{"id":4986,"date":"2021-12-09T00:04:32","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T23:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=4986"},"modified":"2021-12-09T23:19:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T22:19:56","slug":"going-underground-in-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/going-underground-in-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Going underground in Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"
For a city like Madrid and its metropolitan area, which is home to 7.3 million people and constitutes Spain\u2019s largest conurbation, underground infrastructure such as the metro, commuter trains, walkways and transfer stations play a vital role in ensuring that the transport system is able to flow. Without them, there would be insufficient space at surface level to absorb the volume of passengers. The metro alone carries 677 million people per year, according to data for 2019.<\/p>\n
Of the 300-plus stations in the network, Sol is the busiest by a significant distance, with 24.4 million passengers in 2019. And that is not its only record: it is also the oldest station, as it was the starting-point of the city\u2019s first metro line, Sol-Cuatro Caminos, which opened in 1919. Following major extension work in 2009, Sol boasts the world\u2019s largest station cavern, measuring over 200 metres long by 20 metres wide and 15 metres high.<\/p>\n