On the left, the current livery with “Subte – Buenos Aires Ciudad” wording, and on the right, the “original” livery with Metrovias logos.
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All the necessary dependencies are either included in this package or are avaible on the DLS. Soundscript by Rizky_Adiputra.
Purchased second-hand by the city of Buenos Aires in the early 2010s to enlarge the fleet of Line B, ahead of it’s two station-extension from De Los Incas to Juan Manuel De Rosas station (interchange with the busy Mitre Line commuter railway), these former Madrid Metro 5000 Series sets have a relatively long and convoluted history, wich surprisingly starts way back in the 1980s.
Indeed, in 1985, a “cooperation agreement” was signed between SBASE (the state-owned company at the time taskted managing the Buenos Aires Subte) and the Madrid Metro Company, then under administration of a special steering committee, in one of it’s final “acts” before being entrusted to the CRTM – the agency of the then-newly-formed Community of Madrid (the regional government for Madrid and it’s surrounding region) responsible for transportation planning and financing.
The scope of this agreement between the two “systems” was mutual assistance in modernisation – both networks at the time were indeed embarking in a process of modernisation, both in terms of rolling stock (both still had 70-year old fleets in services – the “Clasicos” for Madrid and the “La Brugeoise” cars in Buenos Aires) and infrastructure, and most importantly, a number of common elements and standards was shared between the two, due to their long, intertwined history.
This agreement was larer renewed in 1987, with CRTM, now in charge of the Madrid Metro, offering SBASE the purchase of the 130 cars of it’s 1st-batch 5000 Series, introduced in 1974 and thus having been in use for barely 10 years. CRTM’s reason was the planned purchase of much more modern stock of a similar design wich would’ve made the 5000 Series surplus to requirements. These new planned trains were the 3rd-batch 5000 Series (or “5400 Series”), wich would’ve been formed as 3-car sets with an intermediate trailer (instead of 2-car sets as with the older 5000 Series) and most importantly, would’ve fetaured a much more modern three-phase VCVF control system, compared to the older rheostatic contactor-control of the 1st-batch 5000 Series.
The 5000 Series sets were specifically offered to SBASE specifically for it’s Line B, as they were compatible with it’s loading gauge, and most importantly, they used the same 600V DC electrification system as Line B, meaning that costly electrical adaptations (apart from the relatively cheap retrofittment of third-rail shoes) could be done without.
However, the proposal was soon called off – on one side, SBASE’s finances didn’t allow for such a purchase, the 2600mm width of the trains was deemed too narrow compared to the 320mm allowed by the loading gauge of Line B, and most importantly, while the majority of the fleet was formed of the Metropolitan-Cammell and Osgrood-Bradley cars dating from Line B’s opening in 1930 (plus their home-grown copies built by Fabbricaciones Militares in 1966), a number of locally-built Siemens-Fabbricaciones Militares trains was also still in service, built starting in 1977 and thus barely 10 years old at the time, with SBASE unwilling to proceed to their retirement.
Furthemore, the company was already in the process of acquiring new rolling stock in the form of the Fiat-Materfer cars, built locally to a much more modern design than the Madrid Metro 5000 Series, and altough designed for the overhead-powered lines (A, C, D and E) only, SBASE, keen on standardizing the very diverse subte fleet, was likely confident in the future purchase of a batch of these trains or a derivative of their design adapted for the standards of Line B.
On the other side, CRTM was also financially pressed by the need to replace the decrepit “Clasicos” on it’s narrow-profile network, and as such, decided to partially rescind the 3rd-batch 5000 Series order – only the intermediate trailers would be ultimately built. With their replacement cancelled, the 1st batch 5000 Series cars were now no longer available, being needed again by the Madrid Metro (among other things to haul the trailers from the cancelled 5400 Series purchase) for services on it’s own network.
The idea of a 1st-batch 5000 Series sale to Buenos Aires resurfaced in the mid-2000s, to increase the size of Line B’s fleet (by now formed exclusively of ex-Maronouchi Line 300, 400 and 500 Series cars from the 1950s purchased second-hand from Tokyo’s TRTA in 1996) after it’s 2003 two-stop western extension from it’s original 1930s terminus of Federico Lacroze to the new De Los Incas station, and for the future two-stop extension to Juan Manuel de Rosas station, under construction at the time. This time, the purchase agreement was finally finalized, with Metro Madrid sending over 2-car set M-5019/M-5020, adapted at it’s own expense to Line B’s requirements (among wich the fitting of running boards to bridge the otherwise 30cm gap between train and platform and the retrofitting of third-rail shoes) in view of further sales. Testing on Line B, supervised by an équipe of both CAF and Madrid Metro technicians, was deemed fully satisfactory, and as such, preparations were made for the purchase of a total of thirty-six cars (out of 130) in order to form six 6-car sets. However, budged cuts led to construction delays and a wholesale postponment of the Juan Manuel de Rosas extension, effectively “derailing” the 5000 Series purchase.
On it’s own side, Metro Madrid also had some second toughts on the sale, as while it’s network was still rapidly expanding, rolling stock deliveries were taking their time, thus selling off a large chunk of it’s fleet could’ve been rather premature, precipitating a slight rolling stock shortage.
The purchase of the other cars was revived in the early 2010s, both as the 1st-batch 5000 Series sets were fully retired from regular services on the Madrid Metro (replaced by newer CAF-built rolling stock, chiefly the 8000 Series) and as the city of Buenos Aires opted to finance the purchase of rolling stock itself, after the national government’s (the “owner” of SBASE, and thus the one responsible for it’s financing) various refusal to set aside the budget to do so.
As such, in late 2011 SBASE won an auction for twenty-four 5000 Series cars that had been put out by the Madrid Metro. Purchased for 550’000 argentinian pesos a-piece (about 9075€ as of April 2025, adjusted for inflation), the small fleet of 24 cars was two full 6-car trains short of SBASE’s original intents, but due to financial constraints, this had to do, and purchasing other cars, if and when they would become available, was not ruled out.
The remaining 12 cars, forming the two “missing” 6-car trains, were ultimately purchased directly from Metro Madrid in 2012 and were delivered to Buenos Aires in December.
Retrofitted with the same modifications already tested on set M-5019/M-5020 – third-rail pickup shoes and running boards to bridge the gap between the train and the platforms, the former Madrid Metro 5000 Series sets, christened “CAF 5000s” locally (after their manufacturer and Madrid Metro 5XXX numbering, wich was kept) finally entered revenue services on Buenos Aires’ Line B in April 2013, ahead of the opening of the extension to Juan Manuel de Rosas, wich was inaugurated later that year, on the 26th of July (and with a CAF 5000 Series set duly acting as the “inaugural train”).
In 2013 Madrid Metro put out another auction, wich included another twenty-eight 5000 Series cars plus the 24 trailer cars that had been built as part of the ill-fated 3rd batch in the mid-1980s, however, SBASE opted instead for the purchase of the much newer CAF 6000s, wich were being offered for sale at the same time.
However, despite their successful early testing, the CAF 5000s revealed themselves to be quite unreliable and prone to serious failures in regular services – already that same year in October, a 5000 Series set broke down near Pasteur station, stranding it’s passengers. In late November, the third rail shoe gear of another 5000 Series set fell off from the bogie it was attached to and struck the control equipment of a crossover set, damaging it and causing another complete service shutdown of Line B. In December, yet another 5000 Series set stalled without power out of Carlos Pellegrini station, with passengers needing to be evacuated. In April 2014 instead it was the turn of a third-rail short circuit at Alem station, wich nearly caused a serious electrical fire. An electrical fire was then eventually started on a 5000 Series set (and was luckily put quickly under control) in August as the passenger-carrying train was approaching Medrano station, with the high-voltage equipment (likely the traction circuit breaker) being blamed. Another small electrical fire was started in September 2015 at Pueyrredón station, with a damaged shoe causing a short-circuit between the third rail and the bogie of a 5000 Series set, followed in October by yet another set “losing” a third-rail pickup shoe, and yet another one in September 2016 on the approach to Juan Manuel de Rosas, causing some minor damages to the third rail as well.
Besides the slew of high-profile incidents, the CAF 5000s were equally plagued by comparatively minor faults in regular services, with one subte driver being quoted, on the subject of these trains, along the line of “they cause troubles evry day” and “they’re garbage”. Maintainance was also rather problematic, with one full set being withdrawn and used as a spare parts donor for the rest of the fleet.
In addition to all of this, in late 2016, serious wear on the brake disks (wich had never been replaced since the trains had left Spain!) of the whole fleet led to the CAF 5000s’ sidelining for saftey reasons. A number of sets was hastly repaired and returned to service in May 2017, as Line B’s fleet, otherwise formed by the severely unreliable CAF 6000s (5 out of 14 available being out-of-order) and the ageing 60-year old ex-Marunouchi Line 500 Series “Mitsubishi” cars. However, at best only half of the CAF 5000 Series fleet had been repaired, with the rest remaining in storage, awaiting for repairs.
To top it all off, in early 2018 sizeable quantities of asbestos were found in the electrical equipment of Madrid Metro’s 5200 Series (the 2nd-batch 5000 Series sets that were still in service in Madrid) leading to their immediate and abrupt retirement, as well as nothing short of a scandal. This prompted SBASE to immediately inspect it’s whole fleet, and much to their horror, sizeable quantities of asbestos were found in “their” CAF 5000s as well!
As such, in February 2018, a few months short of their 5th anniversary of revenue service, the whole CAF 5000 Series fleet was preventively retired and stored, pending disposition.
However, with the prospective cost of the necessary asbestos removal works far higher than expected, in July 2018 SBASE effectively opted to officially retire the CAF 5000 Series.
A notable thing of the CAF 5000 Series’ retirement is that it sparked two quite “serious” things – first of all, the discovery of asbestos evolved rapidly into a scandal, not unlike the one faced by the Madrid Metro at the same time, wich led to a proble of the whole fleet, and much to SBASE’s horror, sizeable quantities of asbestos were also found in the CAF-GEE trains of Line E, the ex-Nagoya 250/300/1200 Series and 5000 Series of Line C, some of the “Mitsubishi” trains and even one CAF 6000 Set of Line B (as the “incriminated” component had previously been salvaged from the withdrawn “spare parts donor” CAF 5000 Series set), subsequently leading to the retirement of the CAF-GEE and ex-Nagoya 250/300/1200 Series sets, and a costly asbestos removal program for the rest of the fleet.
Secondly, combined with the purchase of the CAF 6000 Series sets, and the costly adaptations needed to run them, wich nearly equated the purchase cost of brand-new rolling stock, the CAF 5000 Series sets ended up at the center of a judicial inquiry by the Argentine government comptroller into the purchase dealings between SBASE (and specifically it’s then-president) and the Madrid Metro.
With their retirement made official, and no prospect for their re-entry service, the fleet of Line B has been left in the quite dire state it is today, with the extremely deteriorated 70-year old “Mitsubishi” cars and the costly, inadequate and issue-prone CAF 6000s, with a combined fleet that’s way too undersized for what’s needed for Buenos Aires’ busiest subway line.
Trivia #1
At some point in the late 2010s, as the rigid catenary for the CAF 6000 Series sets had been placed, SBASE ventilated the possibility of restoring the CAF 5000 Series to their original pantograph operation. The discovery of asbestos in early 2018 and the retirement of the CAF 5000 fleet led to the abandonment of the idea.
Trivia #2
After the “asbestos scandal” broke out and the CAF 5000 Series was retired from service, the AGTSyP (the Subte and Pre-Metro workers’ union) issued a note that warned Subte workers to “do not get on, do not even touch” the CAF 5000s until the asbestos issue had been solved.
Trivia #3
No CAF 5000 Series car has been preserved in Argentina (altough a number of them are still stored inside various depots on the system), and it’s likely none will ever be. However, some items have been salvaged, namely the passenger seats, wich were used to replace the original 30-year-worn-out ones on the LRVs of Buenos Aires’ Premetro line.
