Madrid expands bus driver workforce and reallocates metro trains for driverless line

The Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT) will add 40 newly trained bus drivers on 21 July, bringing its 2026 hires to 220 and raising the total number of drivers recruited since 2019 to 2,372. The recruitment supports the city’s environmental and service‑quality goals outlined in the Madrid 360 sustainability strategy.

Metro de Madrid plans to introduce 48 driverless trains on Line 6 from 2027. To accommodate the new automated fleet, 30 older Series 8000 trains will be transferred to Line 9, requiring about €15 million for signaling upgrades. The reshuffle will also involve moving other train series to different lines and retraining roughly 200 operators whose roles on the Circular Line will change, with no job losses expected.