Metro

that the lion of the Metro remained silent

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Before every Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, a lion has been roaring for a century. Only once did he remain silent, and this silence was persecuted by a director who wanted to be respectful of the Child Jesus. It was in ‘Ben-Hur’, in 1959: the lion, instead of roaring as was his custom, appeared still, looking at the camera. It was the first time in the production company’s sound history that it adopted this timid behavior. Teasing the lion. Wyler did not want his biblical epic, which begins with the Three Wise Men visiting the Baby Jesus, to have as a prelude the roar of a circus animal. The director He then explained to the press that he did not want “the Christmas atmosphere to be disturbed”, and that he convinced Metro to replace the roar with a shot of the still lion that already existed in the studio archive, thus avoiding re-recording anything. Wyler came to regret that the anecdote made more headlines than the film itself, something that at the time seemed almost like a provocation against an untouchable symbol. The importance of ‘Ben-Hur’. ‘Ben-Hur’ was not just any production for MGM. The studio invested around $15 million in filming, the highest amount ever allocated to a film, at a time when the company was going through serious financial difficulties. The gamble worked: the film grossed nearly $37 million in the United States alone and $80 million worldwide during its initial release, enough to sustain the studio for another decade. At the 1960 Oscars it won eleven statuettes out of twelve nominations, a record that still stands 66 years later and that only ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ have managed to equal, although not surpass. Lots of lions, actually. Behind “the lion of the Metro” there is, in reality, a succession of different animals: there are eight that have embodied Leo since 1924, some of which came to visit towns in the United States on a promotional tour. The current one, active since 1957 (although obviously its performer died long ago), is the only one that has formally held the name “Leo”, even though the studio has applied that label to all its predecessors equally. The first, Slats, didn’t even roar: he just looked at the camera, because the cinema was still silent. Jackie, his successor, was the first to make sound thanks to a gramophone record, and survived two train accidents and one plane accident that left him stranded for several days in Arizona. That is to say, when Wyler arrived, it was not sacrilege to touch the logo with small adjustments. The logo: it is played. Leo’s roar has been frequently interrupted, although almost never for the same reverent reason that Wyler applied. In ‘Tarzan of the Apes’ the lion reproduces Johnny Weissmuller’s characteristic cry. In the final version of ‘The Pink Panther’, the roar is interrupted by an animated Clouseau. In 2025’s ‘Merv’ the lion is replaced by a barking dog, and in the recent ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ Cringer, the franchise’s talking tiger, takes his place. However, none of these interventions have the symbolic weight of what happened in 2025 with ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the Las Vegas Spherewhere the Cowardly Lion played by Bert Lahr occupies the logo circle instead of Leo. In Xataka | “Leave her alone, she’s perfect”: Tom Hanks refuses to participate in the remake of this classic Hollywood film

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

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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

the company has been chosen to modernize the Washington DC metro

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Among all the projects it is in charge of, the Spanish technology company has also won the contract to renew the ticket terminals in the 98 Washington DC metro stations, in an agreement that could reach 75 million dollars. Below these lines we tell you all the details. Contract. Just like account The company in its official press release, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the body that manages the Washington DC metro, has selected Indra to replace all the ticket sales machines in its network. The starting amount is 38.9 million dollars (about 33 million euros), but the contract includes additional options that could raise it to 75 million dollars (about 65 million euros). At stake are 450 new terminals spread across the five lines and 98 stations of a network that moves more than 500,000 travelers every day. What’s included exactly the order. In addition to manufacturing and delivering the equipment, Indra will also have to be responsible for the design, installation and maintenance for the next 15 years. The new machines will replace the current Fare Vending Machines, the terminals that have been in service on the network for years. According to affirms company, the new devices will have high-resolution touch screens with an interface very similar to that of mobile phones, will support payments by card, mobile phone and digital wallets (EMV and ABT technology), and will be available in up to 15 languages. The design must also comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including assisted audio and tactile elements for people with reduced mobility or vision. According to the company, part of the assembly will be carried out in the new plant that Indra has just inaugurated in Olathe, within the Kansas City metropolitan area. Indra puts its foot in North America. In recent months, Indra has been accumulating positions in the North American market. At the beginning of this year it was awarded a contract of nearly 300 million dollars to modernize FAA air traffic control, and more recently signed another agreement with Nav Canada to integrate drones and commercial aviation into Canadian airspace. It also has previous experience in railway ticketing in the US, since it was the company that installed the last two generations of self-sales machines in the St. Louis (Missouri) metro. Winning a contract in Washington DC is at another level in terms of visibility, since WMATA is one of the largest public transportation agencies in the country, and consolidates Indra as a reference in a highly contested market. What each part says. Raúl Ripio, general director of Mobility & Technology at Indra Group, assures that the company has been betting decisively on the United States for some time, where in addition to this project it develops traffic, connected vehicle and communications initiatives. For his part, Randy Clarke, CEO of Washington Metro, said in a statement that the investment “modernizes a critical part” of the system and that the new terminals incorporate payment technologies that users increasingly demand. International expansion. This move comes months after Indra won the contract to modernize access to public transport in Londonvalued at around 1,000 million euros, one of the largest in its recent history. The one in Washington is more modest in numbers, but strategically it is just as relevant, since the company is fully integrated into the mobility infrastructure of the US capital, a country that is increasingly taking center stage among its expansion plans. Cover image | Matthew Bornhorst In Xataka | Seville has had serious traffic problems on the SE-30 for decades: a 3.5 kilometer megabridge aims to solve them

Metro de Madrid has insisted on being a pop icon like London’s “Tube.” His plan: retro football jerseys

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There are cities that are recognized by their metro before you can place their flag. The iconic roundel red and blue Tube London has jumped from the tunnels and platforms to the closets of half the world, becoming a global emblem that people wear with pride. It is not a simple transportation logo: it is the city itself compressed in a circle. The Madrid Metro knows this well, which has been looking at its British counterpart for some time with the envy of someone who aspires to transcend their status as a mere public service. And he has just made his boldest move to close the gap: launching his own collection of retro football shirts. Nostalgia reaches underground. With its sights set on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Community of Madrid has launched Metro FC: five retro t-shirts inspired by world champion teams, at 54.95 euros each, sold in the Metro online store and at the Ópera, Sol and Plaza de Castilla stations. Each garment bears the Metro’s own embroidered shield – based on the historic rhombus of 1921 – and the seven stars of the Community, with a color that varies according to the World Cup of each honored team. Line 2 is the Spain of 2010; Line 1, Maradona’s Argentina in ’86; Line 3, Romario’s Brazil in ’94; Line 5, the Germany of Italy 90; and Line 10, Zidane’s France in ’98. The question that closes the campaign sums it all up: “And you, which line are you from?” It’s not just merchandising. It is a declaration of intentions about what the Madrid Metro wants to be. The model that Madrid envies. To understand what the Madrid Metro is after, you have to look at London, where this path has been taken for more than a century. He roundel —the red circle with a blue bar that identifies the London Underground— was born in 1908 as a simple stop sign. Today it is one of the most recognizable and emulated commercial symbols ever designed. The architect of that transformation was Frank Pickhead of communications for the Underground in the first half of the 20th century, whose philosophy was as simple as it was ambitious: design is not something optional that appears here and there. Design must enter everywhere. The result of this obsession is today an unparalleled brand machine in global public transport. According to a Nielsen studyhe roundel Londoner is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse, and the phrase “Mind the gap” has become one of the most identifying sounds of the city. The Underground generates more than five million pounds a year on merchandising alone, and carries more passengers during the working week than all other trains in Britain combined. The conquest of streetwear. It is no longer so much the scale, but rather who you sit down to negotiate with. His recent collaborations include Adidas, Arsenal, Prada Linea Rossa, Kurt Geiger and some Nike sneakers with the fabric moquette of the meter that are resold online for around 400 pounds. In 2026 it has launched its third collection with Uniqlowith t-shirts and bags decorated with iconic London transport graphics, celebrating the city’s character and heritage. And before, in 2023 he created a line of streetwear complete —London Underground Studio—in collaboration with the South Korean brand Handsome, from the Hyundai group, with leather bombers and knitted sweaters sold in Seoul. The symbol has transcended its signaling function to become shorthand for the city itself, inspiring fashion and pop music. It is, in the words of its scholars, “cool” in a way that public bodies rarely achieve. The Madrid Metro knows exactly what it wants. And the Metro FC shirts are their first big attempt to achieve this. The trend that opens the door. The Metro movement does not emerge from nowhere: it intelligently takes advantage of the exact moment when the football shirt has become the object of cultural desire of the decade. You just have to walk through any big city to find the image: dozens of young people walk around wearing Real Madrid t-shirts from the 2000s, the 90s Juve or the Japanese national team. They don’t go to the stadium, it’s not even match day. The border between catwalk fashion and sporting passion has been completely blurred. The phenomenon has a name: Soccercore either Blokecore. It takes its name from “bloke” – the common type of British working class of the 80s and 90s – and consists of combining vintage football shirts with baggy jeans or classic sneakers. What began to go viral on TikTok in 2021 has ended up on the Balenciaga catwalks and on the bodies of Bella Hadid, Kim Kardashian or Jennie from Blackpink. Brands like Etro or Stella McCartney have taken the style from the stadiums to the catwalks, and Loewe is in charge of dressing the Spanish team in this World Cup. The business of belonging. It is precisely in that context where the Metro’s commitment takes on all its meaning. The journalist Alejandro Mendo, from his substack Pieces of Fabricidentifies the key movement that explains it: the rise of institutional “white label” clothing. Clubs and institutions have discovered that they can produce their own collections, without large multinationals involved, that cost around 50 or 60 euros and that generate something that no external sponsor can buy: brand loyalty. Metro de Madrid does not sell t-shirts, but rather it sells belonging. The narrative of big brands has also changed in this sense. Mendo points out how brands like Adidas have put aside the muscular epic to sit your stars in chairs during their campaigns. Putting figures like Lamine Yamal or Jude Bellingham in a relaxed and introspective attitude turns them into cultural icons rather than gladiators on the grass. The footballer, like the shirt he wears, has stopped being just an athlete and has become a generational reference. A material anchor in the society of “non-things.” There is something else, however, that explains why these garments work … Read more

In 2008 China was installing metro stations in the middle of nowhere. In 2026 we have discovered how naive we were

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Last year it moved a video which showed that, when it comes to building construction, China looks far ahead of those sacred five-year plans. In fact, something fascinating happens in Beijing: you can find an empty subway entrance where there is no development, a wasteland. The reality is different, because if you return to the same place a few years later, the photo is completely different. Yes, China is an expert in long-term planning. For decades to come. The Chinese urban expansion of the last twenty years has consolidated a structural feature: infrastructure (particularly the metro) is built before the city exists that will do. This deliberate advancement produces a phase visible “empty”: stations buried in open fields, access through weeds without streets or commerce, deep deserted platforms under soils without residents. However, for the Chinese State this phase is not a failure but a transitory state within a horizon of 10–20 years where infrastructure precedes to induce and anchor the development that will come. The called “ghost cities” (from Lanzhou New Area to Xiongan) are less a symptom of error than an intermediate frame of a long temporal script that assumes that urbanization is safe even though its sequence is asymmetrical: first the subway, then the people. Station as a lever. The data from a Wuhan study show that the simple fact of having a metro nearby sharply increases the value of commercial premises within a radius of up to 400 meterseven if there is no city around yet: the line works as a future proof that can be monetized. On a large scale, since 2008 the State launched a wave of new cities and networks (thousands of kilometers of metro in a few years) that reduced congestion and attracted investment. But this anticipated layout was not always accompanied by schools, hospitals or good last-mile connections, which stopped people from leaving the saturated centers and extended the phase in which the new areas seem empty. The infrastructure came first… and the city took longer to appear. First there was the stop, and then Chongqing The Chongqing case. Possibly the most publicized. Caojiawan (the “nowhere station”) condensed the thesis in image: hidden accesses among weeds without streets or residents, surveillance of the viral world, and employees recognizing minimal use “for now” with the central argument of planning: the lane anticipated the neighborhood. Chongqing reinforces the pattern with its deep engineering (Hongtudimore than 60 meters and extension to more than 94), the extreme intermodal connection and the overinvestment in topology before demand. At the city scale, the same pattern runs through its network of viaducts and lines: radically anticipated infrastructure to induce future urban trajectories. Lanzhou New Area Map Ghost cities as a phase. Lanzhou New Area (with razed mountains, free zones, artificial lakes and replicas of monuments) first went through years of silence and then through a slow awakening, with the arrival of people in dribs and drabs, although there are still doubts about the figures. Urban planners who have followed its evolution maintain that calling a “ghost city” is to confuse a phase with the final destination: these projects are conceived for 15–20 yearsnot to be judged at 3–5. In other words, the State does not build for the present, but for the moment when transportation connects, density closes and the population crosses a certain threshold. From that perspective, the initial emptiness does not clash with the bet, it is simply part of the planned schedule. Between ambition and sustainability. Bloomberg recalled a while ago that the model has a cost: most meters they are not profitablethey increase the debt of local governments and there is a risk of building more than necessary in medium-sized cities. The national authority first relaxed the requirements (asking for less population to authorize lines) and then tightened them again and stopped projects, realizing that what helps create value can also sink finances. Various analysts have pointed out that in many places the subway was chosen “out of inertia”, when solutions such as a good bus system with a reserved platform could have provided almost the same with much less debt. The dilemma is no longer whether there will be extensive networks (because they already exist) but whetherat what point to invest in advance it stops being a gamble and becomes a burden. From building to operating. Once built the physical networkthe main problem is no longer digging tunnels but making that work well. There are a large number of stations with a single entrance that get stuck, long and poorly resolved transfers, lack of large connection points between lines and absence of tracks prepared for fast trains to overtake slow ones, because these decisions were not thought out from the beginning. The same logic of “first we build and then we’ll see” now causes circulation problemssecurity, accessibility and response to extreme rains as shown by the Zhengzhou case. They counted in The Guardian that to go from “building fast” to “running well” it is necessary to redesign with the traveler’s experience in mind, not just that of the construction engineer. The temporary strategy. In short, China has turned into a norm an idea that inverts the usual order in the West: the subway is not built because there is already a city, but so that the city ​​exists after. The station tickets today empty are, in their logic, the first material step of future neighborhoods, within a plan that assumes long deadlines and accepts periods of emptiness as part of the price of forcing urbanization. The risk is in the financial cost and in going from “building” to “making it work”, but the advantage is be able to capture value and shape the city in advance. What to today’s eyes seems like an unproductive excess, on a twenty-year scale is only the first phase. A version of this article was published in November 2025 Image | Luke PusateriLanzhou Government Bulletin System, Unusual Places In Xataka | There are skyscrapers so monstrously tall … Read more

The gigantic Mayrit tunnel boring machine makes its way through the underground of Madrid to transform Metro L11

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It started on March 26 and in just over a month it has already left behind the first 200 meters of tunnel under the capital’s subsoil. The Mayrit tunnel boring machine advances towards Madrid Río with the objective of completing more than 5,200 meters of gallery before the end of 2027. And all to prepare the ground for the transformation of Metro L11. full throttle. The first month was slower than usual because the TBM was still in the adjustment phase. So has explained it the Department of Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid. And those first 200 meters have been drilled with the machine still running. However, from now on, Mayrit will reach its cruising speed: between 400 and 500 meters per month, which is equivalent to about 15 meters per day. What exactly is he doing underground. In addition to excavating (logically), as its cutting wheel, equipped with 54 discs, 172 picks and 24 battens, crushes the ground, the machine also places rings of concrete segments that form the final structure of the tunnel. At the same time, extracts about 3,500 tons of earth per day through conveyor belts that extend to the surface, where a hundred and a half trucks are responsible for transporting this material to landfills and disused mining operations. Transfer to the capital. Assembling a 98-meter-long, 1,500-ton machine at a depth of 27 meters is not a simple process. Mayrit was manufactured for 20 months in the German city of Schwana and traveled 2,000 kilometers by land and sea until reaching Madrid. Once here, it took 70 workers three months to assemble it piece by piece inside the future Comillas station. When does it stop and why? Mayrit works tirelessly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in continuous shifts. But has scheduled stops. The first will be when it arrives at the future Madrid Río station, 1,114 meters from Comillas. There it will undergo a technical review of up to two weeks. Then he will repeat the process in Palos de la Frontera, Atocha and, finally, Conde de Casal. It can also stop at any intermediate point if any part needs replacement, which is scheduled approximately every 1,000 meters. The final destination and when it will arrive. The total route entrusted to Mayrit is 5,227 meters between Comillas and Conde de Casal, where the future interchange is located. The general director of Collective Transport Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, Miguel Núñez, estimated In statements collected by 20 Minutes that the complete excavation will take between 13 and 14 months. With startup at the end of March, that puts the end of drilling around May or June 2027. Opening to the public will take a few more months, once installations, equipment and testing are completed. The work behind the tunnel boring machine. To complete this section 32,000 tons of steel will be needed210,000 cubic meters of concrete and more than 25,000 segments, whose production began in September 2025 in a factory created expressly for this project. The overall progress of the works already exceeds 50%, according to the City Council, and the investment in this phase amounts to more than 740 million euros. The biggest project behind it. All of this is just a part of something much bigger. The future Line 11 will travel 33.5 kilometers from end to end of Madrid, from Cuatro Vientos to Valdebebas, with 20 stations that will connect points such as Atocha, the airport, Zendal Hospital or the future Formula 1 circuit in Ifema. The complete route can be done in one hour and six minutes. The total investment exceeds 2.5 billion euros and the works will be carried out in four phases until 2031. Cover image | Community of Madrid In Xataka | From devouring diesel to being 100% electric: the incredible transformation of a 650-ton mining excavator in India

More than 400 cameras will monitor L6 of the Madrid Metro so that it circulates autonomously

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Line 6 of the Madrid Metro prepares to operate without drivers in 2027. This means that its infrastructure must resolve a series of technical aspects so that the metro can circulate in complete safety. What was previously monitored by a driver must now be done in an automated manner, and here there are a series of technologies that come into play that are worth highlighting. Rethink security from scratch. When a train has a driver, there are a pair of human eyes in the cabin that detect smoke, obstacles, people on the track or any anomaly in real time. Eliminating this figure does not mean reducing surveillance, but rather it must be technologically multiplied. The Circular, the busiest line on the network with nearly 400,000 passengers daily, needs a system that does not leave any blind spots. What does the system consist of? Madrid Metro plans to install more than 400 cameras along the 23.5 kilometers of route and in its 28 stations, with an investment of around four million euros, according to collect the middle 20 Minutes. The network will cover the entire infrastructure in real time: tunnels, ventilation shafts, emergency exits, pumping areas and platforms. As the media reports, in the underground sections between stations, the devices will be placed at very short distances from each other so as not to leave gaps unattended. dset fire before seeing it. Of all these cameras, about 60 will be equipped with specific smoke and fire detection technology, capable of sending early warnings to the control center before a fire spreads. Just like share In the medium, these devices will alternate with conventional video surveillance devices to guarantee total coverage. Security reinforced with technology. At the most sensitive points of the line (the Ciudad Universitaria and Arganzuela-Planetario depots, the Laguna depot and the stations with correspondence to other lines) perimeter fences several meters high, physical barriers and infrared curtains will be installed, technology usually reserved for industrial facilities or airports. All reinforced with controlled access through doors and control points monitored by video. What about the platforms and accessibility. From 20 Minutes they assure that the doors leading down to the tracks, located at the ends of each platform, will have new intercoms connected directly to the line controllers. Its function will be twofold: to authorize access for Metro staff when necessary for maintenance tasks, and to allow people with reduced mobility to request that the train wait longer before starting. It will be the controller who, from the command post, keeps the platform doors open for as long as necessary. Where is L6 right now. The installation of the platform doors is still underway and is forcing the closing to be brought forward from the line at 11:00 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday (two and a half hours before the usual time). Everything indicates that the restriction will remain in place until the end of the year if there are no changes. Meanwhile, the 40 new trains, manufactured by CAF, which have cost the Community of Madrid around 450 million euros, are advancing in production. When will it be ready. If the calendar is met, 2027 will be the year in which the Circular circulates alone for the first time in its more than 50 years of history. This would make Madrid one of the few cities that offer fully automated metro lines, along with Copenhagen or Lille. Cover image | Metro Madrid In Xataka | In its expansion of the Cercanías, Madrid is considering something unusual in Spain: launching a new line to Villaviciosa

It took Shenzhen 20 years to have a subway. And 20 others have the best metro in the world

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The first time I traveled to Shenzhen, what was repeated to me most when I looked at its impressive skyscrapers was that until recently it was a small fishing village. And although it is true that this fact is a bit exaggerated and simplified because well, 330,000 inhabitants is not exactly a village and there was more activity than fishing, the reality is that its growth and transformation into the most technological city in the world it has been brilliant: today they live there more than 17 million people and has seen the birth of colossi such as Huawei, Tencent, DJI or BYD. And of course, the most technological city in the world has one meter at its height, which of course has grown at breakneck speed. Because the history of the transportation network goes hand in hand with the city. But what makes the shenzhen subway It is not so much its size or how quickly it has expanded, but the combination of the previous two with a third variable that rarely appears in the equation: design ambition. While in the West, with rare exceptions, we opt for functional projects that are contained in price and budget, Shenzhen presents entire lines in a few years with stations that seem taken from the cinema. From science fiction cinema. Shenzhen subway today. Shenzhen subway has 635 kilometers long, 441 stations and 17 operating lines, leading the country in network density (0.30 km/km²) and intensity of use (15,000 trips/km/day). And in this tangle, semi-automatic lines coexist with other fully automated and driverless lines. like Line 20 or very fast as Line 11which reaches 120 km/h. As a curiosity, the Shenzhen metro network It is operated by two different companies: Shenzhen Metro Group manages the majority of lines and MTR Corporation of Hong Kong operates Line 4 and the recent Line 13. This is something unusual that adds difficulty to the matter in terms of interoperability. Why is it important. The Shenzhen metro may be unique in its kind, but it is the best argument to demonstrate that speed of execution and quality of design are not incompatible. The third variable in the equation is cost and surprisingly, comparatively it is cheaper: China build for around $250 million per kilometer in purchasing power parity terms, between two and eight times less than Western equivalents like Paris or New York. On the other hand, the Shenzhen metro acts as an urban catalyst: the stations were planned following the TOD modelthat is, promoting urban development around transport stations. That is to say, they serve the city but also make the city. On a global scale, this network is a methodological reference: it is no longer just a matter of engineering, but also about experience, design and territorial strategy. The Eye of Shenzhen, the centerpiece of Gangxia North Station, one of its most iconic elements. Unsplash Context. First of all, a clarification: that fishing village reference usually emphasizes about 30,000 inhabitants in the late 70s, but that figure corresponds to Bao’an County and not the 30,000 of Shenzhen Town, which constituted the original urban core (today Luohu district). The growth is in any case exponential and shows a dispersed demographic base that required territorial reorganization and explains the aggressive growth of the metro network. But if we have mentioned that figure of 330,000 inhabitants that explains the China Global Television Network is because it was that entire area that was designated as Special Economic Zonea plan that provides advantageous conditions to promote economic development (usually economic laws for a free market economy). In short, the laboratory of Chinese capitalism. Wow it worked. Metro planning began in the 1980s, construction in 1998, and the first line opened in December 2004. The beginnings were not quick or easy. The subsoil where the Shenzhen metro is integrated did not help at all: weathered granite, high water table and proximity to the Pearl River Delta, which forced the intensive use of specialized tunnel boring machines, jet grouting and even freeze the ground. Neither is the climate: 35 °C with 90% humidity in summer and recurring typhoons that require oversized drainage systems and watertight gates. The idea of ​​the subway was born before the megacity it is today: in 1983, Mayor Liang Xiang visited Singapore and On his return he made it clear: around Shennan Avenue I would leave a green belt of 30 meters on each side and reserve 16 meters in the center to build it. In 1988 there was a formal light rail proposal. Shenzhen Metro Group was established in July 1998 and construction began that same year. Six years later, on December 28, 2004, he opened the Line 1 with 17.4 kilometers and 15 stations. It was a modest system: four-car trains, 15-minute frequencies and limited coverage to the central corridor on two lines. How have they done it. Building an average of 30 kilometers a year is simply an unthinkable pace in Europe. The secret is in a large scale prefabrication which allows them to be made in the factory and assembled on site like Lego XXL and meticulous planning from design to maintenance. The avant-garde design of the stations is not accidental but has every intention: for Shenzhen, its subway is its showcase of the identity it wants to project to the world. An example: the Shenzhen eyea spectacular skylight following the Fermat Spiral or the ceiling that simulates an origami of Universiade or maritime integration of the station Sea World between Lines 2 and 12. The business model is Rail + Property imported from Hong Kong and is equally interesting because it has allowed it to grow without depending on waiting for state/municipal budgets: the operator builds the subway and in exchange receives the right to develop the land around the stations: apartments, offices, shopping centers. Those real estate income are what pay for the railway investment. Tap to go to the post What’s to come. As if the Shenzhen metro itself were … Read more

The metro has been splitting Rivas in two for decades. The city council has a plan to cover it up and has already presented it to Madrid

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The Rivas Vaciamadrid City Council has registered before the General Directorate of Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid its project to cover 2.5 kilometers of Metro Line 9B. This is a project that aims to transform part of the town’s urban layout, and the deadline for issuing its technical report has already opened. We tell you all the details. What exactly is this about? Just like they count From the town hall itself, the project consists of burying or covering the section of road that runs above ground through Rivas Vaciamadrid between the Cerro del Telégrafo Sports Center and the Rivas Futura station. They are 2.5 kilometers long and 30 meters wide which, if covered, would stop acting as a physical barrier that divides the municipality in two. On the surface, it is planned to extend the Linear Park, creating a corridor with green spaces for public use. The project also includes the construction of a fourth Metro station in Rivas, located on José Saramago street. Deadlines. The City Council had a technical meeting on February 27 with the General Directorate of Infrastructure, where it presented the solution. A week later, on March 4, it was officially registered, and now the Community of Madrid has three months to decide whether to move forward at a technical level. According to collect El Diario, the council has expressly requested “agility” from the regional administration. Tpolitical background. The fourth season brings them. And it is that according to Diario de Rivas, the Community of Madrid has already pointed out on more than one occasion that this infrastructure “is not justified on a technical level.” The City Council, for its part, insists that the project “is the result of months of rigorous and reliable technical work and that it meets the necessary requirements to move forward towards its execution.” The General Directorate of Infrastructure, for now, has limited itself to confirming that there was a meeting. What the data say. The City Council supports its position to move forward with the project through a survey in which they say that 78% of Rivas residents recognize the importance of this project. The organization frames it within its Rivas 2030 Urban Agenda, where it appears as one of its most notable projects to reconfigure its urban model. What happens now? The ball is in the court of the Community of Madrid. Before the end of June, the technical response from the General Directorate of Infrastructure should arrive. This report will determine if the project can move forward as planned, if it needs modifications or if the proposal (especially the new station) encounters obstacles from the regional administration. The Town Hall has expressed his confidence that the Community “facilitates the progress of an action long awaited by the citizens of Rivas”, but it seems that we will have to wait to find out if it finally materializes as the city council wants. Cover image | Google Maps In Xataka | BYD is already studying entering Formula 1, according to Bloomberg. And it is not a whim, it is a necessary step

Madrid wants to convert its least used Metro line into the “Gran Diagonal”. A 1,000 million project without a clear end

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A line that connects the southwest of Madrid with the northeast of the city. A project to quadruple the extension of Madrid’s least used line with the aim of turning it into one of the city’s great arteries. We are talking about the expansion of line 11 of the Madrid Metro. In 1998, Madrid inaugurated a new Metro line. It had been 20 years since new lines had been launched in the capital and the project ended up being the first of the last major investment in the Madrid Metro that the Autonomous Community has made. until the reforms we are experiencing today. The work attracted attention due to its short length (only three stops at the beginning). Then Metrosur (Line 12) and the Light Metro lines (LM1, LM2 and LM3) would arrive. Except for LM1, all the aforementioned lines were longer than the new Line 11 whose 8.5 kilometers and seven stations were dwarfed by Line 12, with its 28 stations and more than 40 kilometers long. Now, Madrid wants to transform that line and make it one of the main axes of the Madrid underground. The numbers point high. From a “forgotten” line to the Great Diagonal Currently, line 11 of the Madrid Metro is, by far, the least used in the city. According to the company’s own report, there are only three lines that are below it but two of them are branches of main lines that far exceed the flow of line 11. Beyond the numbers on lines 7B and 9B, line 11 and its 10.8 million passengers per year they are located just above the Ópera-Príncipe Pío Branch, which moves 10 million passengers despite only having one stop at origin and another at destination, with a train that is round trip. However, Madrid wants the seven stations that currently make up line 11 to be the embryo of a gigantic line that is beginning to be known as the “Gran Diagonal.” The project, of course, has several phases but some of them are still up in the air and others do not have an execution date, although they do have a budget. Map of the expansion of line 11 At the moment, what is underway is the connection of the Plaza Elíptica station in Carabanchel with the Conde de Casal interchange. This link involves excavating more than six and a half kilometers and the creation of two stations: Comillas and Madrid Río. These will join the Plaza Elíptica station to the south and continue north with stops at the already existing Palos de la Frontera and Atocha, before reaching Conde de Casal. 514 million euros will be allocated for this section and although it was expected to be ready in 2026, everything indicates that the works will not finish until a year later and that It won’t be until 2028 when finally the new link will be available. In order to speed up the works, Madrid already has Mayrit readya tunnel boring machine from Germany that can drill 15 meters a day, compared to the two meters that are excavated a day if working only with a pick and shovel. In Xataka we have already talked of this tunnel boring machine that measures 98 meters long and weighs 1,500 tons. After arriving piece by piece, it has taken almost a whole month to be able to operate with it, since assembling it was quite a puzzle. complete at 27 meters depth. This will be the first section that aims to almost double the extension of line 11 and increase the number of people who pass through its trains by up to 75,000 daily passengers. This first section should become the heart of a line that is clear your future in the south. The expansion at this end plans to link the La Fortuna station with Cuatro Vientos, with just over two kilometers of track and an awarded budget of more than 75 million euros. But, at the moment, there are no execution dates for it. Where more doubts are being generated is in the north of the capital. From Conde de Casal to Mar de Cristal, the city will add its main stops to already built stations, specifically in Vinateros, La Elipa, Pueblo Nuevo and Arturo Soria. But it is from Mar de Cristal where the project, for which 600 million euros will be invested, has been changing. As can be seen in the map above, the project contemplated taking the line to the airport and later to a final stop called Valdebebas Norte. In elDiario.es They assure that Metro de Madrid retains the possibility of building a second station to double the latter. The opening, according 20Minutes It would therefore be staggered, coinciding with the three sections already mentioned. Once completed, Madrid line 11 will become one of the main routes to transport passengers. An approximate extension of 33.5 kilometers is expected (from just over eight kilometers currently) and 20 stations from the mere seven it currently has. All this with an expense of more than 1,100 million euros. Photo | Madrid Metro and Community of Madrid In Xataka | Faced with daily collapses, the Madrid Metro could increase frequencies or put in “pushers.” He has chosen the second

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