On 23 September Spanish Minister of Transport and Public Works Mr José Blanco inaugurated the new railway link to a new station beneath Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas airport. The President of the Madrid regional government Esperanza Aguirre and Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón were present at the event. Henceforth, the new Príncipe-Pío – Airport T4 (C1) line will link these two stations every 30 minutes with stops at Atocha and Recoletos.
This new alignment that includes the future high speed link to airport facilities in the near future “is one of the most complete intermodal infrastructures in Europe”, pointed out José Blanco, Minister of Transport and Public Works.
Construction of the new 8.8 km rail link has cost 218.31m EUR. The section inaugurated is part of the second phase of the railway link to Barajas which consists of a new underground double track layout. The tunnels will have a rail line with three tracks serving both suburban trains with domestic gauge, and the future high speed line that will be opened in the near future.

Features of the new line:

• Links: The new C-1 commuter line will link Principe Pío and Terminal 4 stations, stopping at Atocha and Recoletos. From today onwards, trains will run every 30 minutes from the airport.
• 2.15 €: This is the price of a single fare to Barajas – “the cheapest price in Europe” declared Mr Blanco.
• Investment: The completion of this work is the result of over 218m EUR in investments made by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
• Connections with other trains.
• The C-1 line will operate high speed, long distance and medium distance RENFE services to Atocha and Chamartin stations, allowing passengers arriving in Madrid by plane to use this new suburban service to connect to other destinations by train and vice-versa.

(Source: ADIF)