Tenerife Tram ( es, Tranvía de Tenerife) is a light rail or

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 ...

service located on the island of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, one of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

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 ...

. It is operated by Metropolitano de Tenerife, a limited company now 100% owned by

Cabildo de Tenerife Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (Island Council of Tenerife) is the governing body of the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands). It was established on 16 March 1913 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in a session held by the City Council. It was, at that time ...

. Service started on 2 June 2007 over a route that linked the

Intercambiador The Intercambiador (aka Tenerife Transport Interchange) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of Tenerife, combines the main station of the TITSA public bus service with light rail line 1, FerryBus and a parking for private vehicles. The station ...

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

with Avenida de la Trinidad in

La Laguna LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. A second line between La Cuesta and Tíncer opened in 2009 (connecting with Line 1 at Hospital Universitario and El Cardonal). It is the only existing tramway or train in the Canary Islands.

History

streetcar 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 ...

(tram) system had once existed on Tenerife. It was inaugurated on 7 April 1901, with a service that began in Santa Cruz and finished in La Laguna. It was designed by the

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, Cana ...

engineer and military man

Julio Cervera Baviera Julio Cervera Baviera (26 January 1854 – 24 June 1927) was a Spanish engineer, educator, explorer, and colonial military commander. He was an early pioneer in the development of radio and authored various scientific and geographic books and arti ...

. In 1904 the line was extended to

Tacoronte Tacoronte is a city and municipality of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located in the north-east of the island. Mostly rural, the municipality stretches for 30 square kilometers from the volcanic peaks that rise in the center of the island ...

. In 1927 the Cabildo of Tenerife took control of the operating company due to economic problems. The tram car lines remained functional until 1951, when, due to a series of problems and accidents, and increased competition with the

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

(on Tenerife, buses are called ''guaguas''), the service was discontinued.

Construction

After much political debate on investment in trams versus buses, approval was eventually given to the

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

306 million budget. Construction started in 2004, and by December 2005 sufficient track existed for train supplier

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

to start test-running on a section of track between the systems train depot and the Hospital Universitario de Canarias in La Cuesta. The last of the 20 tram units were handed over in August 2006. The construction phase officially ended on 2 June 2007 with the opening day tram on Line 1. Free service was provided to all passengers from that weekend all the way through to the following Sunday, before tariffs and tickets were introduced.

Rolling stock

The light rail (

) rolling stock is entirely made up of the Citadis 302 model, 100% low floor from

, as already used on the Madrid Light Metro, the

Casablanca Tramway , color = , logo = Logo-casatramway.png , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Casablance tram Citadis placedesnatio ...

, 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 ...

, and lines Trambaix and Trambesòs of the

Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport sys ...

. These low-floor and floor lighted trams have a maximum speed of , and are powered through a 750 V DC

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficia ...

. The trams are each made up of five carriages, two driving carriages sandwiching three passenger/power carriages.

Operations

Line 1

Line 1 (SC Interchange - Trinidad) consists of 21 stops along a route of , transporting an average of 46,000 people per day in the metropolitan area. Each of the 20 trams is capable to transport 200 passengers (60 seated) at a maximum speed of , though for safety they only reach a maximum speed of on this line. In January 2011 the Padre Anchieta stop was moved from its initial location in the Trinity Avenue, to its current location next to the La Laguna bus interchange at a cost of €900,000. Plans are in place to lengthen the line with four additional stops, including

Tenerife North Airport Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

. There would also be new stations in San Antonio, San Lazaro (Park and Ride) and Los Rodeos-TFN.

Line 2

Line 2 opened on 30 May 2009, running from La Cuesta to Tíncer, sharing stops at University Hospital and El Cardonal with Line 1. It is planned to extend the line by 2.5 km from Tincer to La Gallega (district of the District southwest of Santa Cruz) to give coverage to the greater population.

Line 3

A third line is expected to be built, proposed to run along the coast of the capital of Tenerife, and not as speculated through the center of the city of Santa Cruz.

Tariffs

Expendedora de billetes - Tranvía de Tenerife

In agreement between Cabildo de Tenerife,

TITSA TITSA is the ''Transportes interurbanos de Tenerife, S.A.'' which operates the only public bus service in Tenerife, on the Canary Islands. It carries over 60 million travellers a year in a fleet of approximately 600 vehicles. History In 1884, t ...

and MTSA, tram and bus systems are a fully integrated transport system, with journeys costing exactly the same, whichever system is chosen.Tipos de billetes y tarifas
/ref>

Network Map

References

External links

Tranvía de Tenerife

Tranvía de Tenerife

Android App for Tenerife Tram
{{Rail transport in Spain Transport in Tenerife Tram transport in Spain