Metrovalencia is an
urban rail
Urban rail transit is an all-encompassing term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories ...
system serving a large part of the
metropolitan area of
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 ...
. The network is a modern amalgamation of former
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 ...
narrow gauge
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 structu ...
electric operated suburban railways. It is a large suburban network that crosses the city of Valencia, with all trains continuing out to the
suburbs. It also has destinations on lines that make it more closely resemble
commuter trains. The unique system combines
light railway
A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...
,
metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
and several
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 ...
operations north of the Túria riverbed park with line 4. Trains of lines 1, 3, 5 and 9 have
automatic train operation (ATO) in 25.3 kilometers of underground system. Tram lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 are operated by modern trams.
This network consists of more than 161.7 km of route, of which 29.8 km is underground.
The system authority ''
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 city me ...
'' (FGV) uses
bilingual signage in
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 ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
.
Operations
Lines
Notes: In 1998, Line 2 was combined with Line 1; it became a separate branch again in 2015. Lines 7 to 9 were created in 2015 by splitting existing branch lines, with the only new stations for these lines consisting of the extension from Manises to Riba-roja de Túria.
The network includes five unmanned stations: Rocafort, Fuente del Jarro, Massarojos, Fondo de Benaguasil and Font de l'Almaguer.
Technical data
* Gauge width: (
narrow gauge
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 structu ...
)
* Current system: 750 V DC / 1500 V DC,
overhead wire
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipm ...
Passenger numbers
In 2012, an estimated 63,103,814 passengers used the service, a decline of 2.8% from the 65,074,726 who had used it in 2011. The 2011 figures had shown a 5% decline compared to 2010. On average 172,887 passengers a day used the service in 2012 with the busiest day being 18 March, the final day of the
Fallas
The Falles ( ca-valencia, Falles; es, Fallas) is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The five main days celebrated are from 15 to 19 March, while the Mascletà, a pyrotechnic ...
festival, when 482,960 passengers used the service. The three most used stations on the network were all in the centre of Valencia: ''Xàtiva'', beside
Valencia's main train station, with 4,769,628 passengers in 2012, ''Colón'', in one of Valencia's main shopping streets, with 4,189,736 passengers and ''Àngel Guimerà'', an interchange station for lines 1,4 and 5 situated beside Valencia old town, with 2,461,012 users. The fourth and fifth busiest stations were ''Túria'', next to Valencia's main bus station, with 2,035,521 and ''Facultats'', serving the
University of Valencia
The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...
, with 1,951,080 users. The remaining stations in the top eight were ''Plaça de Espanya'' (1,807,538 passengers), ''Amistat'' (1,552,281) and ''Mislata'' (1,505,106). The first two of these were located in areas near Valencia centre, while Mislata was the main station for
the satellite town of the same name.
In 2014, the system carried 60,111,000 passengers.
In 2015, 60,686,589 passengers used the network, reversing a decline which had occurred in previous years. Seventeen stations reported more than 1 million users in that year.
In 2019, patronage reached an all-time high of over 69 million. The ten busiest stations were Xàtiva with 5,459,784 passengers, Colón (4,520,931); Àngel Guimerà (3,067,957); Túria (2,044,393); Plaça d'Espanya (2,035,060); Facultats (1,951,546); Benimaclet (1,837,812); Amistat-Casa de Salud (1,817,120); Mislata (1,708,658); Avinguda del Cid (1,598,112).
History
The Metrovalencia network traces its origins to the ''
Trenet de València''
( ca; es) system of narrow-gauge
interurban railway
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
s, of which its first section, built by the Valencian Tramway Society
( :es:Sociedad Valenciana de Tranvías) was opened in 1888 between Valencia (near the Pont de Fusta, or Fusta Bridge) and Llíria. Several further extensions of the ''Trenet'' were later built between 1891 and 1912. In 1917, both the Valencian Tramway Corporation and the ''
Compagnie Génerale des Tramways de Valence (Espagne) Société Lyonnaise''
( es) were merged into a single company called the Valencia Tram and Rail Company
( :es:Compañía de Tranvías y Ferrocarriles de Valencia), which operated until 1964 where after years of losses, the rail operations of CTFV was acquired by
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 ...
.
First four lines
![Torrent avinguda station valencia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Torrent_avinguda_station_valencia.jpg)
On 8 October 1988 the
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
through which
line 1 crosses Valencia was opened between
Sant Isidre and Ademuz (now
Empalme), which connected the line with southbound trains from València-Jesús to
Castelló de la Ribera (now Villanueva de Castellón) at Sant Isidre. Line 2 went from València-Sud to
Llíria
Llíria (; es, Liria) is a medium-sized town off the CV35 motorway to the north of Valencia, Spain. Known as ''Edeta'' in ancient Iberian times, it is the musical capital of the region. On October 30, 2019, Llíria was declared a Creative City ...
, with some trains terminating in
Paterna
Paterna is a city and a municipality in the province of Valencia in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located northeast of the comarca of '' L'Horta de Valencia'', northwest of the inland suburbs of Valencia, and on the left bank of the riv ...
.
In May 1994 the
''tranvia'' line 4 opened. Valencia was the first city in Spain to use this mode of transport in the modern era. Originally, line 4 was long and had 21 stations. The line connected the suburban lines with high demand zones such as the
Polytechnic University, the new university campus and the
Malvarosa beach
''Malvarosa'' is a 1958 Filipino family drama film directed by Dr. Gregorio Fernandez and written by Clodualdo del Mundo and Consuelo P. Osorio for LVN Pictures. It is based on a comics serial of the same name written by Clodualdo del Mundo i ...
, which the former line Empalme - Pont de Fusta - El Grau had connected before. One year later, in May 1995, line 3 was extended from El Palmaret in Alboraria to Alameda. The extension reused the older railway line Pont de Fusta-Rafelbunyol, of which part was scrapped (between Pont de Fusta - Sant Llorenç - El Palmaret), and the rest was switched from 750 V to 1500 V.
Further alterations followed five years later. On 16 September 1998, line 2 was merged with
line 1, and Line 3 was extended from Alameda to Avinguda del Cid in the west and Torrent in the south with some trains only going as far as Jesús. Half a year later, on 20 May 1999, line 3 was extended from Avinguda del Cid to Mislata-Almassil.
Lines 5 and 6, and more extensions
![Metro Valencia Benimaclet sculpture-side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Metro_Valencia_Benimaclet_sculpture-side.jpg)
In April 2003, the new line 5 was opened. This line took over the previous line 3 connection from Alameda to Torrent, together with a newly constructed branch from Alameda to Ayora . (Although some very early morning trains still travel from Machado to Torrent, this is not represented on maps.) One year later, the new line 5 was extended, together with line 1, from Torrent to Torrent Avinguda, a distance of . On 3 October 2005, Bailén station was opened on line 5. This station is between Colón and Jesús, and has connections with València-Nord, the main railway station of València. Furthermore, Bailen is close to the Plaça d'Espanya station on line 1. In October 2005, line 4 was extended to Mas del Rosari, and on 20 December 2005 to Lloma Llarga-Terramelar.
On 2 April 2007, Line 5 was extended to the east to a new station Marítim-Serrería (originally planned as Jerónimo Monsoriu).
On 18 April 2007, Line 5 extended to
the airport (Aeroport Station) in the west and to the port (Marina Real Juan Carlos 1 Station, originally called Neptú station) in the east, this last section from Marítim-Serreria to Marina Real Juan Carlos 1 is a tram section; the trains go from Aeroport to Marítim-Serrreria and then a tram operates between Marítim-Serreria and Marina Real Juan Carlos 1; the tram is now denoted as Line 8. Line 3 was extended to the Airport as well to cover the schedule limitations of line 5 to
Aeroport station.
On 22 September 2007, Line 6 was opened, linking the neighbourhoods of
Orriols and
Torrefiel to the metro system for the first time. Additionally a new station "Torre del Virrei" was added to Line 1. It is situated between the stations of "L'Eliana" and "La Pobla de Vallbona".
On 12 December 2010, the two overground stations on Lines 3 and 9 in the municipality of
Alboraya
Alboraya () or Alboraia () is a town and municipality of the province of Valencia, Spain. It is situated very close to the city of Valencia.
Originally a farming community, Alboraya has grown in recent decades following the development of the m ...
, Alboraya and Palmaret, were replaced by the subterranean stations of Alboraya - Peris Aragó and Alboraya - Palmaret. On Line 1, the station of Jesus was renamed Joaquin Sorolla, while the Hospital station was renamed Safranar.
On 6 March 2015, a 4-station extension to
Riba-roja de Túria
Riba-roja de Túria ( es, Ribarroja del Turia) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Camp de Túria in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous commu ...
was opened. This followed the path of a regional train line, which had been closed in 2005.
In April 2015, the metro map was redrawn, with several of the branches split into separate lines, increasing the number of lines to 9.
On 1 February 2022, the number of fare zones was reduced from four to two, as part of a reduction in ticket prices, with a fare supplement applying to Airport station. Twenty one stations changed their name in 2022. The purpose of the change was to make the names more readily identifiable, adapt them to the urban changes in the area covered and "linguistic normalisation" (favouring
Valencian language
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 Cat ...
names rather than Spanish language ones.) The changes took effect when Line 10 opened.
Accidents
![Accident metro Picanya 9 Setembre 2005 (+40 ferits)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Accident_metro_Picanya_9_Setembre_2005_%28%2B40_ferits%29.JPG)
Between 2002 and the first quarter of 2012, 83 accidents had occurred on the network, costing the lives of 56 people.
On 9 September 2005, two trains crashed into each other on
Line 1. Nobody was killed, but according to early reports 35 people were injured, 4 of whom were taken to hospital, their condition described as serious. The first train had been stationary waiting for a red signal. The second used its emergency brakes to avoid a collision, but was hit by a third train. The force of the impact severely damaged the drivers' cabs at the front of the last train and at the rear of the second train. The crash occurred between Paiporta and Picanya about 5 km south-east of the city centre. The 3729 and 3730 EMUs are now a single EMU with 3729A and the 3730A cars, the 'B' cars were severely damaged and are currently at València-Sud workshop, waiting to be scrapped.
The date 3 July 2006 was a dark day for the Valencia metro. In a
severe accident, a two-car EMU derailed between Jesús and Plaça d'Espanya stations. At least 43 people were killed and 47 injured. It was the worst metro accident in Spanish history.
Future service
![Metrovalencia 2030 v9-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Metrovalencia_2030_v9-01.jpg)
Line 9 is planned to be extended to the centre of
Riba-roja de Túria
Riba-roja de Túria ( es, Ribarroja del Turia) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Camp de Túria in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous commu ...
. A tunnel will be built between Bailén and Alameda stations, with a new station near Valencia city hall, in order to improve service frequency.
Four more lines are planned.
Postponed and cancelled extensions
![Futuroplanodemetrovalenciav8](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Futuroplanodemetrovalenciav8.png)
In 2006, 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 ...
proposed a number of new lines and extensions which were abandoned due to lack of funds after the
financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
.
Extension from Alacant to Tavernes Blanques
Line 10 was originally planned to have run underground through Ciutat Vella (Valencia's historic centre) before emerging at surface level at Pont de Fusta station and continuing to
Tavernes Blanques. One station on this line, Mercat Central, began construction in 2007 and was completed at a cost of 27 million euros, but remains a
ghost station
A ghost station is a disused train station through which revenue-service passenger trains (especially rapid transit trains) pass but at which they do not stop. The term is also sometimes used for any unused underground station or any unused ...
. In March 2021, the director of Valencian railways said that the project had been abandoned and that a decision would be taken on how to use the completed station.
Extension to Vilamarxant
Plans were made for an extension of Line 9 to
Vilamarxant
Vilamarxant ( es, Villamarchante) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Camp de Túria in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Notable people
* Raúl Albiol, (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Spanish club ...
. However, by 2015, the plans had been abandoned.
Orbital line
This would have been a tram line connecting Valencia's north and south boulevards with the towns of
Alboraya
Alboraya () or Alboraia () is a town and municipality of the province of Valencia, Spain. It is situated very close to the city of Valencia.
Originally a farming community, Alboraya has grown in recent decades following the development of the m ...
,
Mislata
Mislata is a city in the Valencian Community, Spain. It has borders with the city of Valencia and Quart de Poblet in the west and Xirivella in the south.
Population
In recent decades it has gone from being a village in the Horta region of the Va ...
and
Xirivella
Xirivella () is a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It borders the city of Valencia, Alaquàs, Picanya and Mislata. The municipality is divided by the V-30 motorway and the river Turia, with the La Luz district on the eastern par ...
. It would have brought metro service to Valencia's Tres Forques, L'Olivereta and Malilla districts. Only a small part of the line was constructed through Valencia's Torrefiel and Orriols districts and opened as part of the new Line 6 in September 2007.
Horta Sud light metro
This line, initially designated as line 8, would have begun at La Fe. It would have run through Valencia's district of La Torre and the towns of
Sedaví
Sedaví is a municipality in the province of Valencia in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Span ...
,
Alfafar and
Benetússer before dividing into two. The southern branch would have gone through
Massanassa
Massanassa is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Sud in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most popu ...
,
Catarroja
Catarroja (, ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Sud in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Toponym
The town name is originally a hybrid between the Arabic term إقطاع ("iqṭā"), which means "land", and the Valencian term "ro ...
,
Albal,
Beniparrell
Beniparrell is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Sud in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most pop ...
before terminating in
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms ...
. The western branch was to run through
Paiporta,
Torrent
Torrent or torrents may refer to:
* A fast flowing stream
Animals
* Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae
* Torrent fish
* Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs
* Torrent robin, a bird species
* Torrent salamander, a family of s ...
,
Alaquàs
Alaquàs (; es, Alacuás) is a municipality in the Horta Oest ''comarca'' in the Valencian Community.
Etymology
The town's name is of Arabic origin, coming from ''al-aquas'' (الأقواس), meaning "the arches", believed to be a reference to ...
and
Aldaia. It would then have split into 2 further branches. One would have terminated at Bonaire shopping centre with the other continuing through
Quart de Poblet
Quart de Poblet (, Spanish and unofficially: ''Cuart de Poblet'' or ''Cuarte'')Toponym in Castilian as the Spanish Royal Academy: ''Spelling of Spanish.'' Madrid: Espasa, 1999. ; "Appendix 3, pages 133–155. is a municipality in the ''comarca' ...
to the terminus at Faitanar.
Coastal tram
The coastal tram (
es), originally designated as Line 10, would have connected
Alboraya
Alboraya () or Alboraia () is a town and municipality of the province of Valencia, Spain. It is situated very close to the city of Valencia.
Originally a farming community, Alboraya has grown in recent decades following the development of the m ...
's Port Saplaya and Patacona beach with Valencia's Malvarosa and Las Arenas beaches before terminating at Marítim station.
Network map
See also
*
List of metro systems
*
Medium-capacity rail transport system
A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 lig ...
Notes
References
External links
Metrovalencia – official siteFerrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV)Pics and information at ''public-transport.net''
{{Underground rapid transit in the European Union
Rail transport in the Valencian Community
Underground rapid transit in Spain