Study to extend C-3 Cercanías to Aranjuez

Spain’s Transport Ministry said on May 22 it had awarded a contract to study how to raise capacity on the C-3 Cercanías commuter rail line between San Cristóbal Industrial and Aranjuez. The ministry put the contract value at 363,000 euros including VAT and said the work would run for 24 months. The study will examine ways to improve both capacity and operating reliability on one of the southern approaches to Madrid. The move follows a tender launched in late December and published in Spain’s official gazette on January 5. ### Why is the C-3 section to Aranjuez being studied now? The Transport Ministry said the San Cristóbal Industrial-Aranjuez section is heavily used by Cercanías, regional passenger and freight trains at the same time. That mix, the ministry said, creates saturation during some parts of the day and a spread of operating speeds that makes the service less reliable. December 30, 2025 was the date the ministry announced the tender for the study, saying the aim was to optimize the Madrid-Aranjuez corridor and improve operating conditions on the line. The ministry linked that step to a commitment by Transport Minister Óscar Puente to launch a viability study tied to broader rail operations between Madrid and the south of the peninsula. ### What exactly will the 363,000-euro study examine? The ministry said the study is not a construction order but a technical review of possible interventions. Those options range from signaling and safety-system improvements, including possible re-blocking and signaling optimization, to adding a third and fourth track along all or part of the route. A 24-month drafting period was included in both the original tender documents and the award announcement. The ministry said the purpose is to identify which measures on the San Cristóbal Industrial-Aranjuez section are best suited to improve the overall functioning of the Madrid-Aranjuez corridor. ### Which stations are included in the section under review? The ministry listed San Cristóbal Industrial, El Casar, Getafe Industrial, La Tenería, Pinto, Valdemoro, Ciempozuelos, Seseña and Aranjuez as the stations or stops within the study area. La Tenería is described as under construction, while Seseña is listed as out of service. Aranjuez sits at the southern end of the section named in the contract. The ministry said the corridor changes under review could also shorten journey times for regional services connected with Castilla-La Mancha. ### Does this mean new tracks are definitely being built? No construction timetable was included in the award announcement. The May 22 decision covers a services contract to produce a viability study, not approval of a works project. The official gazette notice published on January 5 described the procedure as an open tender by the Directorate General for the Railway Sector. That notice set the estimated contract value at 350,000 euros, with the ministry later saying the awarded contract totals 363,000 euros including VAT. ### What happens next? The next formal step is the completion of the study over the contract’s 24-month term. The ministry said that work will assess which measures, if any, should be pursued to increase capacity and reliability on the line. January 5, 2026 is the date the tender notice appeared in Spain’s Boletín Oficial del Estado, and May 22, 2026 is the date the ministry said it awarded the contract. Any later move to build extra tracks or install new systems would require separate project decisions, funding and procurement steps by the Transport Ministry and the railway authorities.