Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (, "Valencian Government Railways") or FGV is a

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...

public

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

company which operates several lines, in the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The company currently operates the city metro and

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 are ...

system of

( Valencia Metro) and

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 t ...

( Alicante Tram). It also operates a non-electrified long line, between Benidorm and

Dénia Dénia ( es, Denia) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta. Denia's historical heritage ...

, in Alicante province. The company is owned by the

Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Val ...

(i.e. the regional government body of the Valencian Community).

History

Establishment of FGV

FGV was founded as a company in 1986, and on 1 January 1987 took over all remaining narrow gauge railways in the Valencian Community. These had previously been part of the nationally owned

FEVE Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...

system. The newly formed railway system consisted of various electrified suburban lines around Valencia and the diesel-worked Alicante to Denia railway. Much of the infrastructure was in a poor state following years of neglect by the FEVE administration and patronage was consequently low.

Investment in the Valencia system

The early years of FGV saw much investment in the Valencia suburban system. The lines to the north and south of the city were connected by cross-town tunnels which were developed into the current metro system. FGV also introduced the first modern tram in Spain, partly running on the alignment of narrow gauge railways. Both the metro and trams systems are being developed through the addition of new lines. Projects are also in hand to modernise the classic parts of the system through realignments and new rolling stock.

Investment in the Alicante system

In Alicante too, the narrow gauge railway is being developed into a modern tramway. It has been extended through a tunnel to Mercado and will ultimately reach the RENFE railway station through an extension of this tunnel. The tram system is also being extended in other directions. The Alicante to Dénia railway line is being electrified as far as Benidorm and will be served by

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 all ...

s (vehicles that can run on both railway and tramway infrastructure). The remaining section to Denia will continue to be diesel-worked for the time being and trainsets have been modernised for this purpose. In Benidorm, a local tram service is also being planned. This will branch off the main railway line and serve the centre of this town.

Future projects

FGV is seeking to take over the

Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...

to Alcoi railway from Renfe. The mountain railway is currently in a poor state and served only by three trains per day and direction. The company also provided assessment to the city of Rosario in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

for its future Rosario Tramway, a project which is largely based on the Valencia system.Licitarán tranvía para Rosario
- EnElSubte, 22 July 2015.

Rolling stock

In use

Former rolling stock

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrocarrils De La Generalitat Valenciana Railway companies of Spain Rail transport in Valencia Rail transport in the Valencian Community Metre gauge railways in Spain