Madrid are the big beneficiaries, Galicia seems to be the big loser. In recent yearsPortugal had insisted that its true intention was to create a high-speed line between Lisbon and Vigo with an intermediate stop in Porto. The project now takes a back seat, however, since they will have to focus efforts on high speed between capitals. In Atlantic They highlight that the European Union has already dedicated more than 250 million euros to promoting high speed in Portugal and more than 750 million euros to do the same in the connection between Extremadura and Madrid, so it seems logical that the first corridor to support this. A continental network. The project to link Lisbon and Madrid on a high-speed line is part of the European Atlantic Transport Corridor. The project plans to link Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and Ireland with intermodal connections that include roads, airports, ports… and railway lines. Regarding the latter, the connection with Madrid would allow connecting Barcelona with Lisbon in less than six hours. It would be a key stage for unite Lisbon with the rest of the European Union by train since, at the moment, the Portuguese capital is isolated by rail. In addition, it would allow rapid connection with other hot spots on the Spanish high-speed rail network, such as Valencia and Alicante or connections with Asturias and Cantabria. The exit to Vigo with the high-speed network that was already planned is the other possibility to reach the north of the Peninsula. The eternal promise. The connection between Lisbon and Madrid is a promise that has been going on for more than 20 years. In The World Order They highlight that the railway connection between both cities is worse today than in 1881 when a train line was opened between both cities for the first time. Between Berlin and Warsaw, they point out, there is a similar distance traveled by seven trains a day. Despite the first promises of having a cross-border AVE ready in 2010the line is still not operational. With the latest advances in the high-speed line, already present between Plasencia and Badajoz, the travel time between Lisbon and Madrid has been reduced to just over eight hours, as explained in The World Order but you have to take three different trains. In 2022, the same trip exceeded 11 hours, collected in The Country. At least 144 years ago, travelers only had to take a train and wait for it to drop them off in one of the two cities. Photo | Phil Richards, Annie Sprat and 야스민 ㄹㅁㅅ In Xataka | A hydrogen train has crossed Spain and Portugal for the first time: 10,000 km of route, including the Pyrenees

The largest collection of malformations in Spain is in Madrid. And they are going to close it

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Hidden in the bowels of the Complutense University of Madrid, half a thousand plastinated animals with congenital anomalies wait patiently for time, lack of funds and laziness to send them to a lost warehouse by the hand of God. More than 25 years of work that are about to be lost. A very very strange place. As Manuel Ansede told in El PaísNieves Martín and Luis Avedillo (two researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the UCM) have been collecting all types of animals with malformations for a quarter of a century. However, the lack of funds and the increasingly demanding requirements requested by the administration mean that the collection is on the verge of closing. The denial of the latest subsidies (of barely 23,000 euros) means that the situation is beginning to be unsustainable. And it is something very useful. Animal and human malformations are highly comparable, making the 500 specimens a very interesting resource for teratology, embryology and fetal medicine. We must not forget that, according to the WHO, Every year around 240,000 neonatal deaths are due to these types of problems and, despite all the progress we have made, we know too little. In fact, that denied grant of 23,000 sought to turn the collection into a reference center for these topics and develop a “malformopedia” that would complete the wonderful work that, for decades, the people of the Spanish Collaborative Study of Genetic Maformations coordinated by the Carlos III Health Institute. Is it really a problem? At the end of the day, without a stable and well-stocked repository, what we are losing is comparative material to study in depth embryological hypotheses and the mechanisms behind birth defects. We lose the ability to go further. Perhaps the best example is public health. By successfully integrating cases of congenital malformations (especially those in pigs) with human surveillance, we could accelerate the identification of signals about environmental or teratogenic exposures (and improve clinical guidelines). It is not an isolated event. And that’s the worst. The Olavide Museum (historical collection of ‘moulages’ – waxes – dermatological) or the long-awaited Cajal Museum (which never quite come true) are clear examples of the problems that Spanish scientific heritage has. While the Vrolik museum in Amsterdam or the Mütter of Philadelphia lead the international conversation in teratology, genetic research and the most recent ethical debates, Spain is unable to find 23,000 euros to adapt the facilities of its reference collection to current regulations. It is still a metaphor for the state of science in the country. Image | Philippe Wagneur

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