Trouble At Metro

Over the last week the Madrid Metro stations have started to build up with rubbish. By Christmas eve some of the larger stations on lines 3 and 8 were overflowing with discarded newspapers, fruit peel, and other general commuter detritus as the bins filled up and spilled over. The reason? We have an ‘indefinite strike’ by the cleaners (part of the UGT union) over pay and conditions.

Eventually, conditions got so bad that ‘black-leg’ cleaners were brought in before the mess became a health-hazard but this provoked scuffles between pickets and the freelance cleaners with one incident at Plaza Elíptica escalating to such an extent that Local Police officers were forced to intervene to disperse the brawling protesters. 

And today, caught on camera, we had a masked man pouring olive oil over the floor at the entrance barriers concourse of one station. The evening news reports showed the deed done followed by lots of travellers slipping, sliding and falling over as they tried to pass through the gates.  

Madrid Metro

Let’s go down – down to the underground. The Madrid Metro is very well run, generally tidy and the train carriages are clean. You get buskers in the tourist area stations and there are escalators too, just like London. It’s only 1 Euro for 1 viaje (trip) and that trip can be wherever you want – 1 stop or 30. There’s also a ten-trip carnet option or a monthly pass option but at the moment I’m too embarassed with my Spanish (or, let’s admit it, too scared) to try and ask for one at the ticket office. Some of the larger stations also boast video screens to keep commuters occupied and some of the newer stations (they’re still adding routes and lines as I write) are quite space age – you know, lots of tinted glass, whizzy lifts and neon signs and stuff. Apparently it’s the second largest metro network in Europe after London at about 280 km with 280 stations. The UrbanRail.net website has some good info about it if you want to know more.