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The Sol tunnel closes this weekend and forces changes to C-3 and C-4 journeys
Travelling on Cercanías through central Madrid will require a little more planning this weekend. Adif will close the Sol tunnel between Atocha and Nuevos Ministerios on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August, forcing changes to the usual routes of the C-3 and C-4 lines.
C-3 trains arriving from the south will terminate at Atocha. The same will happen with C-4 services arriving from Parla, while trains from Alcobendas-San Sebastián de los Reyes and Colmenar Viejo will have Nuevos Ministerios as their temporary terminus.
That means it will not be possible to cross the city centre directly through the Sol tunnel on these lines. Anyone needing to continue between Atocha and Nuevos Ministerios will have to change means of transport or use other Cercanías lines that run through the Recoletos tunnel.
Renfe has also provided a surface alternative. Travellers holding a valid Cercanías ticket will be able to use regular EMT buses during the disruption without paying an additional fare.
The closure will be repeated the following weekend, on 5 and 6 September. They will be the last scheduled disruptions in the Sol tunnel in this phase of the Atocha Cercanías transformation works.
The works will complete the demolition of part of the tunnel wall and finish the connection to the new cut-and-cover tunnel built to link Sol and Embajadores. Fire protection for the new metal structure will also be reinforced.
All of this forms part of Atocha’s new 4+4+2 layout. When track 8 comes into operation before the end of the year, four tracks will be linked to the Recoletos tunnel, four to Sol and two to Embajadores, increasing the capacity of the Sol corridor by around 33%.
For this weekend, however, the effect will be much more everyday: split journeys, additional interchanges and more passengers looking for alternatives between Atocha, Sol and Nuevos Ministerios. Anyone planning to cross Madrid on the C-3 or C-4 would do well to leave with a little more time to spare and check the route before going down to the platform.
UPD: After the closure on 29 and 30 August, the C-3 and C-4 lines resumed their usual service this Monday through the Sol tunnel between Atocha and Nuevos Ministerios. Normality will be temporary: Adif is maintaining a second closure for Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September, when temporary termini at Atocha and Nuevos Ministerios will be established again. It will be the final scheduled disruption in the Sol tunnel in this phase of the Atocha Cercanías works.