| Metro de Santiago | |
|---|---|
| Info | |
| Locale | Santiago |
| Transit type | Rapid transit |
| Number of lines | 5 |
| Number of stations | 108 |
| Daily ridership | 2.3 million daily |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | September 15, 1975 |
| Operator(s) | Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro S.A. |
| Technical | |
Metro de Santiago is South America's most extensive metro system with 5 lines, 108 stations and 103 kilometres of track[1] making it the second longest in Latin America after that of Mexico City. The metro system serves the city of Santiago, Chile. Three of the lines are rubber-tyred metro. 4-Line and 4A-Line are traditional steel wheels. The system services around 2,300,000 passengers per day.[2] The system is administered by the state-owned Metro S.A.. Along with Metro Valparaíso in the city of Valparaíso and the Biotren in Concepción, it is one of the three metropolitan railway systems in Chile.
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It serves a city of 6 million inhabitants. Since its opening in 1975, el Metro has changed the city; it is one of Chile's most important construction projects. While lines 1, 2, and 5 use rubber tire stock, lines 4 and 4A use steel wheels in order to increase capacity. The rapid growth of the population in the city (in 1920, 507,296 inhabitants; in 1940, 1,073,699 inhabitants) was the principal factor in the birth of the idea. The first plan was in 1944, but only in 1968 did work begin. The original plan was for 5 lines:
On September 15, 1975, Augusto Pinochet opened the first section of the underground railway between San Pablo and La Moneda on Line 1. Line 2 was opened in 1978 between Los Héroes and Lo Ovalle, and Line 1 was extended to Escuela Militar in 1980. Line 2 was extended to the north and found the remains of the Cal y Canto Bridge (built in 1782 and destroyed in 1880). The extension between Los Héroes and Puente Cal y Canto (former Mapocho Station) was inaugurated in 1987.
The city had changed since 1968 and the plan had to be changed too. La Florida had become the most populous zone of the city, and the Metro needed to go there. Line 5 was built south from Baquedano along Vicuña Mackenna Avenue and was opened in 1997. Line 5 was extended in 2000 to the west and entered the historical centre of the city (Plaza de Armas station), and in 2004 the extensions of Line 2 to the north and south and Line 5 to the west were opened.
In 2002 the construction of Line 4 and Line 4A began, in order to connect Puente Alto and the southeast of the City to the metro system.
Near the end of 2005, President Ricardo Lagos said that the government will start to plan the construction of another extension of line 5. It would reach Maipú, one of the municipalities that is further away from the centre of Santiago.
At the end of 2009, former President Michelle Bachelet announced the construction of Line 6.[3] The new line will connect eight communities with 12 stations over 14.8 kilometres. In October 2010, President Sebastián Piñera announced that Line 3 is in planning.[4] Both lines are projected to be in operation by 2014.
Nowadays, Metro consists of five lines which total 84 kilometres and a total of 82 stations and seven transfer stations: Los Héroes, Baquedano, Santa Ana, Tobalaba, Vicente Valdés, Vicuña Mackenna and La Cisterna. Seven new stations are opened on February 3, 2011.
| Line | Length | Stations | Opening Date | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Pablo - La Moneda | 8,2 km | 12 | 15 Sept, 1975 | Underground | |
| La Moneda- Salvador | 3,2 km | 5 | 31 Mar, 1977 | Underground | |
| Los Héroes - Franklin | 4,9 km | 4 | 31 Mar, 1978 | Ground Level | |
| Franklin - Lo Ovalle | 4.8 km | 6 | 21 Dec, 1978 | Underground | |
| Salvador - Escuela Militar | 4,5 km | 6 | 22 Aug, 1980 | Underground | |
| Los Héroes - Puente Cal y Canto | 1,7 km | 2 | 15 Sept, 1987 | Ground level | |
| Baquedano - Bellavista de La Florida | 10,3 km | 11 | 5 Apr, 1997 | Viaduct | |
| Baquedano - Santa Ana | 2,7 km | 2 | 4 Mar, 2000 | Underground | |
| Santa Ana - Quinta Normal | 1,9 km | 2 | 31 Mar, 2004 | Underground | |
| Puente Cal y Canto - Cerro Blanco | 1,6 km | 2 | 8 Sept, 2004 | Underground | |
| Lo Ovalle - La Cisterna | 2,1 km | 2 | 22 Dec, 2004 | Underground | |
| Cerro Blanco - Einstein | 1,9 km | 2 | 25 Nov, 2005 | Underground | |
| Bellavista de La Florida- Vicente Valdés | 0,6 km | 1 | 30 Nov, 2005 | Underground | |
| Vicente Valdés - Plaza de Puente Alto | 10,9 km | 9 | 30 Nov, 2005 | Viaduct | |
| Tobalaba - Grecia | 7,7 km | 7 | 30 Nov, 2005 | Underground | |
| Grecia - Vicente Valdés | 6,1 km | 5 | 2 Mar, 2006 | Ground level | |
| Vicuña Mackenna - La Cisterna | 7,7 km | 6 | 16 Aug, 2006 | Ground level | |
| Einstein - Vespucio Norte | 3,6 km | 3 | 21 Dec, 2006 | Underground | |
| San José de la Estrella | 0 km | 1 | 5 Nov, 2009 | Viaduct | |
| Escuela Militar - Los Dominicos | 4 km | 3 | 7 Jan, 2010 | Underground | |
| Quinta Normal - Pudahuel | 5,8 km | 5 | 12 Jan, 2010 | Underground | |
| Pudahuel - Plaza de Maipú | 8 km | 7 | 3 Feb, 2011 | Viaduct | |
| Pedro Aguirre Cerda - Los Leones | 14,8 km | 10 | 2016 | Underground | |
| Huechuraba - Larraín | 21 km | 18 | 2017 | Underground | |
The Santiago Metro currently operate 6 models of rolling stock, one model (the AS 02) is steel-wheeled, while the others are all rubber-tyred. The NS 74 and NS 93 stock are based off the MP 73 and MP 89 stock of the Paris Metro respectively.[5]
| Model | Manufacturer | Year Built | Operating Lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS 73 | Alstom | 1973 - 1981 | Lines 2 & 5 |
| NS 88 | Concarril | 1987 | Line 2 |
| NS 93 | Alstom | 1996 - 2003 | Lines 1, 2, & 5 |
| AS 02 | Alstom | 2004 - 2010 | Lines 4 & 4A |
| NS 04 | Alstom | 2006 - 2007 | Line 1 |
| NS 07 | CAF | 2009 - 2010 | Line 1 |
In bold are junction stations. In grey are stations currently under construction.
Line 1 West to east |
Line 2 North to south |
Line 3 Northwest to east |
Line 4 Northeast to southeast |
Line 4A South to southeast |
Line 5 Southwest to southeast |
Line 6 Southwest to northeast |
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Art is quite a present element in the stations. The station Universidad de Chile has a giant mural created by Mario Toral and represents the history of the country. Other pieces of art are in Baquedano (featuring modern art and a concert space), Bellas Artes (multimedia art), Santa Lucía (Portuguese azulejos, a gift made by the Lisbon Metro), La Moneda (with realistic painting representing typical landscape), and various other stations.
Metro is part of Transantiago, the integrated public transport system that serves the capital using also feeder and main bus routes. Transantiago works with an integrated fare system, which allows passengers to make bus-bus or bus-metro transfers on a two-hour time limit for the price of one ticket, using a contactless smart card called "Bip! card". These cards are available in all the ticketing offices in every station at a cost of $2.000 (approx. US$4.00), including $700 worth of credit. Tickets are sold from 6:00 to 23:00 Monday to Friday, 6:30 to 23:00 on Saturdays, and 8:00 to 22:30 on Sundays and holidays. Cards can be topped up to $20.000, and the credit only expires if the card it is not used in two years.
Metro de Santiago also sells single-trip tickets, but they do not allow transfers to buses. Fares depend on the time of the use of the system. The cost of a ticket in the Horario Punta (rush hour, 7:00-8:59 and 18:00-19:59) is $620 (approx. US$1.25); in the Horario Valle (off-peak hours, 6:30-6:59, 9:00-17:59, 20:00-20:44, and all day on weekends and holidays) is $570 (approximately US$1.15); and in the Horario Bajo (low-use hours, 6:00-6:29 and 20:45-23:00) is $520 (approximately US$1.05). Senior citizens (65 and older) and students holding concession cards pay $180 (US $0.35). Senior concession fare does not apply during rush hours.
On July 17th, 2011, former janitor for the Policía de Investigaciones (PDI) Israel Huerta opened fire with a 9mm pistol on several people in the last car of the metro train in the Plaza de Maipú station, killing three and wounding four others.
No motive has been established, though it is suspected that Huerta was affected by his mother's death several months before.[6]