The Regional Government of Madrid activates the special Christmas arrangements to guarantee Metro mobility
The goal of these devices is to ensure the mobility of passengers. It begins with the switching on of the Christmas lights on Thursday, 28 November and ends on 6 January. Black Friday is expected to be one of the busiest travel days. Train services will be increased on several lines and will reach up to 50% in some cases
The Community of Madrid is launching a special Metro Christmas programme to facilitate mobility in the city over the festive season. From the afternoon of 28 November, between 6 pm and 8.30 pm, lines 1, 2 and 3, which pass through Sol station, where the official lighting ceremony will be held, will be reinforced by up to 29% more trains.
The following day, 29 November, is Black Friday, one of the busiest days regarding passengers on the underground (last year more than 2.5 million passengers were registered). This is why train services will be increased on lines 1, 2, 3 and 5 from 4 pm on Friday until the service closes, with a reinforcement of up to 27%. On Saturday, the reinforcement will be on lines 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 from 11 am until the service closes, with an increase of up to 39%.
For the rest of the Christmas period, the reinforcement will start on Thursday, 5 December. The goal is to ensure seamless mobility, especially regarding leisure and shopping, which increase considerably at this time of year. The system will be active until 6 January, with an increase in the number of trains on five lines, which will reach up to 50% at some points.
The most reinforced lines will be 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10, both on weekdays and especially on Fridays and weekends. The underground will increase the number of cars from 4 pm on weekdays until the service closes, but especially in the mornings from 10 am on lines serving shopping and leisure areas at weekends. Therefore, in some cases the increase will be up to 33% on weekdays and up to 50% on weekends and holidays.
The Metro Central Control Centre will constantly monitor the flow of passengers at the different points of the network and, if required, may increase the number of trains. The usual station access control devices will also be in place and there will be a greater number of staff members to facilitate the distribution of users on the platforms at peak times, especially in the stations closest to leisure areas.
On the evening of 31 December and 5 January, on the occasion of the San Silvestre race, New Year's Eve and the Three Kings' Parade, the service on the lines affected by these events will be reinforced with an increased number of drivers, station staff members and security guards.
On the other hand, to ensure safety, Sol station will be closed from 6 pm to 9 pm on 28, 29 and 30 November, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28 December, 3 and 4 January. During the closure, connections will be maintained at Sol station. These closures may be modified according to mobility needs.
In addition, on the occasion of the New Year's Eve rehearsals and New Year's Eve chimes, on 30 December, Sol station will be closed after 9 pm, while on 31 December, it will be closed from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm and after 9 pm.
There will also be a change in Metro de Madrid's timetables on Christmas Eve, when the service will end at 9.30 pm, while on Christmas it will open two hours later (at 8 am) and on New Year's Eve one hour later than usual (at 7 am).
