The Community of Madrid is preparing for several disruptions in its Commuter Rail service during the late summer and early September. The C-8b line will have its service cut between Cercedilla and Los Molinos from this Saturday until September 5th, due to works to renew catenary poles at Cercedilla station. These works are part of the interventions scheduled by Adif.
To mitigate the impact on travelers, Renfe has launched a special bus service connecting Cercedilla and Los Molinos, offering 38 services daily on weekdays and 36 on weekends.
Additionally, during the early mornings of this weekend, lines C-2, C-7, C-8a, and C-8b will experience alterations between Atocha and Chamartín. These changes are due to works on the infrastructure of Chamartín station, affecting train traffic through the Recoletos tunnel. The nighttime disruptions will extend from 00:30 to 07:30 hours, and although Recoletos station will remain accessible, only two trains will run until 07:30.
Until August 28th, works at Atocha continue to modify the usual routes of lines C-2, C-7, C-8a, C-8b, and C-10. On the C-2, circulation between Guadalajara, Alcalá de Henares, Chamartín, and Atocha will use the contour line, diverting at San Fernando de Henares to access the capital via Fuente de la Mora and Chamartín, with frequencies of 20 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during off-peak hours.
The C-7 line will operate between Alcalá de Henares, Entrevías, and Atocha every 12 minutes during peak hours and every 16 minutes the rest of the day. The section between Príncipe Pío, Las Rozas, and Nuevos Ministerios will have 30-minute frequencies.
C-8a trains will run between El Escorial and Atocha every 30 minutes during peak hours and every 60 minutes during off-peak hours. The C-8b will offer service between Cercedilla and Atocha with similar frequencies, although the Cercedilla-Los Molinos section will be interrupted until September 5th. On the C-10, service between Villalba and Delicias will run every 30 minutes, and access to the platforms at Méndez Álvaro will remain closed.
The disruptions will extend to lines C-3 and C-4 during the weekends of August 29-30 and September 5-6, with the closure of the Sol tunnel between Atocha and Nuevos Ministerios. During these closures, Atocha and Nuevos Ministerios will serve as provisional terminals for different branches of these lines.
These works are part of a transformation project for Atocha Cercanías, with an investment of nearly 56 million euros, aiming to optimize the track configuration from 4+3+3 to 4+4+2. This reconfiguration, funded by European NextGenerationEU funds, will increase the capacity of the Sol tunnel by up to 33% from October onwards, improving morning peak hour fluidity.
The planned works include connecting the Embajadores and Sol tunnels, creating new escapes, expanding platforms, and reorganizing the track area, along with adapting signaling and traffic control systems. Adif has concentrated these works during the summer to minimize user inconvenience.
