An independent citizen-led project focused on Metro de Madrid has been launched to consolidate the complaints of the millions of commuters who use the capital’s metro system every day. The website“Termo de Madrid”compiles reports from Madrid public transit users regarding high temperatures inside the train cars, primarily via social media. After all, taking the metro in the summer often means not only dealing with service disruptions on key routes but also enduring extreme heat.
In addition to compiling reports from citizens for each line —and even for each series of subway cars—the website also displays the so-called“Termo Indicator.” This is not “an official temperature measurement,” but rather an index ranging from 0 to 100 that summarizes the cumulative reports from citizens throughout the summer for each line.
The measurement combines the reported heat levels, the number of valid reports, and the proportion of the line’s estimated total number of cars mentioned in the reports. Thus, the reports are translated into a value that can be “cool” (0 points), “hot”(60), or “hellish”(100). Older incidents lose weight in the calculation over time.
As its creator explains on the website, the mission of “Termo de Madrid” is “to create a historical record and graphs that show the shameful state of the Metro, to bring to light what has been evident to its users for years.” The platform aims to channel user complaints, transforming scattered grievances into a dataset that demonstrates, with figures, that there is a public demand for improvements to the air-conditioning systems of the Madrid Metro.
Lines 1 and 5, the most criticized
Line 1 is the target of most of the criticism. The “unacceptable heat” and the “disastrous condition of the air conditioning” in its train cars, as he himself describes them on the website, prompted the creator of “Termo de Madrid” to launch the platform.
After Line 1, the line with the next highest number of reports is Line 5. Others, such as Lines 6, 3, 2, and 10, show much lower numbers of reports. As noted on the website, this is not a measure of the temperature on each line, but rather of the level of public participation and the conditions perceived by passengers.
Speaking to Europa Press, the president of the Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations (FRAVM), Jorge Nacarino, has specifically highlighted Lines 1 and 5 and called on Metro de Madrid’s planning department to prioritize “users” when making investments. Nacarino stated that the problem stemmed from the delay in the Community of Madrid awarding the maintenance contract , which, in his view, was not completed on time.
For his part, the Regional Minister of Housing, Transportation, and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, noted at the press conference following the Governing Council meeting that Metro de Madrid announced in May an investment of 3.5 million euros to improve the air conditioning systems on 93 trains on Lines 1 and 5. Initially, work is planned on 744 air conditioning units in trains on both lines.