Madrid plans €5bn cross-city suburban line (MetroReport)

On April 5 Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna unveiled a 2018-25 investment plan for Madrid’s Cercanías suburban network, the result of a year-long study by the Ministry of Development, infrastructure authority ADIF and train operator RENFE. To improve reliability and service quality, the plan has an investment budget of €5∙09bn, of which €2∙27bn is to be spent by ADIF and €2∙82bn by RENFE.

In the short term, €580m is to be spent on a series of urgent measures in 2018-19, including €243∙5m for new rolling stock and €81m to refurbish the existing EMU fleet. Infrastructure upgrades are to receive €200m, and station improvements €45∙8m…

Extending the network has been allocated €1∙06bn, which includes the first two phases of a new east-west cross-city route running from San Fernando de Henares to Príncipe Pío, serving new underground stations at Canillejas, Avenida de América and Alonso Martínez. An initial budget of €297∙6m has been set for other extensions, which given their high cost are to be prioritised on the basis of potential demand, taking into account the findings of a travel survey due to be published in the last quarter of 2019.

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