The Community of Madrid begins investments to build the first automated Metro line

The Governing Council approved the start of the investments needed to build the first automated Metro line in Madrid Nuevo Norte today. Authorisation has been given for the contracting of the drafting of the project with a budget of over €4 million and a completion period of 18 months. The goal is to meet the mobility demands of residents living in this urban development in the capital by 2029.

The new Metro line, which will depart from the current Chamartín station, will have three new stops –Centro de Negocios, Fuencarral Sur and Fuencarral Norte–, will be three kilometres long and will have a potential demand of 40,000 passengers per day.

The automation of the route will enable the convoys to run without a driver, so that the trains are monitored and programmed from a control centre. This system will also optimise train traffic time, increase the average speed of the system, shorten its intervals and reduce waiting time and time spent at stations.

Automated Metros allow for greater capacity and full adaptation of supply to demand, improving peak hour frequency, while reducing potential incidents. In no way does it imply a reduction in jobs, as it promotes an organisational model in which operators require a broader set of skills and greater versatility and flexibility.

They also facilitate lower overall car costs per kilometre due to savings in energy consumption compared to conventional lines and lower maintenance costs. Moreover, they achieve better running through the new driving patterns and enable maximum performance of the trains' regenerative braking.

Several Asian countries are leaders in Metro automation in capitals such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, with 126 and 97 kilometres respectively, while most EU operators also have this technology. France is the European country with the most kilometres of automatic metro systems, with Lille and Paris having 47 and 33, respectively. Other networks such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Copenhagen and Budapest also offer this service. In Spain, Metro de Barcelona runs 25% of the network in driverless operation.

As part of the infrastructures associated with Madrid Nuevo Norte, a new interchange will be built in Chamartín, which will have an estimated potential capacity of over 105,000 passengers per day and will allow the intermodality of four modes of rail transport: high speed, medium/long distance, suburban and metro and two modes of road transport: urban and interurban buses in 37 docks (25 operational for users and 12 technical) and 400 parking spaces. The planned investment is €65 million, of which the Compensation Board will contribute €30 million.

PRIORITY USE BUS

On the other hand, a new high-capacity road transport system will be built on the surface and parallel to the Metro Madrid Nuevo Norte line, the Priority Use Bus (Bus de uso Prioritario, BuP), which will circulate throughout the development with connections to all the new Metro stations, and will have an access branch to the south of the Las Tablas and Sanchinarro neighbourhoods.

The link with the public transport system will also be made at the Plaza de Castilla interchange and the La Paz intermodal area, with the Chamartín Metro (Line 10–Line 1) and with the Cercanías, medium/long distance and high speed network at Chamartín station.

These services in Madrid Nuevo Norte will mean that 95% of the residential and office plots in the area will be located within 10-minute walking distance of a high-capacity public transport mode. That is, 80% of trips within the district will be made by sustainable transport.