SPAIN’S Ministry of Development published plans on March 18 for construction of a fast suburban link to Madrid Barajas airport that would allow airline passengers to reach the city centre in just 11min.
The project requires additional tracks to be laid alongside the existing 4 km line from Chamartín to Hortaleza. A new 4 km alignment, mainly in tunnel, would be built from a junction east of Hortaleza to the new airport terminal under construction at Barajas. An intermediate station at Valdebebas would serve the future Real Madrid stadium and the planned Ciudad de la Justicia announced recently by President of the Madrid regional government Esperanza Aguirre.
Costed at €196·7m, the line would allow airport trains to reach Chamartín in 7min and Nuevos Ministerios on the cross-city line to Atocha in 11min.
- Esperanza Aguirre announced on April 14 that Line 7 of the Madrid metro will be extended to Torrejón de Ardoz in 2008-11. Plans for the Metro Este project will be developed over the next two years. n
