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For Metro de Madrid 2019 is a very special year, it celebrates a century of life and to celebrate it has prepared many activities that you may have already seen in some of its stations, such as the exhibition of classic trains in Chamartín or the permanent exhibition "Línea Centenario" in L1.Thus, Metro offers a new journey to the people of Madrid, the other great protagonists of its history.
Its raison d'être, who since its inauguration embarked on a true revolution, one that demolished distances, connected people and positioned Madrid as a reference among the modern and interconnected metropolis of Europe. Therefore, from Impernor Asbitra today we want to review its history and development, stopping at some of its most endearing moments and telling you how we have been involved in its evolution.
"The straight line" is how we could summarize the history of Metro de Madrid since the opening of its first line on October 17, 1919 by King Alfonso XII, the train company has simplified the movements of citizens through a single straight line, with a series of intermediate stops between them and the place where they want to arrive. Today Metro is a complex transport network with more than 294 kilometers, but it all started with something simpler: a line (straight, of course) with a 3.5 km route, from Sol to Cuatro Caminos, which covered an industrial area where many citizens went to work. In the following six years, Metro had already multiplied its length to 14.6 km and made the lives of millions of people easier, faster and more comfortable. Between 1981 and 1982 came one of the most important milestones for the company, the change in passenger signage. It was at this time that Arcadi Moradell Bosch created the first schematic map and redesigned the image of the rhombus that has survived to the present day.
During the first years of democracy, around 1978, new lines were inaugurated, and its network reached 100 km. At the end of 1999, lines 8 and 11 were created and others were extended, so that Metro exceeded 170 km. But if there is something that stands out in its recent history, it is undoubtedly the construction of MetroSur, between 1999-2003, since thenMetro is the only metropolitan railroad network in the world that has two circular lines (Line 6 and MetroSur, Line 12). The truth is that its inauguration "marked the beginning of a promising future for the capital of Spain", as Javier Otamendi pointed out. Now, a century later, Metro continues to be one of the greatest exponents of modernism and has become the favorite way to travel for the people of Madrid.
Did you know that Metro de Madrid was a pioneer in the incorporation of women into the labor market? That's right, another of the most relevant milestones in its history was the hiring of women to occupy the position of ticket-takers in the 1920's. Applicants only had to meet one requirement: to be single. It took many years for this rule to disappear, as it was not until 1984 that married women were allowed to hold the position of ticket agent. Even so, the female ticket agents of the Madrid Metro became an emblem of the company and a role model for the women of the time. Other curious and important facts that not all of us know are:
The Madrid Metro is one of the most accessible in the world, with 515 elevators and 1692 escalators, a figure that is only surpassed by that of Shanghai.
Its length makes it the seventh longest network in the world and the third longest in Europe, only surpassed by London and Moscow.
At present, the Community of Madrid has 302 stations and reaches 12 municipalities.
We believe in our projects, we work to build a better future and make people's lives more comfortable and convenient. Therefore, for us it is a real pride to have participated in different phases of creation, expansion and rehabilitation of different stations of Metro de Madrid, contributing to connect people with their loved ones, passions and dreams. Specifically, in recent years we have carried out the waterproofing of the slabs that cover and protect the accesses to the stations of:
Sea of Glass
Fresno Creek
Metropolitan Stadium
Colombia
Nuevos Ministerios (including parking areas)
Connection T4 - Chamartín
Fuente de la Mora (both above and below ground slabs)
In addition, we have developed our specialty in the Metro Information Technology Center, located in the Campo de las Naciones station.
