La Comunidad de Madrid has announced that Metro Line 1 will be extended to Madrid Nuevo Norte via an alternative that retains the link with Pinar de Chamartín, as the line will have two terminals. The future operation will combine the Pinar de Chamartín-Valdecarros and Fuencarral Norte-Valdecarros services.
The regional government says this is the first time the network will have a bifurcation, although the historic record shows that Line 2 had a branch between Goya and Diego de León from 1932 to 1958, later absorbed into Line 4.
Housing, Transport and Infrastructure councillor Jorge Rodrigo said the decision reflects residents’ input during the public consultation on the study, which assessed five options for extending the network to the new urban development. The regional government had already ruled out replacing the Chamartín-Pinar de Chamartín section with an extension of Line 4, but had not yet set out the final solution.
The chosen option adds three new stations: Centro de Negocios, Fuencarral Sur and Fuencarral Norte. According to the regional briefing, the proposal will maintain current frequencies at Pinar de Chamartín and Bambú, which would mean duplicating services between Valdecarros and Chamartín; the new section will not open until the urban development is complete.
Transport and planning specialists have criticised the move and are calling for the revival of the 20-year-old scheme to extend Line 10 through the development and connect with Metronorte at Puerta del Norte [user query]. They argue that Line 10 would also absorb the Tres Olivos-Chamartín section, with Chamartín and Tres Olivos already designed for that configuration, which would limit disruption from the works.