Final approval of the new Madrid Nuevo Norte metro line

The General Directorate of Collective Transport Infrastructure, under the Ministry of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, has definitively approved the informative study for the “New Metro Line in Madrid Nuevo Norte”. The resolution was adopted on October 8, 2026, and is published as an announcement in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID no. 251, dated October 21, 2026, with the reference BOCM-20261021-34.

The announcement, signed by the general director Miguel Núñez Fernández on October 16, 2026, closes a file opened at the beginning of the year and establishes the technical and economic framework under which the construction projects must be drafted and the works executed. The decision comes after the regional environmental body issued a favorable report on the chosen solution, allowing the project to continue moving forward without undergoing an ordinary environmental impact assessment.

A budget of 331.6 million for alternative 5

The approval resolution establishes a base tender budget of 331,624,956.22 euros, excluding VAT, for alternative 5, the option selected among the five that were studied. The text emphasizes that the final solution of the informative study “corresponds to the one favorably reported in the Environmental Impact Report.”

The informative study was initially approved provisionally on February 17, 2026. For its drafting, five routing options were analyzed to determine their viability as an alternative for constructive development. On February 26, 2026, the start of the simplified environmental processing was requested.

Citizen allegations and administrative response

The Resolution of February 26, 2026, from the General Directorate of Collective Transport Infrastructure, submitted the study to public information, hearing, and request for reports; the procedure was published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID on March 10, 2026. In response to the allegations and observations submitted, a response report was issued addressing reports from public bodies, companies, and entities, as well as citizen allegations.

The document groups under the designation of “common allegations” those submitted by a large number of people or associations who raised substantially identical issues. This response report can be consulted on the Transparency Portal, in the regulations and planning section, under files for consultation and public exhibition.

Environmental green light with conditions

The Environmental Impact Report, formulated by the General Directorate of Energy Transition and Circular Economy by resolution of September 10, 2026, concludes that, for environmental purposes only, it is not foreseeable that alternative 5 will have significant adverse environmental effects on the environment. Therefore, it is not considered necessary to subject the project to the ordinary environmental impact assessment procedure provided for in section 1 of chapter II of title II of Law 21/2013, of December 5, provided that the conditions of the report are met.

The processed environmental file is 26-EIA-00041.6/2026, and its publication was agreed upon by Resolution of September 11, 2026, disseminated in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID on September 25, 2026. None of the reports from the administrative units consulted by the environmental authority in application of article 46 of Law 21/2013 questioned the comparative assessment of alternatives in the informative study.

During the drafting and approval of the construction projects and the execution of the works, the following prescriptions must be taken into account:

• Those established in the Resolution of September 11, 2026 of the General Directorate of Energy Transition and Circular Economy, which formulates the environmental report.
• Those established in the Environmental Impact Study of the project.

One month to appeal

Against the resolution, which does not exhaust the administrative route, an appeal for reversal (recurso de alzada) may be filed within one month from the day following its publication in the gazette, before the Regional Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, in accordance with article 121 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.

The final approval clears the uncertainty regarding the layout and the reference cost of an infrastructure called upon to serve one of the largest urban developments in the capital. For the residents and developers of Madrid Nuevo Norte, the announcement means having an environmentally validated transport solution and an official bidding budget; for metropolitan planning, it marks the formal starting point of the projects and works phase.

Source: OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID, no. 251, October 21, 2026, section I.D (Announcements), pp. 177-178 (official reference: BOCM-20261021-34).