Interchanges genesis Plan of Madrid = Génesis del plan de intercambiadores de Madrid

The public transport, as we know it today, originates from the end of the 18 th and beginning of the 19th Centuries. Initially a privilege for the aristocratic and bourgeoisie classes, public transport saw a surge in development once communication between Madrid and others distant urban centers became a necessity that demanded a more economical and accessible transport system. The increase of these services, along with the diversification of the means of transportation, quickly caused congestion problems at transfer points. Throughout the last century, these same problems have been confronted with a variety of diverse strategies and solutions. All in all, the history of intermodality in Madrid tells the story of an evolution that has allowed the urban web to unite all of its branches extending from the main gates that are now being converted the interchanges in relation with the city. From its creation in 1985, the CRTM (transport authority of Madrid), considered the intermodality to be a main priority within the following different fields of action: infrastructure, ticketing and whole image and information. Within the interchanges is where the integration efforts of the different transport modes best become a reality. In essence, interchanges play the same role in today`s cities as the gates in the walls of a centuries-old medieval city. At this moment, interchanges are the gates to the cities of the 21st Century.