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Line 11 faces complications and forces Madrid to seek a new route
The extension of Metro Line 11 has once again hit a major obstacle. The Ministerio de Defensa has issued a negative report on the planned route between La Fortuna and Cuatro Vientos, forcing the Comunidad de Madrid to review its plans and look for an alternative so as not to leave the southwestern neighbourhoods without the promised connection.
The affected section was a key part of the project. The initial plan included a 2.2-kilometre tunnel under military land and the creation of an interchange station at Cuatro Vientos, but the impact on the air base has halted that solution.
Defence's rejection not only complicates reaching Cuatro Vientos. It also puts in doubt the possible extension to Las Águilas, which depended on that corridor to fit into the future route of the line. The project will now have to go back to the drawing board.
The immediate consequence will be a delay in the timeline. The drafting of the construction project is extended by eight months, until February 2027, to analyse the reports received and assess which technical alternatives can maintain the connection without affecting sensitive land.
The Consejería de Transportes insists that the Defence report is decisive and that all options will be reviewed using technical criteria. The planned investment for the extension of Line 11 exceeds 740 million euros and is part of a much more ambitious operation: to create a major Metro diagonal between Cuatro Vientos y Valdebebas.
This future line would have 33 kilometres, 20 stations and seven interchanges, aiming to connect areas of Madrid that currently require detours, transfers or long journeys. For many neighbourhoods in the south and east, the L11 is seen as an opportunity to save time and rely less on cars.
While the section towards Cuatro Vientos is being resolved, works between Plaza Elíptica y Conde de Casal continue. That corridor includes more than six kilometres of tunnel and five stations, two of them new, with completion expected in 2027.
The major Metro diagonal remains one of the most important promises for mobility in Madrid, but Defence's halt shows that the project still has difficult pieces to fit together. Residents in the south will have to wait longer to find out where the line that is set to change their daily journeys will finally run.