The Metro Ligero (; "Light Metro") is a light rail system in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. It has three lines, totaling , and 37 stations.

Lines

Line ML-1

Line ML-1 opened between Pinar de Chamartín and Las Tablas on 24 May 2007, with and nine stations, five of which are underground. Both termini offer connections to lines of the

Madrid Metro The Madrid Metro ( Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its gr ...

. The only above-ground stations are Antonio Saura, Álvarez de Villaamil, Palas de Rey, and Las Tablas. Line ML-1 serves the new neighbourhoods of Sanchinarro and Las Tablas, in the Fuencarral district. Madrid Metro Ligero Line1

Line ML-2

Line ML-2 opened on 27 July 2007, between Colonia Jardín and Estación de Aravaca in the neighbourhood of Aravaca, in the western communities of

Boadilla del Monte Boadilla del Monte () is a Spanish town and municipality located in the west of the Community of Madrid, inside its metropolitan area. It has the second highest level of income per capita in all of the country of Spain. In 2017, it had a popula ...

and

Pozuelo de Alarcón Pozuelo de Alarcón () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Bordering the Moncloa-Aravaca district of Madrid proper to its west, Pozuelo de Alarcón is surrounded by large Mediterranean pine-tree forests: the Casa de Campo, the ...

. It is long and has 13 stations, three of which are underground. They are Colonia Jardín, Somosaguas Sur, and Avenida de Europa. Line ML-2 also serves the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loc ...

. As part of the project, provision has been made for a future station at Prado de las Bodegas, which is subject to further development. The station will also provide a connection to the planned Metro Ligero Line ML-4, to Estación de Las Rozas. Madrid Metro Ligero Line2

Line ML-3

Line ML-3 also opened on 27 July 2007, between Colonia Jardín and Puerta de Boadilla, with and 15 stations, two of which are underground. The two are Colonia Jardín and Montepríncipe (which is in an open cut between two separate tunnels). Line ML-3 serves Ciudad de la Imagen, an employment centre with an audiovisual theme, and ends in

. The first of track are shared with Line ML-2. As with Line ML-2, Line ML-3 serves the western suburbs of Madrid. Both lines are in a special fare zone designated as "Metro Ligero Oeste". Provision has been made for three additional stations on the line: Retamares Oeste, Ciudad Financiera Este, and Ciudad Financiera Oeste. None of the three are scheduled to open until further development takes place. Madrid Metro Ligero Line3

Line ML-4

The

Parla Tram The Madrid city of Parla has a circular tram line which provides transportation within the city as well as to the rest of the metropolitan area. This network is standard gauge which facilitates compatibility and vehicle interchangeability with o ...

is also known as ML-4.
Madrid Metro Ligero Line4

Future projects

*A new Metro Ligero line, Line ML-4, is proposed from the new station Prado de las Bodegas on Line ML-2 to Estación de Las Rozas, with a connection to

Cercanías The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...

trains. The line would serve the Hospital Puerta de Hierro. Construction of the , 24 station route is currently underway. *A tramway is also proposed for the southern suburb of Valdemoro, which would connect the Cercanías railway station and the Infanta Elena Hospital. Both were expected to open by 2011. *Lines ML-2 and ML-3 are expected to be extended from Colonia Jardín to Aluche by 2020.

Rolling stock

The three Metro Ligero lines are operated by a fleet of 70 low-floor

Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continen ...

model 302 trams. Unlike the Madrid Metro, trams operate on the right. The trams have a maximum speed of and are capable of carrying 200 passengers, 54 seated. They are currently assembled into train-sets, but are designed so that they can be expanded to in the future. The Citadis 302 model as used on the Metro Ligero is similar to those used by the

in the southern suburb of

Parla Parla () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the southern part of the region, approximately 20 km from the capital, Madrid. History Origins Earliest evidence of human occupation includes stone tools m ...

. However, those used on the Metro Ligero are painted red and blue, while the trams used in Parla are lime green. Car 153 was loaned to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

starting in 2008 for use on the

Tranvía del Este The Tranvía del Este, also known as the Puerto Madero Tramway, was a 12-block "demonstration" light rail line in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in operation from 2007 to 2012. It used French-built Alstom Citadis 302 ...

demonstration tram service at Puerto Madero. In May 2009, six (165-170) were sold to

TransAdelaide TransAdelaide was a publicly owned corporation established on 4 July 1994 which provided suburban train, tram and bus services in Adelaide, South Australia, under contract to the Government of South Australia. It took over these responsibilitie ...

for use on the Glenelg line in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia. In December 2017, Adelaide received a further three (150, 154, 155)."Here & There" ''Trolley Wire'' issue 352 February 2018 page 19

Gallery

File:Pinar de Chamartín, line ML1.JPG, One of the light rail vehicles at Pinar de Chamartín, on line ML-1. File:Aravacametroligero.jpg, A tram on Line ML-2 at Estación de Aravaca, the outer terminus of the line. File:Madrid - Metro Ligero (línea 3) - Colonia Jardín - 20070804a.jpg, A tram on Line ML-3. File:GS ML1 z4022-MLinnen.jpg, Interior of the ML-1 Citadis 302 File:Metro Ligero Madrid Las Tablas 2 (2019).jpg, A tram from Pinar de Chamartín arrives at Las Tablas (ML-1).

Network map

References

External links

Metro Ligeros de Madrid – official site (archive)
{{Madrid Metro Madrid, Metro Ligero Madrid Metro Rail transport in Madrid