en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Community of Madrid has launched the largest metro network expansion project of its current term, approving an investment of €880.6 million to extend Line 11 northward to Valdebebas Norte.
The regional government council has authorized the construction contract, planning a new transport corridor between Mar de Cristal and Valdebebas Norte to improve connections with several key economic, healthcare, judicial, and transport hubs in the Spanish capital. The new extension, spanning 7.2 kilometers, will include four new stations—IFEMA-Cárcavas, Ciudad de la Justicia, Hospital Isabel Zendal, and Valdebebas Norte—as well as two stations linking to existing infrastructure. At Mar de Cristal, Line 11 will connect with Metro Lines 4 and 8; at Terminal 4 of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, the line will link to Line 8 and the Cercanías commuter rail network, thereby enhancing the intermodal capacity of Madrid's public transport system.
From Mar de Cristal, the line first reaches the IFEMA-Cárcavas station, providing access to the expanded IFEMA exhibition center, the MADRING street circuit, and one of the most economically active areas in the northeast of the capital. The line then arrives at the Valdebebas intermodal hub, connecting the southern part of the neighborhood with the future Ciudad de la Justicia complex. Subsequently, the metro will serve the Hospital Isabel Zendal, directly reaching the medical complex and its catchment area, before arriving at the Terminal 4 station, strengthening links with the airport and future urban development plans in the area. The line terminates at Valdebebas Norte, where the new infrastructure will meet the expansion needs of one of the largest residential neighborhoods currently under development in the Madrid region.
The new extension will reduce travel times and help alleviate congestion on other metro lines, particularly Line 6. This project complements the ongoing works between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal, forming the first section of a future diagonal metro line crossing the Spanish capital. Construction of the first section is progressing as planned, having reached a key milestone: the Mayrit tunnel boring machine has arrived at the new Madrid Río station in the Arganzuela neighborhood, marking the completion of the connection between the two excavation fronts after crossing the M-30 ring road.
