The Málaga Metro () is a

semi-metro The term semi-metro refers to a category of urban rail transport in which trams run partly on grade separation, separate tracks to avoid conflicts with other traffic, by using tunnels and elevated railway, viaducts. This type of transit is also ...

network in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Its two lines were inaugurated on 30 June 2014 and connect the city centre with the western suburbs. As of 2025, the network operates of route. There are 19 stations, 14 of which are underground while 5 are surface-level light rail stops. The network's rolling stock consists of 18 Urbos 3 light rail vehicles (LRVs) manufactured by the Spanish company CAF. All vehicles are fully covered by

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

and have

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

. Each one has a capacity of 226 people: 56 seated passengers and 170 standing. Both vehicles and stations are fully accessible for passengers with disabilities. If Málaga Metro is considered a

metro system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tu ...

, then it would be the second metro system to be built in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, after

Seville Metro The Seville Metro () is an light metro network serving the city of Seville, Spain and its metropolitan area. The system is totally independent of any other rail or street traffic. All stations are provided with platform screen doors. Line 1 ...

. Consequently, it would rank as the sixth-busiest metro system in

: it carried over 18 million passengers in 2024.

History

The network was first proposed during the 1990s, as the city was suffering from severe traffic congestion. In 2001, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport commissioned a study about the feasibility of constructing a urban rail system in the area. The plan had four lines, radiating from the city centre, with stations roughly apart to allow a high level of accessibility. Funding for the project would come from both the local and the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

s. The project was finally approved in April 2005, with construction starting in June 2006. Both lines were inaugurated on 30 July 2014. On 27 March 2023, the system's first expansion was inaugurated, connecting El Perchel station to the historic centre of the city. This expansion is long and has 2 stations: Guadalmedina (which services both lines) and Atarazanas (servicing Line 1). These stations were supposed to be built and inaugurated in 2014 along the rest of the system, but were delayed due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

that severely struck the region. This first expansion resulted in the increase of the metro's daily ridership from 28,000 to 41,000 on its first operating day, and helped the system reach its goal of 18 million users that year. Another expansion for Line 2 is currently under construction, connecting Guadalmedina Station to Malaga's Hospital Civil. Originally this extension was planned to be at surface level, similar to the West end of line 1. This new underground section will be long, with 3 more stations to be built: Hilera, La Trinidad and Hospital. Construction began in May 2024, and is expected to be finished by 2027. There have been several plans to expand the system to the east, to the El Palo district, and to the north, to the Ciudad Jardín district, (as Line 3 and 4 respectively). However, these projects have been ruled out due to cost and the risk of damaging archaeological remains.

Network

Lines

Route

Both lines run underground in the city centre. Line 1 goes from there to the

University of Málaga The University of Málaga (UMA, ''Universidad de Málaga'') is a public university ranked 23 among all Spanish universities and 683 in the world. It was established in 1972 and has, as of 2016, 30,203 Bachelor students and 2576 on a Master's pr ...

. Between Universidad station and the Andalucía Tech terminus, it runs on the surface, which includes some

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections ar ...

s. An extension of Line 1 from El Perchel further into the city centre with two underground stops, Guadalmedina and Atarazanas, opened on 27 March 2023.

Network Map

Sources

External links

*
Málaga at ''UrbanRail.net''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metro De Malaga 2014 establishments in Andalusia Rail transport in Andalusia Rapid transit in Spain Underground rapid transit in Spain Light rail in Spain Railway lines opened in 2014