The Community of Madrid has approved an investment of €880.6 million to extend Metro Line 11 to Valdebebas Norte, with four new stations and connections to IFEMA, the Justice City, Isabel Zendal Hospital, and Terminal 4 of the airport.
The Governing Council of the Community of Madrid has greenlit the construction contract for the extension of Metro Line 11 between Mar de Cristal and Valdebebas Norte, a stretch of 7.2 kilometres that will feature four new stations and an investment of €880.6 million. The project, one of the most ambitious in the network, aims to enhance mobility in the northeast of the capital and connect key areas such as IFEMA, the Justice City, Isabel Zendal Hospital, and Terminal 4 of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.
Four new stations and strategic connections
The new stops will be IFEMA-Cárcavas, Justice City, Isabel Zendal Hospital, and Valdebebas Norte. Additionally, at Mar de Cristal, there will be links to Metro lines 4 and 8, while at T4 of the airport, it will connect with Line 8 and the Cercanías network. According to the Transport Department, this intermodality will allow travellers to combine metro, train, and plane on a single axis, facilitating daily commutes.
The Valdebebas Norte station, the last on the route, is designed to accommodate the demand from one of the fastest-growing residential areas in the Community of Madrid. The arrival of the metro to this area aims to anticipate population and economic growth, which has already increased the number of daily commutes. Residents of Valdebebas, who have relied on buses or cars until now, will see their travel times to the city centre reduced by over 20 minutes, according to regional estimates.
Decongesting Line 6 and creating a new diagonal axis
The extension of Line 11 also aims to relieve pressure on Line 6, the major circular line of the metro, by providing a direct alternative between the south, the centre, and the northeast of the city. The project is part of the transformation of Line 11 into a diagonal axis that will cross Madrid from end to end, connecting areas that previously required long transfers. Ongoing works between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal, considered the first stretch of this corridor, are progressing as planned: the tunnelling machine Mayrit has reached the new Madrid Río station in the Arganzuela district after crossing the M-30.
For the Madrid reader, this investment represents a significant change in mobility in the northeast. Residents of Valdebebas, as well as those from Hortaleza, San Blas-Canillejas, and Barajas, will benefit from a quicker connection to the centre and key infrastructures. Furthermore, the project will generate over 3,000 jobs during the construction phase, according to the Community of Madrid.
Timelines and next steps
The construction contract, which will be tendered in the coming weeks, has an estimated execution period of 48 months. If everything goes as planned, the new stations could be operational by the end of 2030. The Transport Department has assured that the public will be kept informed through its website and community meetings in the affected districts. Meanwhile, Line 11 travellers can already check the final route on the information panels at the stations.
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