It will be a subway station, but also a museum, a park and a time capsule. Madrid Río will have a new station as part of the extension of metro line 11, a project that has already reached 53% of the construction process, as reported by the Community of Madrid.
The new station will occupy an area of 14,300 square meters and will respond to the demands made by the neighbors when they heard about the project. It will include a children’s playground with play areas, a pirate ship, two elliptical fountains and walkways with pergolas and benches. In addition, 163 trees will be replanted in a project that combines sustainable mobility and landscape recovery.
As soon as you enter the subway, you will be able to see 12 meters of the old Manzanares Canal, exhibited as if it were a museum, as well as the remains of primitive animals. Of particular note are the giant turtles from the Miocene, which lived some 17 million years ago and could reach a length of 12 meters.
A better connected subway
Madrid Río will have its new station ready in 2027 and these works are part of a plan that will add 6.6 meters to line 11, creating the stations of Comillas (Carabanchel) and Madrid Río. It will also connect them with Palos de la Frontera, Atocha and Conde de Casal.
As reported to the Community of Madrid by the Deputy Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructures, José María García, the works have already reached their halfway point. To trace the 679 meters that separate Madrid Río from Comillas, the traditional Madrid excavation method has been used . And in the coming months a new German machine will be used : the Mayrit tunnel boring machine, which has twelve motors and can bore six meters of tunnel per hour.
This expansion project has involved an initial investment of 514 million euros and is expected to improve the city’s connections. Over the next decade, line 11 is expected to increase its demand by more than 75,000 daily users. It is also intended to distribute the number of passengers on line 6, one of the most used lines and whose temporary closure has caused several collapses.
A work of Bourbon engineering
Beyond transport, the future Madrid Río station will house part of the old Real Canal del Manzanares. It was an engineering work promoted by the Bourbons in the 18th century to connect Madrid and Aranjuez.
It will not be located in its original place, since the train tracks pass through it, but it can be seen at the entrance itself as if it were a small museum. Only a 12-meter section will be exhibited in the station, leaving the rest for the School of Roads and the Archaeological Museum.
Among the findings that will be exhibited are the canal vessel, dragging materials, remains of fauna and fossils of giant turtles.