• Works: Reopens the Recoletos tunnel after five months cut off

The Recoletos tunnel will remain closed this weekend and the next one to carry out "improvement works", which will affect the frequency and routes of five lines of the Madrid Cercanías. The new cut comes after this infrastructure was closed last year for five months -between June and November- for the realization of a "comprehensive renovation" that had a cost of 45 million euros.

In Adif they justify the need for this new intervention not one year after the previous reform was concluded because it is the section that "supports the most rail traffic in all of Spain", with the passage of 470 trains and 200,000 passengers per day . According to a spokesperson, every night when the service ends, maintenance work is carried out, but "from time to time" it is necessary to undertake "in-depth" actions that can only be carried out by interrupting circulation.

The new works will be carried out on the 15th and 16th and 22nd and 23rd of August , from 00:30 hours on both Saturdays and Sundays in full time, for the return to normality from 04:30 hours on Mondays. From the public company dependent on the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda they point out that they have opted for dates on weekends and a typical holiday month to "minimize inconvenience" to users.

Change of tracks

The Recoletos tunnel, seven kilometers long , was built in the 1960s to connect the Nuevos Ministerios and Atocha stations. Although according to Adif some "systematic reforms" had been carried out, after the accumulation of multiple breakdowns that led to frequent delays in the lines that cross it last year, it was decided to make a "comprehensive" that would allow it to "adapt to the increase in traffic."

The bulk of the actions consisted of replacing the old tracks with wooden sleepers with new ones laid on a base of 23,000 cubic meters of concrete, a material with which the classic stones of the railway lines made of a material called ballast were replaced. The flexible catenary was also changed to a rigid one, in addition to modernizing the signaling.

"Thanks to its comprehensive reform, the reliability of the line and its facilities has been improved, notably reducing the possibility of incidents affecting circulation," Adif said in a statement regarding the reopening of the tunnel on 17 May. November. Nine months later it will be closed again, although this time only for four days spread over two weekends.

The new interventions, the cost of which has not been provided, will include the "cleaning of the underground gallery to improve the drainage of the area" and "works of geometric alignment of the road" between two kilometer points. In addition, within the Comprehensive Accessibility Plan of Renfe 2018-2026, progress will be made in the installation of elevators at the Recoletos commuter station, whose contract was awarded in December last year for 4.8 million euros, and which also includes the conditioning of new evacuation exits.

Changes in frequencies and itineraries

Due to the closure of the tunnel, the trains of line C-2, Cercanías will pass every 30 minutes from Guadalajara and every 15 from Alcalá de Henares and will end their journey in Atocha.

On the O'Donnell contour road , the frequency will be 30 minutes at rush hour with stops at the stations of Guadalajara, Azuqueca, Meco, Alcalá de Henares Universidad, Alcalá de Henares, Torrejón, San Fernando de Henares, Fuente de la Mora and Chamartín, in both directions.

Line C-8 will maintain the usual pace of convoys to and from Cercedilla, but will end their journey at Nuevos Ministerios station . Finally, the C-1 and C-10 trains will end their journey in Atocha and a shuttle train service will be provided every 15 minutes to connect Nuevos Ministerios with T4 at the airport.

Expropriation of 11 meters of street for the Cercanías de Sol station

The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda is going to expropriate 11 square meters of Aduana Street from the Madrid City Council within the project for the underground connection between the Cercanías de Sol station and the Gran Vía Metro station. Specifically, the plot of alienated public land will be used to "improve evacuation and ventilation conditions in the event of fire."

This is stated in an announcement published in the Official State Gazette on July 30, which opens a public information period of 15 business days in which allegations can be presented. The section of the road affected is at the height of the passage of the Savings Bank and behind the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance in Alcalá.

The tunnel between Sol and Gran Vía has been built for a decade, but the infrastructure had to be lined with concrete and provided with the necessary facilities for its operation. The works have suffered numerous delays and there is still no new date for their inauguration.

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