Madrid metro in crisis due to rising fuel prices

At the entrance to a Madrid metro station, September 21, 2020. AP - Bernat Armangue

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The high price of electricity forces the management of the Madrid network to reduce the number of trains by 10%, which causes saturation and tension among users.

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With our correspondent in Madrid,

In Spain, the electricity bill follows two models, one regulated by hourly variations in the market, the other which obeys fixed tariffs.

The Madrid metro, used by 1.4 million users every day, wants to follow the first method, because the second is very, very expensive.

But even then, nothing would be settled, say the specialists.

According to its direction, the bottom of the problem is the double effect of the significant fall of the users and, especially of the sharp rise in the price of fuels making electricity more and more expensive.

As a result, the Madrid metro, instead of paying 120,000 euros per day, finds itself having to pay up to 800,000 euros per day.

Unsustainable expenses which would be mainly due to the crisis linked to the war in Ukraine.

Last year there were 324 trains in service, there are now only 311.

The socialist opposition accuses the conservative capital region of reducing metro traffic while lowering taxes.

And calls on the central government to intervene to "

 ".

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• Spain

• Transportation