First Stadler High-Capacity Trains Enter Service on Madrid's Cercanías Network

The first Stadler-built high-capacity trains have entered commercial service on Madrid's Cercanías network, with the initial two units — one 100 m T100 and one 200 m T200 — beginning passenger operations on line C-7 on August 24 after homologation, commercial simulations and months of testing. A third unit followed on August 31.

The trains are the first of 79 units Renfe ordered from Stadler under a contract worth more than €1,306 million, to be phased into the Madrid commuter network progressively: seventeen units — nine T100 and eight T200 — are due to be running by the end of 2026, with deliveries continuing in the following years.

Renfe says the new fleet offers around 20% more capacity than the trains it replaces on a network that carries roughly 730,000 passengers a day. The units feature platform-level boarding through low-floor cars, reserved spaces for passengers with reduced mobility, multifunctional areas for bicycles, pushchairs and luggage, WiFi, USB and 220 V sockets, real-time passenger information and full CCTV coverage.

The rollout is a milestone in one of Spain's largest commuter rolling stock renewals, aimed at relieving crowding on Madrid's busiest lines after years of criticism over ageing Cercanías fleets and reliability. Further Stadler high-capacity units from the same programme are also destined for other Spanish commuter networks in later phases.