The Government gives the green light to an investment of 44 million euros to improve the stations of Ambassadors and Laguna de Cerca Madrid

• The Council of Ministers has given the green light to this action that represents a new advance in the renewal plan of the C-5 line of Cerca Madrid, the most used in the network.
• The platforms of both stations will be extended to adapt them to the new trains of 200 meters and emergency exits will be built, improving accessibility, evacuation and ventilation in case of fire.
• The railway platform between the two stations will also be improved over 2.7 kilometres.
• The Action Plan of the C-5 includes an investment of 1.35 billion euros, of which 650 million correspond to actions of Adif for the improvement of the infrastructure.

The Council of Ministers has authorized the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to tender, through Adif and for an estimated amount of 44.29 million euros (VAT not included), the contract to extend the platforms of the Madrid underground stations of Ambassadors and Laguna on the C-5 line of Cerca Madrid to adapt them to the new trains of 200 meters. Likewise, the contract also provides for the improvement of accessibility, evacuation and ventilation conditions in case of fire of both stations.

The project that received the green light today also includes the treatment of the railway platform along 2.7 kilometers between both stations of the C-5 line of Proxies.

This action, included in the Madrid Proximity Plan, is one of those included in the C-5 Action Plan that aims to modernize the line, increase its capacity and improve accessibility. This line records the largest volume of passengers in the Vicinity of Madrid and last year was used by 72 million people.

The Action Plan of the C-5, presented by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, last March, has a Total investment of 1.35 billion euros. Of this total, some 650 million euros correspond to Adif, which executes 28 actions for the improvement of the infrastructure, and 700 million to Renfe, mainly for the purchase of new trains and the construction and adaptation of workshops.

Lagoon: 4 emergency exits and 2 lifts

In particular, the contract authorized today provides that at the Laguna station the platforms extend 30 meters on the Móstoles side, and reaching 210 meters, to adapt to the new trains of Renfe, of greater length (200 meters) and capacity.

In addition, to increase accessibility, two new elevators will be built in the lobby, immediately before the passage of the cancellers, which will connect with the platforms. Currently there is an elevator that connects the street with the lobby, but it does not reach the platforms.

In order to improve the evacuation and ventilation conditions, four emergency exits will be executed, equipped with the necessary civil protection and security facilities, of which two will have access to the Green Wedge Park, another to the Alhambra street and the fourth to the Quart de Poblet street.

Adif will also build a ventilation shaft and relevant fire protection facilities. It will also install a new automatic fire and heat detection system and extend the alarm detectors.

Four emergency staircases (two per platform, 1.70 metres wide) will also be built, connecting the platforms directly to the street.

Ambassadors: extension of platforms and improvement of evacuation

For its part, in the Ambassadors’ station, Adif will address a new phase of the evacuation and ventilation improvement actions, which it is currently completing, and which have allowed the sectorization of the platform cavern through the creation of four pressurized independence vestibules; the implementation of refuge areas for people with reduced mobility; and the replacement of the detection center and the existing extinction centers.

In this second phase, four new emergency exits will be built, equipped with all necessary and pressurized facilities, sectorized with independence lobbies and provided with shelters for people of reduced mobility. In this way, it will go from four to eight evacuation points from platforms.

The platforms will also be extended by a length of 30 meters, with their corresponding electricity installations, normal and emergency lighting, anti-intrusion system and CCTV, megaphone, extinguishers and alarm systems. In the rest of the platforms will be installed emergency luminaires, mobile extinguishers, push buttons and alarm sirens, and the pavements will also be renovated.

The new protection systems and facilities will be integrated into the current fire management and control network and into the station’s centralized facility protection and management network. At the same time, new evacuation and fire protection signage will be installed and the current one will be reconfigured.

Actions on the railway platform

In addition, the contract also provides for the treatment of the railway platform between kilometer points 1/300 and 3/000 of the tunnel linking the Ambassadors and Laguna stations.

Specifically, between the kilometer points (pp.kk.) 1/450 and 1/950 and the pp.kk. 2/420 and 2/500 will be renewed the ballast, sleepers and fasteners. In addition, at several points of the route, cracks will be repaired in the counter vault and its reinforcement and waterproofing will be carried out. There will also be new central manifolds with arches and transverse connections to both the lateral ditches and the pumping wells.

In addition, the cleaning of ditches and the execution of new lateral ditches will be carried out to facilitate drainage and the central area of the platform will be waterproofed.

These works contribute to the fulfillment of several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as 9 (promotion of reliable, sustainable and quality infrastructures) and 11 (access to safe, accessible and sustainable transport systems); and may be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).