Helio Roque is a self-confessed enthusiast of the Madrid subway. This influencer from Extremadura based in Móstoles devotes much of his content on social networks to explaining the suburban network, recounting its curiosities, extolling its virtues and, from time to time, putting the spotlight on the failures and aspects that can be improved.
In one of his most recent videos, and in collaboration with Madrid Secreto (every week there is a new installment on Instagram and TikTok), Roque criticizes without mincing words the worst that each line of the Madrid metro has, from the high occupancy of the cars to aspects such as the “irrelevance” of some routes.
Line 1
The main fault of line 1 is, for Roque, that it is always full and it is impossible to find a seat. Another detail he finds uncomfortable is the door opening system, which forces passengers to operate a small lever to exit the train, while on modern lines the doors open automatically or by pressing a button.
Line 2
The fault of line 2 is… line 2 itself. According to our metro expert, the layout of the stops is not efficient, so that it is easier to reach any point along the route using another line or even another means of transport.
Line 3
The yellow line has the same flaw as line 1: “it’s unbearably crowded all the time,” says Roque, frustrated.
Line 4
Line 4 is the line that comes out of this round of constructive criticism the best. Apparently, it has no major errors, but its route is a bit “irrelevant”, as is the case with line 2.
Line 5
Here there is no doubt: the slowness of line 5 is “exasperating”. Roque himself has already investigated which were the slowest and fastest lines of the Madrid metro, and line 5 was among the slowest: it can only reach up to 80 kilometers per hour, depending on the train model.
Line 6
Although it is among his favorites, the metro influencer recognizes a flaw of line 6 that everyone who has passed through Cuatro Caminos has experienced in their flesh: “it has almost all the stops in the underworld.” This great depth means having to climb a lot of stairs (hopefully escalators) to get to the surface.
Line 7
“It’s literally badly built and it’s sinking,” synthesizes Roque, citing structural failures and the progressive sinking of the tunnel on line 7, problems that have still not been solved despite the frequent works that interrupt service from time to time.
Line 8
It has few stops, and yet the route is so long that Roque feels like he is getting old every time he takes the line to the airport.
Line 9
Once again, the slowness of the metro exasperates our expert: line 9B seems to be as slow or slower than line 5. Interestingly, this is only a subjective perception, as trains on line 9 can go up to 110 kilometers per hour, according to the expert himself.
Line 10
As the only one that passes through Nuevos Ministerios and Chamartín on the same route, line 10 has the dubious honor of being “one of the worst places in the world”.
Line 11
That of the 11 is an environmental problem: its extension has involved controversial tree felling in the district of Arganzuela, for example, in the Plaza de Legazpi, where between 30 and 50 trees will be sacrificed to build a transport interchange.
Line 12
Metrosur is Helio Roque’s favorite line, so he refuses to find fault with it… except for the long waiting times experienced by its users.
Line R (Branch)
“A very good line”, but a strict adherent of Murphy’s Law: its trains start without you catching up with them on the days you are in a hurry.