SPAIN’s minister of transport and sustainable mobility, Óscar Puente, has announced a €1.35bn upgrade for commuter Line C5 in Madrid, operated by Renfe. The programme contains 28 individual infrastructure projects that will increase capacity by 60% while improving operational flexibility and accessibility.
Line C5 runs for 41.5km from Móstoles-El Soto via Atocha station in the city centre to Humanes, serving 23 stations. It is the busiest commuter line in Spain, carrying 72 million passengers a year or 29% of the 250 million journeys taken on Renfe’s Madrid commuter network.
According to Puente, Line C5 is in need of “structural reform” to increase capacity and meet the ever-growing demand for public transport in Madrid’s southern suburbs. At the same time, stations and trains must be made more accessible to passengers with reduced mobility, while operational flexibility to deal with disruption will be improved.
Under the programme, infrastructure manager Adif will spend a total of €650m on the 28 projects. Construction work is already underway on three, with contracts for a further seven out to tender. A further 10 projects are at the design stage, with design contracts out to tender for three and five due to go out to tender following approval by the ministry.
Major projects
Major projects include resignalling with ERTMS Level 2 to replace the LZB system now nearing the end of its working life. Bi-directional running will be introduced on both tracks in order to improve operational resilience during disruption.
Station platforms will be extended in length by 40-50m, while a new station will be built at Móstoles-El Soto alongside accessibility improvements at other stations. Provision for emergency evacuation will be improved in tunnels and at underground stations.
Adif will also build a new fleet maintenance depot at Móstoles able to accommodate 200m-long trains while new stabling sidings will be built at the depot in Humanes.
Renfe will spend a total of €700m under the Line C5 upgrade programme, including €600m to acquire 35 new EMUs from Stadler. Spending on depots has been allocated €60m, including €53.5m for the new depot at Móstoles.
Under the provisional timetable, the Atocha - Cuatro Vientos section will be closed for four months from June 2027, followed by a four-month closure in the second half of 2028 for signalling and other work towards Móstoles and Cuatro Vientos.
According to Puente, 15 major projects will not require line closures, with those that are necessary scheduled to take place in the summer when traffic is lower. A total of €40m has been allocated to fund replacement bus services during the closures.
Trials of the new ERTMS Level 2 signalling are due to start in April 2029 to enable the new high-capacity fleet equipped with ATO to enter service in April 2030. The Line C5 upgrade is due to be completed in October 2031 with the entry into service of bi-directional running to Humanes.
“Line C5 is the engine of southern Madrid, and after this period of transformation, we will provide citizens with a more capable, more punctual, fully-accessible line equipped with the most advanced technology in Europe,” Puente says.
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