- There will be more trains in double composition, increased frequencies and special services in Cerca Madrid and Rodalies de Barcelona.
- In both urban centers, the presence of security monitors and information and traveler care personnel will be significantly increased.
- The three Avant Centro corridors, which link Valladolid/Segovia, Ciudad Real/Puertollano and Toledo with Madrid, will also offer a significant increase in places during the weekend of June 6 and 7.
- From Aena, the necessary actions in the airports involved in the operation have been analyzed, in coordination with institutions and other agents.
- ENAIRE will guarantee the reservation of airspace in the areas where the Pope's visit will take place so that only aircraft of the State security forces and forces linked to security can fly over those areas.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has prepared a special device to facilitate mobility during the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain that will take place from 6 to 12 June with events scheduled in Madrid, Barcelona, Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The visit of the Supreme Pontiff to Spain, which has been declared an event of special public interest by the Government, will bring together a large number of people, with concentrations that can exceed one million attendees. To ensure its success, the Executive has held more than 80 coordination meetings between different administrations and institutions, through working groups.
In this context, with the aim of facilitating travel and guaranteeing mobility, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, through Renfe, is going to launch a special device offering additional places in Cerca Madrid and Rodalies, and increasing the offer of Media Distancia and Avant. It has also analyzed and planned the necessary actions in the airports directly involved in the operation: Madrid, Barcelona, Tenerife South and Tenerife North (in Las Palmas it will operate at the Gar Air Base).
Reinforcement of Neighbourhoods Madrid
Given the strong demand for public transport and the high mobility expected for those days both in Madrid (from 6 to 9 June) and in Barcelona (9 and 10 June), Renfe has designed a plan with a broad reinforcement in practically all the lines of Cerca Madrid and Rodalies de Barcelona, with an increase in seats that can be more than 35% compared to a regular weekend. In Madrid alone, the reinforcement will be more than 1.1 million places on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, which will be the days with the greatest attendance.
Among the events planned in Madrid are the prayer vigil in the Plaza de Lima, on Saturday, June 6; the Holy Mass in the Plaza de Cibeles, on Sunday, June 7, with the expectation of attendance between 1 and 1.5 million people; the diocesan meeting in the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, in addition to other events that will take place in Ifema, the Movistar Arena pavilion, or the Cathedral of the Almudena.
To facilitate the mobility of travelers to these events, Cerca Madrid has arranged during the weekend a special reinforcement of trains and staff. Thus, from 1 p.m. on June 6 until the end of the service, the main lines (C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-7, C-8 and C-10) will record an increase in frequencies and trains in double composition. In total, it is expected that there will be an increase of more than 540,000 places on that day, 35% more than usual on weekends.
To organize this large influx of travelers, there will be a specific reinforcement of personnel in stations and the service will be adapted to manage both the incoming and outgoing flows after the events. In addition, Neighbourhoods will have strategic reserves with trains and staff in the main headwaters.
On Sunday, June 7, all the lines are scheduled to record, from the first hour of the morning, frequencies similar to those of a working day, much higher than those of a normal Sunday. This means a reinforcement of 580,000 more places, in addition to booking trains in Chamartín, Aranjuez, Móstoles el Soto, Fuenlabrada, Coslada and Villaverde Alto in the face of any unforeseen events that may arise.
For all the days of the Pope’s visit to Madrid, Renfe has planned an important security guard, with 290 troops more distributed throughout the network. In addition, there will be 300 more workers in the Customer Service services and information staff distributed in strategic stations such as Atocha, Sol, New Ministries, Recoletos or Chamartín and more cleaning workers both in stations and to tidy up the trains once the service ends.
Reinforcement of Avant services
In addition, the three Avant corridors (High Speed Half Distance) in the central area, Valladolid/Segovia-Madrid, Toledo/Madrid and Puertollano/Ciudad Real-Madrid will register during the weekend of 6 and 7 June an increase of more than 13,000 places, with respect to the number of places in a normal weekend.
As for Media Distancia services, on June 6 and 7, two regional trains connecting Madrid with Extremadura will circulate in double composition with 370 additional seats each day, that is, 740 more seats in total for that weekend.
Variety of rates in Cerca Madrid
On the other hand, Renfe Cerca Madrid offers a wide variety of fares to facilitate the mobility of attendees to the various events that will be held in the capital, and to avoid waiting for tickets, travelers are recommended to purchase tickets in advance.
The +Renfe&Tú card is required to carry the transport tickets or tickets in order to travel in Cerca Madrid. It’s a contactless card, just close it to the access control reader to open the doors. It is reusable and rechargeable and has no expiration date. This non-personalized card can be purchased at the ticket offices or self-sale machines of the stations. Among the options available to travel are:
- Round trip tickets, valid for two trips within the nucleus of Cerca Madrid, with prices depending on the number of areas traveled.
- Bonotren (subscription of 10 trips), multi-staff and valid for one year, especially recommended for small groups or frequent travelers. In addition, between June 1 and 9, the +Renfe&Tu card required for its use will be free.
- Group discounts, with reductions of up to 40% for round trip travel and special conditions for schoolchildren
- Monthly bonus payments, which allow unlimited travel: general pass for 20 euros, young pass for 10 euros and free pass for minors.
All these titles can be purchased at stations, self-sale machines and through the Neighbourhoods app, which allows tickets to be validated using a QR code to avoid crowds.
Traveller Information Plan
During the Pope’s visit and the days before, Renfe will also activate a comprehensive information device to keep travelers promptly informed before and during the events.
This plan includes: Information on the web and app of Proxies; messages on screens of stations and self-sale machines; megaphonia in trains and stations with periodic notices; specific physical and digital signage, communication through social networks and reinforcement of the call center.
During the acts, there may be restrictions or punctual closures of stations for security reasons and at the request of the Security Forces. In this regard, with regard to the visit to Madrid, on June 6, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., trains will not stop at the Nuevos Ministerio station, which will remain closed.
For the same reasons, on June 7 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. the trains will not stop at the Sol station, which will remain closed, and from the start of the service until 4 p.m. the trains will not stop at the Recoletos station, which will also remain closed on that time section.
In any case, it is recommended that citizens plan trips in advance, prioritize public transport and consult the official channels to know possible traffic restrictions and access.
Actions in airports and airspace
The visit has been organized through close coordination between different administrations, ecclesiastical institutions, transport operators, security forces and volunteers, among other agents.
In this context, the Central Services of Aena has developed a continuous process of coordination with different agencies of the General Administration of the State. This framework has made it possible to establish a stable coordination line aimed at analyzing, planning and implementing the necessary actions in the airports directly involved in the operation: Madrid, Barcelona, Tenerife South and Tenerife North (in Las Palmas it will operate at the Gar Air Base).
Specifically, from the technical coordination with airlines and handling agents, the operational needs of the papal aircraft have been defined, including positioning, assistance equipment, fuel, slots and operational compatibility. In addition, simulations have been carried out on the different platforms to adjust the operating configuration to the specific needs of the flight.
In addition, the Spanish Association for the Coordination and Facilitation of Slots (AECFA) has coordinated the limitation of unscheduled flights linked to the event in airports with greater capacity restrictions during the days of the event, being subject to subsequent approval by the airport.
In addition, multiple meetings and visits have been carried out to define the format of arrivals and departures at airports. In addition, security perimeters, itineraries and access conditions have been defined, in coordination with the State Security Forces and Corps. Likewise, conditioning works are being implemented in facilities, maintenance, cleaning and adaptation of furniture, among other actions.
Each airport has developed internal meetings with its operations, engineering, operational safety, security and management teams to analyze the impact of the operation and adapt procedures, ensuring compatibility with the usual operation of the Airport.
On the other hand, ENAIRE, the State manager of air navigation in Spain, will guarantee the reservation of airspace in the areas where the Pope’s visit will take place so that only aircraft of the State security forces and bodies linked to security can fly over those areas.