Málaga Metro

The Málaga Metro (Spanish: Metro de Málaga) is a light metro network in Málaga, Spain. It was proposed during the 1990s to ease the crippling congestion when the Ministry of Public Works and Transport commissioned a study in 2001 into the feasibility of constructing a metro system in the city. The plan had four lines, radiating from the city centre, with stations roughly 500 m (1,640 ft) apart to allow a high level of accessibility, with funding for the project coming from both the local and the Spanish governments. The system was originally scheduled to open on 31 October 2013.[4]

Málaga Metro
Overview
Native nameMetro de Málaga
LocaleMálaga, Andalusia, Spain
Transit typeRapid transit/Light metro
Number of lines2[1]
4 (planned)
Number of stations17[1]
Daily ridership20,000 (weekdays)
Annual ridership6.3 million (2018)[2]
Operation
Began operation30 July 2014[3]
Operator(s)Agencia de Obra Pública de la Junta de Andalucía
Number of vehicles14 CAF Urbos 3
Technical
System length11.3 km (7.0 mi)[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Top speed70 km/h (43 mph)
System map
Map of the Málaga Metro network

Two lines finally opened in service on 30 July 2014.[3]

The current plan is for a total of six lines, connecting the most populated suburbs to the city centre.

Lines

Here are the most important features of the two lines:[1]

Line Termini Length Stations Avg. distance
between
stations (m)
El Perchel Andalucía Tech 6.7 km (4.2 mi) 11 595
El Perchel Palacio de los Deportes 4.6 km (2.9 mi) 7 608
Total: 11.3 km (7.0 mi) 17[Note 1]

Route

Both lines run underground in the city centre. Line 1 goes from there to the University of Málaga. Between Clínico station and the Andalucía Tech terminus, it runs on the surface,[5] which includes some at-grade intersections.[6]

Line 2 runs entirely underground, from the city centre to the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena.[5]

Future

An extension of Line 1 from El Perchel further into the city centre with two underground stops, Guadalmedina and Atarazanas, is under construction and due to open at the earliest in 2022.[7][8] By extending the metro closer to the city centre, patronage is expected to reach 18 million annually.

Line 2 will share El Perchel and Guadalmedina stations with Line 1, then was originally to emerge above ground and continue with four surface-level stops to Hospital Civil. The completion date for this extension is currently unknown, and this extension is predicted to increase overall annual patronage of the metro to 20.5 million.[9] In 2019, the scope of the project was amended to a fully underground alignment from Guadalmedina to Hospital Civil.[10]

Rolling stock

All trains are Urbos 3, manufactured by the Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. They are fully covered by CCTV and are throughout air-conditioned in an effort to provide security and comfort to a full capacity train car of 56 seated passengers with 170 standing. The capacity figure is accurate for likely peak-time usage, but the trains are also fully accessible to disabled passengers, who may slightly decrease capacity.[5]

The trains are already in successful widespread use in other cities, including 30 on trams in Belgrade, with 40 are also planned for the Cuiabá system, in Brazil. Málaga's metro, however, represents the largest single order.

References
  1. Counting the terminal El Perchel transfer station only once.

Sources
  1. "Líneas y mapas" [Lines and maps] (in Spanish). Metro Málaga. 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
  2. Metro de Málaga (6 February 2019). "METRO DE MÁLAGA VUELVE A BATIR RÉCORD DE VIAJEROS Y CIERRA 2018 CON UN AUMENTO DE USUARIOS DE UN 9,75%" (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  3. Puente, Fernando (30 July 2014). "Malaga light metro network opens". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  4. Costa-news.com. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  5. "Viajar en metro paso a paso" [Travel on the metro step by step] (in Spanish). Metro Málaga. 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
  6. "Malaga metro problems - before work's even started". EuroweeklyNews. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  7. "Malaga metro works at El Corte Inglés start after eight years of road closures". SUR in English. 26 November 2018.
  8. "The Malaga Metro will free the Avenida de Andalucía in early July after almost ten years". Malaga Ahoy. 28 May 2020.
  9. "El metro entra en una fase clave al reanudarse las obras para llegar al Centro". Diario Sur (in Spanish). 29 July 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  10. "La Junta confirma el cambio de criterio y el metro al Hospital Civil en Málaga irá soterrado". ABC Andalusia (in Spanish). 30 December 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.

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