Today, May 3 at 3pm, starts to operate the line 8 extension to Airport T4. So, the line will be Nuevos Ministerios/.../Aeropuerto T1-T2-T3/Barajas/Aeropuerto T4. The old Aeropuerto station changes its denomination to Aeropuerto T1-T2-T3.

And it carries a fare change: now there is an "Airport Supplement" (1 EUR) required for both airport stations users not using a Monthly/Yearly Pass. That "Airport Supplement" can be purchased at any Metro selling machine or at the selling machines located before the exit turnstiles at both airport stations if you have arrived there without it. There will also be "Single-tickets-with-the-supplement-included" (1+1=2 EUR) available at any Metro selling machine.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the Tourist Passes also work as the Monthly/Yearly Passes, so no supplement required when using one of these.

I'm glad YOU started this thread, Torrales, as you did it much better justice than I could have.

This morning I was watching TeleMadrid and they were talking about today's opening at 3pm. Then they were speaking about all the prices and supplements and different combinations of tickets my head started to spin.

Saludos, MadridMan

I'm very glad that they opened the new station just three days before I arrive. They must have known I'd be coming. 8-)

Hi Torrales: see???? I told you so, I arrive at T2 ... hehehehehehe Thanks for the info!

If there is anything improvable in Madrid Metro, it is the fare system (not the prices, that are really good). And it is getting worse with the new sub-nets (MetroEste, MetroNorte,...)

Oh dear, this airport supplement is confusing.

I arrived at T2 Friday 4th, not having read or heard anything about it, and was confronted by a gathering of shouting Spaniards blocking the exit barriers. So I joined the queue to try and get out and found out it was just a queue to complain and shout about the supplement. As Torrales states, you have to pay a Euro to leave the metro at the airport now, which doesn't strike me as a particularly green way to convince people to travel be Metro, but still.

Anyway, having found out I had to go to a machine, track side, to buy the supplement I did so and got out eventually. The machine sold me a ticket, very similar in appearance to a standard metro ticket.

On my return yesterday, I knew I would have to buy a supplement. This time the machine asked if I had a valid ticket, I had a 10 journey one so I said yes, then I had to insert that ticket into a slot on the machine, which took me a while to locate because there are about six slots on the machine for various forms of money, credit card etc etc, then it asked me how many supplements I wanted. I said one because that was all I needed, but here's my question...

If I use up the 10 journeys before any supplements I have bought, will the supplements still work ?

Just to add a footnote to the comment above, the Madrid Metro is the nicest most efficient metro I know. If I could change one thing, apart from the over complicated new fare system, I always think it's a shame all the new stations seem to look alike. Very functional, but without much charm.

Theoretically, yes, they will. But you are only supposed to 'load' an airport supplement onto a 10-trips ticket, for immediate use, that is, being at the airport and going to enter metro. Why would you need to load more supplements, if you can do it whenever you need it? The system asks you for a number because a 10-trips can be used by many travellers at the same time, so the machine's question, but if you are alone, there is no sense in advancing money to Metro de Madrid, S.A.

Hi Torrales, I'd never thought of that, partly because I'd never been sure of the legalities of passing the ticket back through the barrier for the next person to use, so you've cleared that one up too, thanks.

Incidentally, if you have a 10 ticket journey, and you buy the supplement, in effect the metro fare to the airport has just increased about 140%.

You're welcome, Jamongris.

Yes, it is perfectly valid that many persons use the same Metrobus (10-trips ticket), as long as all of them travel together. I mean, one has to have a valid travel ticket from the moment that enters by the turnstiles until exiting by the turnstiles at the destination point. If two (or even up to ten) people go all from station A to station B, they can use the same Metrobus. But if those people enter at station A, and their final destinations are different, then they have to use their own ticket each. If they use the same, one would have to keep it when their ways split, and the other would be travelling illegally from that point.

All above said, by the way, is also valid in Barcelona with their Metrobus equivalent (called T-10 there). And of course, is not regarding Tourist/Monthly/Yearly Passes

MadridMan: Your link in your transportation section to the Metro map goes to an old version. Time to update?

Chris