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Line 6 of the Metro faces weekend closures that will disrupt Madrid's routine
Line 6 will have 48-hour interruptions over several weekends. The closures will affect thousands of travellers and change mobility in neighbourhoods such as Moncloa y Cuatro Caminos. The Metro is preparing for its move towards automation.
Those who rely on Line 6 to get around Madrid will need to reorganise their plans over several weekends until the end of the year. The Metro will suspend service for 48 consecutive hours on different sections to carry out safety tests, an essential step before the much-anticipated automation of the Circular.
The first closures will take place on the weekend of 26 and 27 September and will be repeated on 3 and 4 October. On those dates, the section between Cuatro Caminos and Lucero will be out of service, affecting busy stations such as Moncloa. Both Cuatro Caminos and Lucero will remain open and serve as temporary termini, while a special free bus service will be set up to cover the closed section.
During these tests, two of the new automatic trains will run on the affected sections, testing their operation at both low and high speeds. The aim is to check how the systems perform in real conditions and fine-tune the final details before full implementation.
Platform screen doors have already been installed at stations on the affected section, and final tests are scheduled for the end of September. This progress adds to another eleven stations on the Circular that already have these devices, leaving only nine still to be fitted, a process the regional government hopes to complete before the end of the year.
The automation of Line 6 marks a major change in mobility in Madrid. The Circular is one of the most heavily used arteries, connecting neighbourhoods and universities, and absorbing much of the daily traffic. Every adjustment to its operation is felt across the city: temporary closures force people to find alternative routes, reorganise their schedules and, in many cases, rediscover the surface. Madrid is already moving in this direction, adapting its rhythm to the new era of public transport.
Line 6, known as the Circular, is one of the main axes of the Metro de Madrid. Its route connects strategic points such as Moncloa, Cuatro Caminos, Argüelles y Legazpi, and its circular nature allows connections with almost all lines in the network. That is why any intervention on this route has an immediate impact on urban life, from university commutes to weekend leisure plans. The modernisation and automation of the line aims not only to improve efficiency, but also to anticipate the city's growth and new ways of getting around it.