As if it were one more verse of the popular children’s song Cantajuego, talking about suburban trains at street level seems more worthy of an exercise in inventiveness than the fruit of reality. However, on this occasion it faithfully describes something that Madrileños and Madrileñas may have come across this morning: a metro train in the middle of Plaza de Colón.
The company itself fed curiosity in this regard in X with the publication, early in the morning, of a video in which it encouraged users to try to guess what was hidden inside a box suspended over the Madrid square. As we mentioned in the subtitle of this article, the explanation has to do with the arrival of an exhibition that will open tomorrow.
This exhibition, which can be visited throughout the month of April, will show a life-size model of the driverless trains that will start running on line 6 of the subway, the most used of the network, from 2027.
What will the new trains on line 6 look like?
A total of 40 new wide-gauge convoys will be incorporated, in which 450 million euros have been invested. The prototype, in the same way as the metro train that can be seen these days in Plaza de Colón, is fifteen meters long and three meters wide: “As it does not have a cabin, it has up to 17% more space and a capacity of 1,385 seats, 165 of them with seats”, according to the company.
Each train will consist of 6 cars or wagons, connected by wide corridors to facilitate transit. All of them will be equipped with spaces reserved for wheelchairs and two specific areas for bicycles and strollers.
The works begin in June, but since the beginning of March the usual timetable of the grey line has been altered due to previous works in the facilities. You can check the details, as well as the free substitute bus service, in this article.
Exhibition opening hours
It can be visited from Monday to Friday from 11am to 1pm and from 5pm to 8pm. On weekends and during Easter Week it will be open from 10h to 20h uninterruptedly. At night, in addition, it will have a special illumination that will be maintained until 00h.
A new Metro de Madrid museum
Metro de Madrid is also in the news these days following the announcement that it will convert the old sales hall into one of its museums. You can check all the information about it here.