Metro Line 1 extends: three new stops and a direct connection to Madrid Nuevo Norte

Updated 11 March 08:51

Metro Line 1 will add three stations to the north. The new route will connect Sol and Atocha with Madrid Nuevo Norte. Key changes to mobility and the neighbourhood network. The project is expected to enter service around 2030.

Mobility in Madrid will take an important step forward with the extension of Metro Line 1, which will add three new stations to the north and reach the heart of Madrid Nuevo Norte. This change will make travel easier between the centre and the future neighbourhoods to be built over the former Castellana railway tracks, bringing the underground closer to thousands of residents and people who work in the area.

The Comunidad de Madrid plan envisages extending Line 1 from Chamartín–Clara Campoamor, advancing around three kilometres and adding three provisional stops: Centro de Negocios, Fuencarral Sur and Fuencarral Norte. Centro de Negocios will serve the new financial district next to Chamartín, while Fuencarral Sur and Fuencarral Norte will cover the planned residential developments and improve connections for current Fuencarral residents.

The reorganisation of the network will also affect Line 4. The Bambú–Pinar de Chamartín–Chamartín section will cease to belong to Line 1 and will become part of Line 4, which will extend to Chamartín and incorporate Bambú as an intermediate stop. Thus, Line 4 users will gain direct access to Chamartín–Clara Campoamor railway station, while Line 1 will become a direct axis between Valdecarros, Sol, Atocha and the new northern neighbourhood, without branches or diversions.

The extension will be built using the traditional method of excavation from the surface, taking advantage of the fact that the Madrid Nuevo Norte site is still under development. The project will be rolled out in several phases: first, the redistribution of Lines 1 and 4 on the Chamartín–Pinar de Chamartín–Bambú section; then, construction of the new section towards Madrid Nuevo Norte, which will depend on urban development progress and land availability; and finally, the commissioning of new Metro depots, already at the project tender stage.

At present, the Comunidad de Madrid has opened a 20-day public consultation period to collect submissions from citizens, associations and authorities. After incorporating the observations, the final study will be approved and the construction project will be drafted. If no major delays arise, the extension is expected to enter service around 2030.

Madrid Nuevo Norte represents one of Europe's largest urban developments and will transform the northern part of the city in the coming years. Its integration into the Metro network is key to ensuring sustainable mobility and connecting the new residential and office spaces with the rest of the city. The extension of Line 1 responds to the need to adapt public transport to urban changes and growing demand for fast, direct connections between historic neighbourhoods and new expanding areas. Madrid is already beginning to move in that direction.