DANIEL SOMOLINOS Madrid

Madrid

Updated Tuesday, March 19, 2024-00:10

It has rained a lot since Madrid inaugurated its last Cercanías station within the M-30: it was

Sol, back in June 2009.

And it will continue to rain until the residents of Arganzuela see one of their most historic claims materialized, the station of Imperial - which

was first proposed in 1999

-, although it is getting closer to being functional.

This March the contract for the writing of the different projects was just awarded.

To carry out these tasks (which will determine all the characteristics of the action) a period of, maximum, 24 months has been given.

Then would come the bidding for the works and their execution, so,

at the earliest, until 2027 it will continue to be a dream.

The Imperial station, which will use an already existing infrastructure - since dozens of Cercanías buses pass through where this future enclave will be located every day -

will be located between the Príncipe Pío and Pirámides stops,

specifically at the intersection of Paseo of the Melancholics with Jemenuño and Ruy González de Clavijo streets.

Its opening will mean an improvement in accessibility to public transport for the residents of Madrid's Green Corridor.

Some residents of this neighborhood, like the hairdresser Justo, do not hide their enthusiasm, although they acknowledge that "it should have been operational for a long time."

"It could have been approved about 13 years ago,

but it did not go ahead due to the vote against the PSOE

... Since then, the project has been stopped," he tells this newspaper.

A few meters away, Daniel, in charge of a stationery store, is one of the few that resists in a neighborhood where the premises are being transformed, one after another, into tourist apartments given their good location.

"

We have been waiting for it for a long time

. We are central, but very poorly connected. Think that in this neighborhood there is no Metro. And the bus lines we have are the Circular, the 41 and the 62 that pass every 500 years... It will come very well".

Daniel puts himself in the shoes of older people, who if they want to access the Cercanías have to walk

15 minutes to Pirámides or Príncipe Pío

, or climb the hill that leads them to the Puerta de Toledo suburban stop.

"When they did the Bailén works, 148 passed through here, which was very good because it would drop you off in Callao. In fact,

we collected signatures to get them to drop it off

. But no luck."

Once this new Imperial station opens, the residents of this neighborhood will have

the Madrid Cercanías lines C-1, C-7 and C-10 at their disposal

and, therefore, direct connection with the main nodes of this network such as Príncipe Pío, Atocha, Nuevos Ministerios, Chamartín and the airport itself.

According to estimates, this stop would have a potential for influx of travelers similar to that of Pirámides,

with about 10,000 daily users.

From what is known to date,

Imperial will have an underground platform

, connected by vertical communication cores with an access building located on the surface.

Fuencarral will have a new station

Likewise, in addition to awarding the contracts that will allow the Imperial station projects to be drawn up, Adif is also going to promote a new stop

in the urban development of Madrid Nuevo Norte under the name Fuencarral-Malmea.

The station will be located about 900 meters south of the current one, which will be demolished, and will have four tracks and two 200-meter central platforms.

The facilities will also be equipped with

an underground parking lot with 400 spaces.

Future Fuencarral.EM station

The actions planned in Fuencarral-Malmea cover the areas of civil works, platform, track and energy and construction necessary to build the new station,

remodel its track pool

and renew the railway corridor.