The Ramal (Ópera – Príncipe Pío)
Two stations and less than a kilometre between Ópera and Príncipe Pío: a line designed for changing trains.
About the Ramal
The Ramal, also called Line R, has just two stations, both in the Centro district. It starts beneath Plaza de Isabel II, runs under Plaza de Oriente and the Royal Palace’s Jardines del Moro, and ends beneath the building of the old Estación del Norte (North Station), next to Glorieta de San Vicente.
Its purpose is to make changes easier: at Ópera it connects with Lines 2 and 5, and at Príncipe Pío with Line 6, Line 10, Cercanías (Renfe’s commuter-rail network) and intercity buses. Only two trains run in the tunnel, passing each other halfway.
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 the Ramal
2 stations, 2 of them with an interchange to another line (marked with a ring and the colours of the other lines).
History
It opened on 27 December 1925 as a branch of Line 2, on the same route as today, to link the centre with the Estación del Norte, one of Madrid’s main railway stations for trains to the north and west. Because that station stands on the banks of the Manzanares, the tunnel has to climb the steep slope of the Cuesta de San Vicente.
The terminus in the centre was called Isabel II. After the Second Republic was proclaimed it was renamed Ópera on 24 June 1931; on 5 June 1937 it became Fermín Galán, like the square, and in 1939 it went back to Ópera, the name it still has.
In May 1995, when the Line 6 circle was completed, the North Station was brought into the network, renamed Príncipe Pío after the hill behind it, and enlarged with an interchange to Line 10 beneath the Ramal platforms. In 2007 the bus interchange opened in the old station yard. From 15 May to 30 August 2010 the Ramal closed so that the tunnel could be upgraded and electrified at 1,500 volts.
Hours and frequency
Monday to Friday there is a train every 4.5 to 5.5 minutes from opening until 22:00. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the intervals are 7 to 9 minutes first thing and 7.5 to 8.5 until 11:00; after that they drop to 4.5-5.5 minutes until 22:00. From then on there is a train every 7.5 minutes and, after midnight, every 15. Ópera has a single platform, whose track connects with Line 2; Príncipe Pío has two, but only one is used by passengers.
The trains
As its only track connection is with Line 2, the Ramal uses the same trains as that line. After the 2010 refurbishment, the 2000-series trains stopped running on 30 August, and since then 3000-series trains have provided the service. Its platforms are 60 m long and the tunnel is double-track and narrow-profile.
Frequently asked questions
It opened as Isabel II, after the square. In 1931 the Republic removed names that referred to the monarchy and it became Ópera; in 1937 it was called Fermín Galán, the name the square had been given. In 1939 it went back to Ópera.
Because it has only two stops and a double-track tunnel of just over a kilometre. Both trains run at the same time and pass each other halfway. At Príncipe Pío one of the two tracks is used as a siding to park a train.
It was the railway station that connected Madrid with the north and west of the Iberian Peninsula, and the reason the Ramal was built in 1925. In 1995 it became part of Line 6 and took the name Príncipe Pío, after the hill behind it.