The extension of metro line 11, which will connect Cuatro Vientos with Valdebebas along 33 kilometers in the future—and link up with seven interchanges—has taken a new step forward: the Community of Madrid has approved the final route for its northern section, which will add six new stations to the underground network.
After evaluating four options, the regional government has given the green light to the one that will link Mar de Cristal with Valdebebas Norte, connecting points such as T4 at Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas Airport and Ifema Madrid. They will be distributed as follows:
- Mar de Cristal. It will connect with lines 4 and 8, under Calle Arequipa.
- Ifema-Cárcavas. Next to the extension of the exhibition center.
- Valdebebas / Ciudad de la Justicia interchange.
- Enfermera Isabel Zendal Hospital.
- T4 – Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. It will be connected to line 8.
- Valdebebas Norte. Near the future Valdebebas Shopping center, the largest in the region.
According to documentation consulted by Europa Press, the base tender budget is €599,331,470.59 (excluding VAT) and work on this section is scheduled to begin in 2027. The duration of the work is estimated to be three years and three months.
Metro Line 11: a controversial extension with neighborhood protests
Editorial credit: Metro de Madrid
The extension of Metro Line 11 has been accompanied by protests from residents in the different neighborhoods affected. In Madrid Río and Comillas, two of the areas involved, protests by residents in 2023 succeeded in reducing the number of trees that the Community of Madrid had initially planned to cut down in order to move forward with the project, forcing a change in the route.
In addition, residents of the Las Águilas neighborhood have been demanding for years a station on line 11 for this area of Latina, which has not materialized: last January, they staged a protest around this long-standing demand of the neighborhood, as the project’s route does not include it. The Community of Madrid has no plans to do so.
Since 2023, work has been underway on the section that will link Plaza Elíptica with Conde Casal, which includes the construction of five stations: two new stations (Comillas and Madrid Río) and three connecting stations (Palos de la Frontera, Atocha, and Conde de Casal). At the end of 2026, the Community of Madrid reported that “more than 50% of the work has been completed.”
According to the regional government, this new diagonal line “will transform this route into a major north-south transport axis,” although this will vary depending on the neighborhood in which one lives.