Line 12 (Madrid Metro)

Line 12
Line 12 train at Fuenlabrada Central station
Line 12 train at Fuenlabrada Central station
Overview
Other name(s)MetroSur
Native nameLínea 12
OwnerCRTM
LocaleCommunity of Madrid
Stations28
Websitewww.metromadrid.es/en/linea/linea-12-metrosur
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemMadrid Metro
Operator(s)CRTM
History
Opened11 April 2003; 21 years ago (2003-04-11)
Technical
Line length40.6 km (25.2 mi)
Charactercircle line, underground rail
Track gauge1,445 mm (4 ft 8+78 in)
Route map

Zone
Puerta del Sur
Parque Lisboa
Alcorcón Central
Parque Oeste
Los Rosales
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Móstoles Central
Pradillo
Hospital de Móstoles
Manuela Malasaña
Móstoles Sur
Loranca
El Vivero
Hospital de Fuenlabrada
Parque Europa
Fuenlabrada Central
Parque de los Estados
La Pollina
Arroyo Culebro
Conservatorio
Alonso de Mendoza
Getafe Central
Juan de la Cierva
El Casar
Los Espartales
El Bercial
El Carrascal
Julián Besteiro
Casa del Reloj
Hospital Severo Ochoa
Leganés Central
San Nicasio
Poza del Agua
Puerta del Sur
Map of the Madrid Metro system; Line 12 is in the lower left.

Line 12, also known as MetroSur (Spanish for "MetroSouth"), is a line of the Madrid Metro inaugurated on 11 April 2003.[1] Line 12 is a circle line that is not in the city of Madrid, but links five suburban towns southwest of the city, serving around one million people. The towns linked by Line 12 are Alcorcón, Leganés, Getafe, Fuenlabrada and Móstoles. Despite parts of the line running through uninhabited territory, there are no above-ground sections in an effort to facilitate future urban development. At a total length of 40.6 km (25.2 mi), it is the longest line in the network and even more extensive than Lines 9 and 10 with their appendages to the north and south. Despite this, Line 12 accumulated only about 32 million trips in 2018, down from 34.8 million in the previous year,[2] making it the only line to lose users in that time and the third least used after the yet-to-be-completed Line 11 and the airport connection Line 8. This decrease was mainly caused by renovation works necessitating the temporary closure of sections of the line.[3]

The line only interchanges with the rest of the Madrid Metro at one station, with a connection to Line 10 at Puerta del Sur. There are plans to extend Line 3 to provide a further interchange station at El Casar.

MetroSur is one of the longest tunnels in the world. At the time of its opening it was the second longest fully underground subway in Europe. As of 2024 it remains the longest subway tunnel in the European Union.

  1. ^ Muñoz, Pedro (2013-04-11). "Metrosur cumple 10 años". Metro histórico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  2. ^ "Datos estadísticos". Metro de Madrid (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  3. ^ todos, El dinero de. "La ruina de MetroSur: 1.700 millones, tres cierres y problemas de infraestructura desde el primer año". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-04.