One of Madrid's busiest metro interchanges shut without warning on a Friday afternoon, and the reason is a fight, not a fault. Sol station closed at 12.30pm after regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso said urgent cleaning and safety work was needed because of the housing protest camp occupying Puerta del Sol above it. Trains continued running through the station without stopping while crews cleared waste from ventilation shafts, and no reopening time was announced.
Here's the catch: not everyone agrees the closure was necessary. Metro's own works council said it never requested the shutdown and was never shown the safety measurements normally shared in such cases. RENFE, which runs the separate Cercanías commuter rail station at Sol, found no sanitation problems and kept operating. The national Transport Ministry reported no public order incidents affecting its facilities, and the central government's delegation asked Ayuso to explain exactly what risks justified halting a service that could, in its view, have been cleaned while staying open.
The camp itself has become a defining feature of central Madrid for nearly three weeks. Organised by the Sindicato de Inquilinas tenants' union, it began after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who died two weeks after losing her home. What started as roughly 30 tents grew to more than 1,000 within a week, fuelled by Spain's housing crisis, the defeat of two emergency housing decrees in Congress, and anger over Ayuso's regional government spending €6.3 million on a luxury penthouse for official use.
For travellers, the practical picture is mixed. Cercanías services at Sol are still running, and metro trains pass through without stopping, so other central stations remain reachable. But Puerta del Sol itself is crowded, with protesters, residents, tourists and separate demonstrations converging around the station entrances. Traders in the surrounding streets claim losses in the millions of euros, and tensions have occasionally flared — the most serious incident came on 12 October, when a group arriving from the National Day parade insulted camp residents, sang the Francoist anthem and threw eggs, leading to five arrests and one injured police officer.
The legal fight is stalled for now. A court rejected the regional government's bid for interim eviction measures on a technicality — the required three months since a formal request for action had not passed — though Ayuso may take the case further. Some worry an eviction could swell the protest rather than end it, echoing the 15-M movement that occupied Sol in 2011.
If you're heading to Madrid in the coming weeks, build in extra time for journeys through the city centre, expect crowds and noise around Puerta del Sol, and check Metro de Madrid updates before travelling since the station's status can change day to day. Gran Vía, Banco de España and Tirso de Molina stations are all within a short walk as alternatives.
