ON JANUARY 11, the Madrid regional government invited tenders for construction work on the MetroSur ring line in the capital’s southwestern suburbs. The project has been split into 12 sections, with a total cost of Pts163bn. Bids are due by February 21, with contracts to be awarded in March or April, as the city would like to have the line completed within two and a half years.
MetroSur will run for 38 km, serving 27 stations, and will be completely underground.
It will link the rapidly-growing suburbs at the outer ends of four of Renfe’s suburban routes: Móstoles, Fuenlabrada, Getafe, Leganés and Alcorcón, which together house over one million inhabitants. The line is being promoted and funded by Mintra, the city’s new transport infrastructure authority.
MetroSur will have six interchanges with the suburban network, but the city is also planning a direct connection to the metro. Studies have been launched for extension of Line 10 from Aluche to meet the ring line at Ondarreta.
The regional government has ordered rolling stock to operate MetroSur from AnsaldoBreda as part of a Pts30bn contract.
This covers 180 new cars, which will also expand and replace the fleets for Line 8 and 10 - which are both due to be expanded in the current programme. Funding for the metro expansion was approved at the end of December, when the Spanish cabinet agreed a five-year package. The state will provide Pts34bn and the region will find a further Pts68·5bn. n
