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The Alicante Tram, trademarked as Alicante Metropolitan TRAM ( ca-valencia, TRAM Metropolità d'Alacant}, es, TRAM Metropolitano de Alicante), operates in the Spanish city of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in ...
( Valencian Community) and its surrounding area. Like other narrow gauge railways
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
in the Valencian Community, it is run by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (, "Valencian Government Railways") or FGV is a Valencian public railway company which operates several lines, in the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain.
The company currently operates the cit ...
(FGV). It was inaugurated on 15 August 2003 replacing narrow-gauge diesel trains between Alicante and El Campello.
The Alicante Metropolitan Tram light rail combines different modes of rail services: a partially underground modern tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
way through Alicante city centre, a tram-train
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This al ...
from Alicante to Benidorm, and conventional commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
from Benidorm to Altea
Altea (, ) is a city and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain, on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca.
At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of ...
, Calp
Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot ...
and Dénia.
History
There has been a rich history of urban rail service in Alicante. The tram service began on 13 July 1893 and the network was rapidly expanding to Mutxamel (1902),Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Crevillent (1905) and San Vicente del Raspeig (1906). Initially, the streetcars were horse-drawn. Since 1903 the trams were carried as well by the power of steam engine, leading to the disappearance of the horse-drawn trams by 1924. The electrification of tram lines began in 1923. In 1920s and 30s the network was further expanded throughout the city and was extensively used in 1940s. In 1950s, due to high costs of electricity, trams were gradually losing the competition against growing automobile services and by 14 November 1969 they completely disappeared from the streets. Thirty years later, on 13 March 1999 the trams were back with the inauguration of an experimental route between Plaza del Mar and Albufereta that was extended to El Campello in 2003.
The network comprises the following lines:
Notes: What is now L3 was opened initially in 1999 as an experimental service between Porta de Mar and Albufereta, and was extended to El Campello in 2003. L9 was originally taken over by FGV in 1986, and was incorporated into the tram network upon its opening.
L1 is a limited-stop service from Alicante city centre to Benidorm taking 70 minutes journey time. In Benidorm it connects with line L9 to Dénia.
L2 starts from the city centre to the General Hospital of Alicante, the University of Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig, with a journey time of 15 minutes.
L3 is a stopping service from Alicante to El Campello.
L4 runs from the city centre to a loop in ''Playa de San Juan'' district.
L5 starts at Porta del Mar to Sangueta, then following the L4 loop in ''Playa de San Juan'' district, and was opened in 2019, using former alignment from Porta del Mar and Sangueta that was used prior to the opening of the city centre tunnel to Luceros.
L9 is diesel powered commuter rail service from Benidorm along the coast to Dénia, stopping at other important tourist towns like Altea and Calp. Services are subject to disruption due to engineering works as the line is prepared for electrification.
Lines L1, L2, L3 and L4 share the city centre underground section between MARQ and the city centre Luceros station. The Mercado (Valencian: ''Mercat'') station on the segment was opened on 10 May 2007 and the Luceros was opened on 18 June 2010.
In 2019, the network served 12 million passengers. The busiest stations were ''Luceros'' (1,894,496 passengers), ''Mercado'' (1,226,471), ''Benidorm'' (717,385), ''Sant Vicent del Raspeig'' (658,642) and ''El Campello'' (558,354).
The underground section is planned to continue westward to ''Estació Multimodal'' serving the Adif station (and a possible relocation of the bus station). This was originally delayed, but in March 2019 President of the Valencian Government
TRAM Alicante Mercado-C.jpg
Luceros1.jpg
Alicante Tram 4.jpg
Estació del MARQ del TRAM, Alacant.JPG
Underground Stations
AlicanteTramLaIsleta1.jpg
EstacionCreueta.jpg
Plabarraques.jpg
EstacionLaIsleta.JPG
Ground Stations
Trentramavdenia.PNG
Trentramalicante.JPG
Trentram.PNG
Overpasses and Viaducts
Tram Alicante official website
(English, Spanish, Valencian)
Track plan of the Alicante Tram
Alacant On Rails - Blog about news, updates, and tram project projects in the city of Alicante
{{Coord, 38, 21, 55, N, 0, 26, 40, W, region:ES-VC_type:landmark_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Alicante Light rail in Spain Transport in the Valencian Community Regional rail in Spain
Lines
The network comprises the following lines:
Notes: What is now L3 was opened initially in 1999 as an experimental service between Porta de Mar and Albufereta, and was extended to El Campello in 2003. L9 was originally taken over by FGV in 1986, and was incorporated into the tram network upon its opening.
L1 is a limited-stop service from Alicante city centre to Benidorm taking 70 minutes journey time. In Benidorm it connects with line L9 to Dénia.
L2 starts from the city centre to the General Hospital of Alicante, the University of Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig, with a journey time of 15 minutes.
L3 is a stopping service from Alicante to El Campello.
L4 runs from the city centre to a loop in ''Playa de San Juan'' district.
L5 starts at Porta del Mar to Sangueta, then following the L4 loop in ''Playa de San Juan'' district, and was opened in 2019, using former alignment from Porta del Mar and Sangueta that was used prior to the opening of the city centre tunnel to Luceros.
L9 is diesel powered commuter rail service from Benidorm along the coast to Dénia, stopping at other important tourist towns like Altea and Calp. Services are subject to disruption due to engineering works as the line is prepared for electrification.
Lines L1, L2, L3 and L4 share the city centre underground section between MARQ and the city centre Luceros station. The Mercado (Valencian: ''Mercat'') station on the segment was opened on 10 May 2007 and the Luceros was opened on 18 June 2010.
In 2019, the network served 12 million passengers. The busiest stations were ''Luceros'' (1,894,496 passengers), ''Mercado'' (1,226,471), ''Benidorm'' (717,385), ''Sant Vicent del Raspeig'' (658,642) and ''El Campello'' (558,354).
Future expansion
The underground section is planned to continue westward to ''Estació Multimodal'' serving the Adif station (and a possible relocation of the bus station). This was originally delayed, but in March 2019 President of the Valencian Government Ximo Puig
Joaquín Francisco Puig Ferrer, known as Ximo Puig (; born 4 January 1959), is a Spanish politician who has served as leader of the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV-PSOE), the Valencian regional branch of the PSOE, since March 2012 ...
committed funds to progress this extension for a 2022-2023 opening.
There are plans to extend the tram-train service southwards to Alicante Airport
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in the ...
, El Altet, Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Santa Pola
Santa Pola ( Valencian and Spanish: ) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and has a population of 30,000 inhabitants of whom 10,000 are res ...
, Guardamar
Guardamar del Segura () or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community), Spain. It is a Mediterranean resort, with a large pine forest abutting ...
and Torrevieja
Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Torrevi ...
. According to the local press it seems unlikely that any of these extensions will be built in the near future due to lack of funds.
Gallery
See also
* PremetroNotes
References
External links
Tram Alicante official website
(English, Spanish, Valencian)
Track plan of the Alicante Tram
Alacant On Rails - Blog about news, updates, and tram project projects in the city of Alicante
{{Coord, 38, 21, 55, N, 0, 26, 40, W, region:ES-VC_type:landmark_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Alicante Light rail in Spain Transport in the Valencian Community Regional rail in Spain