The Madrid Awards are given by the digital publication Madridiario. This year, the awards' eighth, the distinctions were handed out at a gala event where leading representatives of Madrid politics, society, culture and economics mingled.

The award panel, manned by representatives of sixteen media outlets located in Madrid, decided to grant this year's Award for Initiative in Infrastructure to the Second Atocha-Chamartín Tunnel and Sol Local Train Station, built by FCC. Madrid President Esperanza Aguirre delivered the award to Development Minister José Blanco.

The award-winning infrastructure has revolutionised public transport in Madrid. Since the new station was opened in 2009, 55,000 people a day use the direct connection it affords to Puerta del Sol, and any local train passenger can reach the heart of the city with just one transfer. The determined commitment of the Ministry of Development was acknowledged by the Madrid Award panel.

The Second Tunnel connects Atocha Train Station with Chamartín Train Station, crossing the nerve centre of the city in barely 13 minutes, with stops along the way at Puerta del Sol and Nuevos Ministerios. Now that it is open, the tunnel has pared the travel time between Aranjuez and the centre of Madrid down to 47 minutes; from Parla it takes just 27 minutes; from Alcobendas, 28; and from Colmenar Viejo, 37.

Built into the infrastructure is a set of innovative features running from slab tracks (on which emergency vehicles can drive, thanks to folding devices installed on the platforms) to the very construction of the station.