The Community of Madrid will invest €180.9 million in the works to extend Metro Line 5, which will link Alameda de Osuna with Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas International Airport. Today, the Governing Council approved the award of the contract for the works, which will begin in spring and will last for 30 months.

The Regional Ministry for Housing, Transport and Infrastructure has planned this 1.7 kilometre extension to the L8 stop corresponding to terminals T1-T2-T3 of the Madrid aerodrome, where an interchange station will be established with four platforms, two halls and a floor area of 5,000 square metres. The infrastructure will also include the installation of lifts and escalators to make it even more accessible.

This project will improve connectivity with the centre of the Spanish capital and will open a new entrance to the airport through the fourth most used line of the network, line 5, which transports more than 77 million passengers a year. Along 25 kilometres, it crosses 32 stations, including some in the city centre, such as Gran Vía and Callao, and connects with ten lines, as well as the Ópera-Príncipe Pío branch line.

These works financed with European funds will benefit the more than 66 million people who have used the most important civil airport in Spain and the third largest in the European Union this year, and especially, the more than 40,000 people who work and live in the vicinity of L5.

The Governing Council also heard a proposal to award a €4.9 million contract to guarantee the comfort and safety of Metro trains. Specifically, the actions are aimed at three models (series 6000, 8000 and 3000), used on most of the underground lines (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9A, 9B, 10B, 11, 12 and Ramal), and are aimed at the revision and repair of the secondary suspension ball joints of the trains, a key element to reduce the vibrations perceived by passengers.