Madrid Metro Line 6 (Circular)
Madrid’s circular line: 28 stations with no terminus, linking Moncloa, Nuevos Ministerios, Avenida de América, Méndez Álvaro and Príncipe Pío.
About Line 6
Line 6 forms a ring of 28 stations around the centre. Its job is to carry people between neighbourhoods without going through the centre: it lets you change twice to almost every line, and three times to Lines 3 and 4. The exceptions are the Ramal and Lines 8 and 11, which start on the circular line without crossing it, and the outer suburban lines.
Along its route are transport hubs such as Moncloa, Príncipe Pío, Plaza Elíptica and Avenida de América, and Cercanías commuter-rail connections at Nuevos Ministerios, Laguna and Méndez ÁlvaroES, next to the Estación Sur bus station. It was built very deep to get past the changes in level in the centre: at Cuatro Caminos it is 45 metres below ground, the deepest point in the network, which is why some changes are long.
Length: the sum of the distances between consecutive stations published by the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM) in its open data (network routes, updated on 29 May 2026), in one direction and counting every section of the line. It measures from the first station to the last, without the track that continues beyond the termini, so other published figures for the length of the line may be higher. Neither Metro de Madrid nor the CRTM publishes an official length for each line.
Stations on Line 6
28 stations, 14 of them with an interchange to another line (marked with a ring and the colours of the other lines).
Laguna – Lucero
Main route, 28 stations
History
It opened on 11 October 1979 between Cuatro Caminos and Pacífico, beneath Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, Joaquín Costa, Francisco Silvela and Doctor Esquerdo. On 7 May 1981 it crossed the river near Legazpi to Oporto; on 1 June 1983 it reached Laguna, and on 13 January 1987, at the other end, Ciudad Universitaria. The ring was closed on 10 May 1995 through the old North station (estación del Norte), renamed Príncipe Pío. The only station added since is Arganzuela-Planetario, opened on 26 January 2007.
In the 2000s it received CBTC signalling and, in summer 2009, rigid catenary. On 1 December 2018 Metropolitano station was renamed Vicente Aleixandre, to avoid confusion with Estadio Metropolitano.
The big recent project is automation, announced on 10 July 2024. The western arc, between Moncloa and Méndez Álvaro, closed from 31 May to 6 September 2025, when the line switched from 600 to 1,500 volts; the eastern arc closed from 6 September to 20 December. In 2026 platform screen doors followed, with a closure between Argüelles and Ciudad Universitaria from 1 August to 1 September. The plan is for it to become the network’s first automatic, driverless line in 2027.
Hours and frequency
As there are no termini, the two directions are identified by platform: platform 1 goes round the ring from Laguna towards Lucero, and platform 2 from Laguna towards Carpetana. Before going down to the platform, check which one gets you to your destination sooner. On weekdays there is a train every 2.5 to 3.5 minutes from 7:30 to 9:30 and every 4 or 5 for the rest of the day; at weekends, 7 to 8 minutes first thing and 5 to 6 from 10:00. After midnight the interval is 15 minutes every day.
The trains
Until 2004 the line ran only with the 5000 series, in six-car formations on weekdays and four-car ones on quieter days. Units of the 7000 and 9000 series followed, and since 20 December 2010 CAF’s 8400 trains have been running: six cars with walk-through gangways, ordered for this line and fitted only with CBTC. The 5000s were withdrawn when the automation works began, on 31 May 2025.
Frequently asked questions
They indicate the direction of travel. According to the operator, platform 1 leaves Laguna towards Lucero and platform 2 leaves Laguna towards Carpetana. As the line is a ring, either will get you to your destination, but one will do so with fewer stops.
Cuatro Caminos, where the tunnel is 45 metres below ground, the greatest depth in the whole Metro de Madrid network. There the tunnel is at the same altitude above sea level as at Príncipe Pío, its shallowest point, which is still two floors below the street.
The announced target is 2027. To get there the line closed arc by arc in 2025, switched to 1,500 volts and in 2026 is being fitted with platform screen doors. The project, costing more than €800 million, includes removing the ballast and removing asbestos from six stations.