The closure of Line 10 between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco will, starting this Saturday, redraw one of the key transportation corridors in Madrid. Comprehensive renovation work at the Santiago Bernabéu station is forcing the suspension of metro service on this section until the end of the year, and the city will rely on an improvised “surface metro”: the special free S10 bus service.
The closure leaves stations between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco without a direct connection via Line 10, with the area around the stadium at the center of a renovation project aimed at expanding platforms, modernizing facilities, and preparing the station for the increase in passengers brought about by the new Bernabéu. The line will continue to operate normally south of Nuevos Ministerios and north of Cuzco, but the underground bridge connecting the two points will be closed until the end of the year, forcing thousands of commuters to rethink their daily routes.
A free shuttle bus line
To prevent the Castellana corridor from becoming gridlocked, Metro and EMT are launching the S10 this Saturday, a special bus service that will cover the closed section with a frequency comparable to that of the metro. The buses, which are free for passengers, will connect Nuevos Ministerios, Santiago Bernabéu, Cuzco, and Plaza de Castilla with stops right next to the metro exits and a headway of just two or three minutes during rush hour. The service will have up to 15 buses running simultaneously during peak demand and a schedule that closely mirrors that of the subway, with the first departures at 6:05 a.m. and the last around 2:00 a.m.
The new situation requires passengers to adapt to a different routine: those arriving at Nuevos Ministerios from the south will have to go up to street level, find the S10 stop, and continue their journey toward Cuzco or Plaza de Castilla along the Castellana; those coming from the north on Line 10 will have their route interrupted at Cuzco and will also rely on the shuttle to continue toward the city center. At the same time, the Consortium has announced additional service on Metro lines 1 and 9 and on several buses along the route, such as the 27 or the 147, to distribute passengers who until now crossed that stretch from end to end in just a few minutes.