Málaga Metro
| Málaga Metro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
 Ciudad de la Justicia station | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | Metro de Málaga | ||
| Owner | Junta de Andalucía | ||
| Locale | Málaga, Andalusia, Spain | ||
| Transit type | Light rail/semi-metro | ||
| Number of lines | 2 (operating) 4 (planned) | ||
| Number of stations | 19 | ||
| Daily ridership | 41,000 daily (March 2023)[1] | ||
| Annual ridership | 18 million (2024)[2] | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 30 July 2014[3] | ||
| Operator(s) | Agencia de Obra Pública de la Junta de Andalucía | ||
| Number of vehicles | 18 CAF Urbos 3 | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 13.2 km (8.2 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
| Top speed | 70 km/h (43 mph) | ||
| |||
The Málaga Metro (Spanish: Metro de Málaga) is a semi-metro network in Málaga, Spain. Its two lines were inaugurated on 30 June 2014 and connect the city centre with the western suburbs. As of 2025, the network operates 13.2 km (8.2 mi) of route. There are 19 stations, 14 of which are underground while 5 are surface-level light rail stops.
It consists of 18 Urbos 3 light rail vehicles (LRVs) manufactured by the Spanish company CAF. All vehicles are fully covered by CCTV and have air conditioning. 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.[4]
If Málaga Metro is considered a metro system, then it was the second metro system to be built in Andalusia, after Seville Metro. Cosenquently, it would be the sixth-busiest metro system in Spain: it carried over 18 million passengers in 2024.[2]
History
[edit]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 500 m (1,640 ft) apart to allow a high level of accessibility. Funding for the project would come from both the local and the Spanish governments. The project was finally approved in April 2005, with construction starting in June 2006. Both lines were inaugurated on 30 July 2014.[3]
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 1.7 km (1.1 mi) 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 that severely struck the region.[5] 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.[1]
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.[3] This new underground section will be 1.8 km (1.1 mi) 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.[6]
There were several plans to expand the system to the eastern and northern districts (as Line 3 and 4 respectively). However, these projects have met the opossition of the mayor of the city.[7]
Lines
[edit]
| Line | Termini | Length | Stations | Avg. distance between stations (m) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Atarazanas | Andalucía Tech | 7.5 km (4.7 mi) | 13 | 639 |
|
Guadalmedina | Palacio de los Deportes | 5.7 km (3.5 mi) | 8 | 696 |
| Total: | 13.2 km (8.2 mi) | 19 | |||
Route
[edit]Both lines run underground in the city centre. Line 1 goes from there to the University of Málaga. Between Universidad station and the Andalucía Tech terminus, it runs on the surface,[4] which includes some at-grade intersections.[8]
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.[9][10]
Network Map
[edit]
Sources
[edit]- ^ a b "Spain's Malaga Metro breaks passengers records on first day of arrival to city centre". The Olive Press. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ a b Diario Sur. "El metro de Málaga alcanza el récord histórico de los 18 millones de viajeros antes de terminar el año".
- ^ a b c Puente, Fernando (30 July 2014). "Malaga light metro network opens". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
- ^ a b "Viajar en metro paso a paso" [Travel on the metro step by step] (in Spanish). Metro Málaga. 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
- ^ "Malaga opens 1.7 km metro extension". Railway Pro. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ La Opinión de Málaga. "Así será el comienzo de la obra del metro al Hospital Civil".
- ^ El Mundo. "Fomento descarta la línea 3 del metro y defiende el Cercanías hasta La Malagueta".
- ^ "Malaga metro problems - before work's even started". euroweeklynews.com. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
- ^ "Metro Málaga reaches the inner city centre". 27 March 2023.
- ^ "The Malaga Metro will free the Avenida de Andalucía in early July after almost ten years". Malaga Ahoy. 28 May 2020.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Málaga Metro at Wikimedia Commons
Rapid transit in Europe | |
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Italics: under construction. | |
