Metro de Madrid

The Director of the Department of Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, José Ignacio Echeverría, visited the Barrio del Pilar Metro station today, where he witnessed the start-up of two new escalators and verified the operation of six others installed in the last three months. He also observed the progress of work on two more that will be operational in December.

This work is part of the 2009-2011 Escalator Renovation Plan under which 281 escalators at 34 stations will be renovated with an investment of 66 million euros. As explained by the Director of the Department of Transport, the new escalators are “faster, more reliable and more energy-efficient”. The escalators slow down when not in use, thereby saving some 600,000 euros per year in electricity”.

The new escalators will include safety braking and anti-entrapment systems and a set of aesthetic features. All of this will improve the safety, reliability and the comfort levels of users and will modernise maintenance through remote control systems. By moving faster (0.65 m/sec.), the capacity to transport passengers will be increased by 20%, although it should be noted that the escalators will slow down when not in use, which is an important contribution to sustainability.

Improved Accessibility

The renovation plan takes the age of the escalators into consideration to avoid constant repairs of elements that have worn out. In this regard, Echeverría highlighted the importance of replacing this equipment periodically to ensure that it works properly since “escalators are one of the crucial elements to Metro accessibility”. He noted the many users who depend on escalators, such as pregnant women or older people with reduced mobility or respiratory conditions.

Since escalators have a useful life of 25 years, to keep the escalators in optimum condition, they should be replaced when they are approximately 25 years old in order to avoid the malfunctions that can occur due to structural defects in the original design or wear and tear (axles, steps, racks, rollers, guides, rails) which will necessitate continuous repairs.

This year, 100 escalators will be changed at the Artilleros, Estrella, Opañel, Pavones, Republica Argentina, Sainz de Baranda, Oporto, Aluche, Plaza Castilla, Herrera Oria, Barrio del Pilar, Ventilla, Carpetana, Tribunal and Santiago Bernabeu stations. When replacing these units, Metro will attempt to impact the travellers as minimally as possible. To do so, it will draft a plan to do the work during those times when there are fewest passengers using the equipment, although the main objective is simply to improve the comfort and safety of Metro users while also reinforcing maintenance efficiency.

62 escalators have already been replaced this year and work has begun on the installation of 38 new ones. The plans call for the replacement of 103 escalators in 2010 and 78 in 2011. With 1624 escalators, Metro de Madrid has the greatest number of any underground in the world, surpassing Moscow, New York, Paris or London.

With this programme, according to Echeverría, Metro de Madrid reinforces its commitment to accessibility and sustainability and to the renovation of the ageing network, “since these actions are yet another part of the investment efforts designed to ensure that the entire network offers the same quality and features as the most recently renovated stations”.