The Milan Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Milano) is the
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
system serving
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, operated by
Azienda Trasporti Milanesi
The Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM) is the municipal public transport company of Milan and 46 surrounding metropolitan municipalities. It operates 5 metro lines (see Milan Metro), 17 tram lines (see Trams in Milan), 121 bus lines and 4 trolleybu ...
. The network consists of 5 lines, identified by different numbers and colours, with a total network length of , and a total of
119 stations, mostly underground.
It has a daily ridership of about 1.4 million on weekdays.
[
The first line, Line 1, opened in 1964;] Line 2 opened 5 years later in 1969, Line 3 in 1990, Line 5 in 2013, and Line 4 in 2022. The Milan Metro is currently the largest system in Italy for length, number of stations and ridership.
History
The first projects for a subway line in Milan were drawn up in 1914 and 1925, following the examples of underground transport networks in other European cities like London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Planning proceeded in 1938 for the construction of a system of 7 lines, but this too halted after the start of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and due to lack of funds.
On 3 July 1952, the city administration voted for a project of a metro system and on 6 October 1955, a new company, ''Metropolitana Milanese'', was created to manage the construction of the new infrastructure. The project was funded with ₤ 500 million from the municipality and the rest from a loan. The construction site of the first line was opened in ''viale Monte Rosa'' on 4 May 1957. Stations on the new line were designed by Franco Albini
Franco Albini (17 October 1905 – 1 November 1977) was an Italian Neo-Rationalist architect, designer and university instructor in design.
A native of Robbiate, near Milan, Albini obtained his degree in architecture at Politecnico di Milano U ...
and Franca Helg architecture studio, while Bob Noorda designed the signage. For this project both Albini-Helg and Noorda won the Compasso D'Oro prize.
The first section from ''Lotto'' to ''Sesto Marelli'' (21 stations) was opened on 1 November 1964 after 7 years of construction works. Two trains adorned with Italian flags left at 10.41 a.m. and arrived at the Sesto Marelli terminus at 11.15 a.m., greeted by the notes of the national anthem and the triumphal march of Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida". The track was long, and the mean distance between the stations was . In the same year, in April, works on the second line started.
Passengers on the network grew constantly through the first years of service, passing from 37,092,315 in 1965 to 61,937,192 in 1969.
The green line from Caiazzo to Cascina Gobba (7 stations) opened five years later. During the 1960s and 1970s the network of 2 lines was completed, and both lines had 2 different spurs. In 1978, the lines were already and long respectively, with 28 and 22 stations.
The first section of the third line (yellow), with 5 stations, was opened on 3 May 1990 after almost 9 years of construction works. The line opened just before the World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
. The other 9 stations on Line 3 opened to the southeast in 1991, and northwest to Maciachini Station in 2004.
In March 2005, the Line 2 Abbiategrasso station (south branch from Famagosta) and the Line 1 Rho Fiera station opened. The intermediate station of Pero opened in December 2005. A north extension of Line 3 to Comasina
Comasina () is a district (quarter) of Milan, Italy. It is an area located within Zone 9 of Milan, Zone 9 of the city.
{{coord, 45, 31, 35, N, 9, 09, 40, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title
Districts of Milan ...
(4 stations) and a new south branch on the Line 2 to Assago
Assago ( lmo, Assagh or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.
It contains the headquarters of Nestlé's Italian branch and the Mediolanum Forum
Mediolanum Forum (originally ...
(2 stations) opened in early 2011.
The first stage of the Line 5, covering the from Bignami to Zara opened on 10 February 2013. The second stage, from Zara to Garibaldi FS, opened on 1 March 2014. The third stage, from Garibaldi FS to San Siro Stadio opened on 29 April 2015, with some intermediate stations not in service at that time; as of November 2015, all the stations have been opened.
The metro replaced several interurban tramroutes of the original ''Società Trazione Elettrica Lombarda'' (STEL) tramlines, in particular the Line 2 to Gessate.
Timeline
Infrastructure
Lines
The system comprises 5 lines. All the lines run underground except for the northern part of Line 2 and the Line 2 Assago branch.
There are 7 interchange stations, each with 2 lines: ''Centrale'' (Lines 2 and 3), also Milan's main train station; ''Duomo'' (Lines 1 and 3), considered the center of the city; ''Loreto'' (Lines 1 and 2); ''Cadorna'' (Lines 1 and 2), city terminus for northbound suburban and regional railways; ''Zara'' (Lines 3 and 5); ''Garibaldi'' (Lines 2 and 5), also a major railway station; ''Lotto'' (Lines 1 and 5).
Lines run in the Milan municipality for 80% of the total length (93 stations). Beside Milan, 12 other neighbouring municipalities are served: Assago
Assago ( lmo, Assagh or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.
It contains the headquarters of Nestlé's Italian branch and the Mediolanum Forum
Mediolanum Forum (originally ...
, Bussero
Bussero ( lmo, Bussor ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,589 and an area of .All demographics and other stat ...
, Cassina de' Pecchi Cassina may refer to:
Places in Italy
* Cassina de' Pecchi, in the province of Milan
*Cassina Rizzardi, in the province of Como
* Cassina Valsassina, in the province of Lecco
*Cassina Amata, in the province of Milan
*Cassina Nuova, in the province ...
, Cernusco sul Naviglio
Cernusco sul Naviglio (; lmo, Cernusch, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. With a population of 33,436 as of 2015 it is the 14th-largest municipality in the metropolitan city.
It is loca ...
, Cologno Monzese
Cologno Monzese ( lmo, label=Milanese dialect, Milanese, Cològn ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan.
The population increased substantially ...
, Gessate
Gessate ( lmo, Gessaa ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan.
Gessate borders the following municipalities: Cambiago, Masate, Pessano con Bornago, Inz ...
, Gorgonzola
Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining.
History
Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...
, Pero, Rho
Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...
, San Donato Milanese
San Donato Milanese (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. It is served by the San Donato underground station right on the borderline betw ...
, Sesto San Giovanni
Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost s ...
, Vimodrone
Vimodrone ( lmo, Vimodron ; historically ''Modrone'' or '' Vico Modrone'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy. It is located about northeast of Milan.
Vimodrone borders the followin ...
. The network covers about 20% of Milan's total area.
The metro network is also linked with the suburban rail service, with 12 interchange stations: Affori FN, Cadorna FN, Domodossola, Garibaldi FS, Lambrate FS, Lodi T.I.B.B. (with the nearby Porta Romana station), Porta Venezia, Repubblica, Rho Fiera, Rogoredo FS, Romolo, Sesto 1º Maggio,
The track gauge for all lines is the .
Most of the network has no platform screen doors
Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail syste ...
, except for the newest Line 5, where screen doors are present in all stations and some stations on Line 1.
Network Map
Power supply
Lines 2 and 3 use overhead lines
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 equipmen ...
to supply the electric current to the train and are electrified at 1500 V DC. Line 1, electrified at 750 V DC, uses a fourth rail
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ...
system, although the same line also supports overhead lines in some stretches and depots; this allows Line 2 and 3 trains to use Line 1 tracks to reach a depot placed on the line. Line 5 trains are supplied by a third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
system at 750 V DC, and the same system will be used on the future line 4.
Signalling
Passenger information
All the stations are provided with LED screens showing the destination and waiting time of coming trains. In every station, a recorded voice announces the direction of every approaching train and, at the platform, the name of the station. While older trains have no on-train information, the new Meneghino
Meneghino (; Milanese: ) is a traditional character of the Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated to the city of Milan. As such, it also plays a major role in the Milanese celebrations of Carnival ('' Carnevale Ambrosiano'') and in local ''ma ...
and Leonardo trains and the driverless trains on Line 5 are equipped with displays and recorded announcements in Italian and in English.
Mobile phone coverage
Since December 2009 all stations and trains of the Milan metro have full UMTS
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Inte ...
and HSDPA
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is an amalgamation of two mobile protocols—High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)—that extends and improves the performance of existing 3G mobile telecommunic ...
connectivity. Mobile operators TIM and Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
also provide LTE connectivity in all lines.
Rolling stock
The first 3 lines are heavy rapid-transit lines, with 6-cars trains, about 105 m in length. Line 4 and Line 5 are light metro
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 ...
lines, with 4-cars trains, about 50 m long. Line 4 and Line 5 are equipped with driverless trains.
Service
Tickets
A standard ticket costs €2 and is valid for 90 minutes since its validation on metro, 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 ...
, bus, trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
and suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
lines within Milan and 21 bordering municipalities. Other tickets are available as well, such as daily, weekly, monthly, annual, student and senior passes. Additional fares are required to travel outside Milan and the 21 bordering municipalities.
Paper tickets can be substituted by contactless bank cards payments, provided the trip starts in the metro, by tapping in the orange gates installed in every metro station. This payment method is not available on suburban lines; it was expected to be implemented on trams and buses starting by the end of 2019; it was eventually introduced in December 2020 on three urban bus lines, with plans for coverage on all the network by 2023.
Between 2004 and 2007 ''ATM'' introduced ''Itinero'' smartcard
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...
, a proximity card
A proximity card or prox card also known as a key card or keycard is a contactless smart card which can be read without inserting it into a reader device, as required by earlier magnetic stripe cards such as credit cards and contact type sma ...
which can be charged with season tickets, replacing paper for this type of tickets. At the beginning of 2010, a new smartcard, ''RicaricaMi'', was introduced. The new card can be charged up with credit and can be used for travel in place of magnetic paper tickets, on the model of London's Oyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
.
Milan metro lines can be accessed also with the regional integrated ticket "Io viaggio ovunque in Lombardia", as 1 to 7 days tickets or longer subscriptions using the smartcard "Io Viaggio".
Opening hours
The service starts at about 5:40 am and ends at about 0:30.
During Sundays and holidays service usually starts later and ends later, depending on the occasion.
Headway
Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system measured in space or time. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise defi ...
s at peak hours vary from 2 minutes on the Line 1 (central part) to 3 minutes on Line 3. On branch lines (of lines 1 and 2) the headway is usually double.
Night service
A night service has operated since 2015 with buses.
The bus service follows the same route and stops at the same stations of the metro.
The entire lines 1 and 3 and the urban section of line 2 (Abbiategrasso-Cascina Gobba) are covered by the service.
The future network
The metro system is currently expanding.
An extension of Line 1 from Sesto 1º Maggio to ''Cinisello/Monza'', towards the city of Cinisello Balsamo, is currently under construction.
The track will be long with an intermediate station at ''Sesto Restellone''.
The completion has been delayed several times, and is now scheduled for 2024.
There is a proposal for a further 3 km extension of Line 1 to the west.
An extension of Line 2 from Cologno Nord to ''Vimercate
Vimercate (; lmo, label=Brianzöö, Vimercaa ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is from Milan and from Monza.
Its name (whose first finding dates back to the year 745) derives from t ...
'' is planned.
The section will be long with 6 stations (Brugherio, Carugate, Agrate Colleoni, Concorezzo, Vimercate Torri Bianche, Vimercate).
The track will be mostly underground (83%).
Line 3 is planned to be extended to the south-east from San Donato to Paullo
Paullo ( lmo, Paull , locally ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. As of 30 April 2014, it had a population of 11,333 and an area of .All demographics and oth ...
: with intermediate stations in the city of San Donato, Peschiera Borromeo
Peschiera Borromeo (; Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on August 6, ...
, Mediglia
Mediglia (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombar ...
, Caleppio Cerca, Paullo and Paullo East, the first 3 being underground and the other on the surface. The project is currently on hold.
The new Line 4 will run from the western suburb of Lorenteggio
Giambellino and Lorenteggio are two historical and populous residential neighborhoods of Milan, Italy. Together, they form a district ("quartiere"), part of the Zone 6 of Milan, Zone 6 administrative division of Milan.
The district is centered al ...
to the eastern side of the city to Linate Airport
Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest air ...
, and is expected to open in 2022.
The line has been approved by the Italian Government in March 2006, and funded in November 2009.
Preliminary prospections began in mid-2010, and construction started in late 2011.
The construction of the whole line was approved by the city of Milan in November 2014.
Line 4 trains will be completely automatic and driverless, employing AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro
The Hitachi Rail Italy Driverless Metro is a class of driverless electric multiple units and corresponding signaling system. Manufactured by Hitachi Rail Italy (formerly AnsaldoBreda) and Hitachi Rail STS (former name Ansaldo STS) in Italy, it ...
trains as in Line 5.
Line 4 will feature interchange stations with other M lines at Sant'Ambrogio Sant'Ambrogio may refer to the following entities in Italy:
* Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, a church in the Milan
* Sant'Ambrogio, Florence, a Roman Catholic church in Florence
* Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, a municipality in the Turin
* Sant'Ambrogio di ...
(Line 2), Sforza/Policlinico (with an underground link to Line 3 through Missori or Crocetta), San Babila
San Babila is a Romanesque-style Roman Catholic church in Milan, region of Lombardy, Italy. It was once considered the third most important in the city after the Duomo and the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio. It is dedicated to saint Babylas of Anti ...
(Line 1), and with suburban lines at San Cristoforo FS, Dateo and Forlanini FS.
See also
* Signalling of the Milan Metro
*Transport in Milan
Milan has an extensive internal transport network and is also an important transportation node in Italy, being one of the country's biggest hubs for air, rail and road networks.
Internal public transport network includes the Metro, the Suburban R ...
*Azienda Trasporti Milanesi
The Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM) is the municipal public transport company of Milan and 46 surrounding metropolitan municipalities. It operates 5 metro lines (see Milan Metro), 17 tram lines (see Trams in Milan), 121 bus lines and 4 trolleybu ...
*Milan S Lines
The Milan S Lines constitute the commuter rail system serving the metropolitan area of Milan, Italy.
The system comprises 11 lines serving 124 stations, for a total length of 403 km.
There are 415 trains per day with a daily ridership of ...
*List of metro systems
This list of metro systems includes electrified rapid transit train systems worldwide. In some parts of the world, metro systems are referred to as subways, U-Bahn or undergrounds. , 205 cities in 61 countries have a metro system.
The London ...
*Lists of rapid transit systems
These lists of rapid transit systems are sorted by the type of system:
* List of tram and light rail transit systems
* List of town tramway systems
* Medium-capacity rail transport system
* List of premetro systems
* List of metro systems
* List of ...
References
External links
ATM - Milan's Transportation Company
Metropolitana Milanese S.p.A. - the company that built the Metro
Milano Metro Map on Google earth with geolocation
{{Internationally Metro Organizations
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 urba ...
750 V DC railway electrification
1500 V DC railway electrification
Railway lines opened in 1964
1964 establishments in Italy