This Saturday, November 22, from 6 a.m., and after nearly 1,200 days of works, Metro Line 7B will once again provide service to the 120,000 passengers a day who use the service between the stations of Barrio del Puerto, Coslada Central, La Rambla, San Fernando, Jarama, Henares and Hospital del Henares.
During the more than three years in which this problematic line has remained partially closed, the General Directorate of Infrastructures has carried out consolidation and repair works to guarantee the safety of the infrastructure, for which 171.2 million euros have been allocated.
The insecurity that is being addressed has been linked to the history of Metro Line 7B since its origin, almost two decades ago – as stated in a chronology drawn up by the Plataforma de Afectados Metro L7B (PAML7B) – and the residents have been suffering from it ever since, with consequences such as evictions and demolition of their homes, as well as other psychological consequences.
The news has been received with moderate optimism by the Mayor of Coslada, Ángel Viveros: “We are happy, but we are going to be very vigilant that the work complies with all the requirements”, he said in statements to this regard collected by Diario de Coslada.
Those affected by the L7B line, critical of the management
Although the Community of Madrid states that “the assistance to the affected neighbors has been one of the main priorities” – in this sense, an Office of Attention was created in 2022 to manage procedures such as compensation and rehousing – groups such as the Neighborhood Association of People Affected by Metro L7B and PAML7B are critical of the management of L7B and denounce the lack of solutions.
In fact, just a few days ago, before the announcement of an official act for the reopening of the subway, one of them answered with the call for a concentration: “They want to shelve the issue and act as if nothing happened. We cannot stand idly by while they bury us with the subway,” reads the publication.
And the problems for those affected continue: neighbors of San Fernando de Henares who live in the area where the works have been developed denounce in this video that “the houses are full of affections [such as cracks or inclinations] and they do not contact us. We don’t know what is going to happen to our homes”.