| Work Detail |
Spain’s Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has announced that the Madrid Airport HSR connection, which will link the airport to the country’s entire high-speed rail network will be opened in 2026. The Ministry, through Adif, is investing EUR 63 million in the new 3.5 km standard-gauge rail access to Madrid Airport. This project will improve the airport’s connectivity with the rest of Spain and promote air-rail intermodality for medium- and long-distance travel. Having a high-speed train stop at Terminal 4 will optimise travel times and comfort for users, enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of intermodal transport options. For this new connection, a standard-gauge line is being constructed between the northern terminus of Madrid Chamartín Clara Campoamor station and the 3.5 km access tunnel to the airport. Part of the existing commuter line between the station and Terminal 4 will also be utilised. The works are highly complex, as they are being carried out while maintaining commuter rail services. The Minister discussed improving Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport’s connectivity during a visit to the airport this week with the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas. A prior meeting at the Ministry addressed issues of mutual interest in transport, mobility, and sustainability, including the importance of expanding cross-border links for the development and cohesion of the European Union. During their tour of the airport facilities—Europe’s third-largest international hub and Spain’s main gateway, with 66 million passengers in 2024—they visited the Airport Management Centre (AMC), considered the “brain” of the infrastructure. The Secretary of State, José Antonio Santano, the President of Adif, Pedro Marco, and the President of Aena, Maurici Lucena, accompanied the Minister and the Commissioner. The new Madrid Airport HSR connection reuses part of the existing commuter rail platform between Chamartín and Terminal T4, an 8.8 km line inaugurated in 2011. This railway was originally designed to accommodate high-speed trains and includes a mixed (triple) track configuration along part of the route, from the airport access tunnel onwards, enabling use by both conventional and high-speed trains. The 3.5 km standard-gauge section currently under construction will connect with the triple-track tunnel beneath the A-1 motorway, and with the double track leading to the airport’s access tunnel. The track inside the airport’s north tunnel will also be adapted to fully implement the triple-track system. The works also include the installation of signalling equipment and systems for the new connection, such as interlockings, track blocks and circuits, and the ASFA train control and command system, among others. Upcoming works will focus on the construction of the sub-ballast layer, foundations and catenary poles, the assembly of the ballasted track, and the installation of the first sets of points. In parallel, programming and field implementation of the control, command, and signalling equipment will be carried out. To date, slab track has been installed between the entrance and exit transition zones of the slab track itself between Chamartín and Fuente de la Mora; over 500 metres of the existing platform has been cleaned and drainage maintenance works carried out; reinforced concrete walls for the existing track have been constructed; and work is ongoing on the Ingeniero Emilio Herrera viaduct. The Madrid Airport HSR connection will promote sustainable transport and strengthen the intermodality of the airport infrastructure, which is already connected to public transport networks including commuter trains, metro, and bus services. The construction of the standard-gauge access to Terminal 4 at Madrid-Barajas Airport is being financed with European funds under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, supported by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU programme. |
