100 YEARS OF THE MADRID SUBWAY

They say that the Madrid subway is one of the best in the world and, honestly, we have traveled with assiduity we can confirm it. Fast, efficient, agile, safe, sustainable and economic, no one could understand mobility in the Madrid capital without the metro network, so, we are glad that the city celebrates the 100-year history of the Madrid subway.

SUBWAY MAP OF MADRID 2019

Of the eight pioneering stations we have passed to 302 of the current map of the Madrid subway 2019. From Cuatro Caminos a Sol. The North-South Line, with 3.48 km, gave the starting signal to a pioneering project that captured the interest of every citizen in October 1919, when this first journey was inaugurated with only eight stations.

Accustomed to the tram and trolleybuses, the people of Madrid at that time welcomed the news with enthusiasm and a lot of curiosity. Nowadays, it is impossible to think of a Madrid without subway, at least, if we do it in a city that has grown exponentially and that wants to get rid of traffic gradually and as much as possible. The subway, in Madrid, has become its backbone.

The numbers, at present, are overwhelming: 100 years later, Madrid’s subway has 294 km of network that uses more than 600 million passengers a year, and we are about to enjoy station number 302.

And a curiosity: on October 31, 1919, the day that Madrid’s subway opened its doors to the public, they used that first line, with eight stops, 56,200 people; nowadays, more than 2.3 million travelers ride on the metro every day.

CULTURAL PROGRAM OF THE SUBWAY IN MADRID 2019

Shelter for those fleeing from the bombing during the Spanish Civil War, setting of films and cultural movements, brand and symbol of the city … It can not be understood city of Madrid without the subway, therefore, this centenary wants to commemorate not only the start-up of a means of transport, but of an entire emblem for the city.

This is the program of events for the centenary of the subway in Madrid:

Exhibitions of the Madrid subway 2019

A sample of historic trains fully restored for the occasion in Chamartín, large vinyl’s at the airport station with photographs of the main landmarks of 100 years of history, suburban portraits that show the most intimate relationship of travellers with this means of transport … Up to six different exhibitions come together this year to highlight the importance of the subway in the city.

Music in the Madrid subway until August 2019

Metro Vibra, seven musical styles will conquer seven subway stations in Madrid with several live concerts between now and August.
The objective: to emphasize the connection of this means of transport with music.

SOME JEWELS OF THE MADRID SUBWAY

Although they are open to the public permanently, we do not want to spend the centenary to encourage you to visit four of the many architectural gems that the Madrid subway keeps:

The Pacific Engine Ship

It was inaugurated in 1924 and served to generate and transform the energy with which trains operated. During the Civil War, even came to provide electricity to the city. It was closed in 1972.

Museo de los Caños del Peral in the Opera metro station

The largest underground archaeological museum in Madrid is in the Ópera metro station, a total of 200 square meters with archaeological remains from the 16th and 17th centuries belonging to the Fuente of Los Caños del Peral, the Aqueduct of Amaniel and the Alcantarilla del Arenal.

The old Chamberí station

Known as the “Ghost Station”, it was closed in the early 60’s, when the Metropolitan Company decided to increase the length of the trains and, given the impossibility of extending this station, closed it. The station, designed by Antonio Palacios, with ceramic coating with ornamental games and advertising posters of the time, can be visited since 2008.

Paco de Lucía Station

Inaugurated in 2015, this station has a large mural of 300 square meters, an example of urban art, representing the face of Paco de Lucía, a former resident of the neighbourhood of Mirasierra.

If you want to know more details about the centenary of the Madrid subway, enter the website dedicated to your centenary.