Valparaíso Metro
Encyclopedia
Metro Valparaíso is the metro
system serving the urban conglomeration of Gran Valparaíso, Chile
, connecting the cities of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar
, Quilpué
, Villa Alemana and Limache, this last one, outside of the conurbation. It is administered by the company Metro Regional de Valparaíso S.A., a subsidiary of the Chilean state-owned train company Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado
. It was inaugurated on November 23, 2005 and began operations the following day. Together with Concepción's Biotren
and the much bigger Santiago Metro
they are the three subway systems in Chile
.
Valparaíso had an interurban passenger train system since the 19th century, but it could not be called a metro
due to infrequent train service and a number of other shortcomings. In 1999 construction began on the current system, tearing down the old stations and building new ones with an homologous design shared between them. In Viña del Mar
, a tunnel more than 5 kilometers in length was constructed. The new trains specially made for the new system arrived in Chile February 22, 2005 and the old system was decommissioned on June 30 of the same year.
train sets manufactured by Alstom
, France
operate the service. Trains have a blue and white livery
.
Services operate daily between 06:30-22:30 on weekdays; 07:30-22.30 on Saturday, and 08:00-22:15 on Sunday and public holidays. Services between Puerto and Sargento Aldea are most frequent on the line at 6-minute frequency. Services covering the whole line have a 12 minute frequency, and 18 minutes in weekends and public holidays.
There are also available concession cards for students, senior citizens, and disabled or handicapped
people. Children below one metre height travel for free.
Customer service and information office is located in Viña del Mar station.
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system serving the urban conglomeration of Gran Valparaíso, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, connecting the cities of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
, Quilpué
Quilpué, Chile
Quilpué is a city and capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is part of the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area...
, Villa Alemana and Limache, this last one, outside of the conurbation. It is administered by the company Metro Regional de Valparaíso S.A., a subsidiary of the Chilean state-owned train company Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado
Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado
Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado is the national railway of Chile.The track gauge is Indian gauge in the south and metre gauge in the north.-History:...
. It was inaugurated on November 23, 2005 and began operations the following day. Together with Concepción's Biotren
Biotren
The similar system for Metro of Concepción or Biotren is basic at grade urban commuter rail system that covers a big part of the city of Concepción, capital of the region of Bío-Bío, also known as Gran Concepción or Concepción Metropolitan Area, both synonyms of "city" according to the urbanistic...
and the much bigger Santiago Metro
Santiago Metro
Metro de Santiago is South America's most extensive metro system with 5 lines, 108 stations and 103 kilometres of track 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...
they are the three subway systems in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
History
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
due to infrequent train service and a number of other shortcomings. In 1999 construction began on the current system, tearing down the old stations and building new ones with an homologous design shared between them. In Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
, a tunnel more than 5 kilometers in length was constructed. The new trains specially made for the new system arrived in Chile February 22, 2005 and the old system was decommissioned on June 30 of the same year.
Architecture
Between the stations of Puerto and Recreo, the train runs at street level, bordering the coast, parallel to Errázuriz and España Avenues. Then the trains descend into a tunnel below Viana and Álvarez Avenues, and four stations in this sector are underground. The train exits the underground in the industrial sector of El Salto, and the train continues along a winding path to the inner metropolitan area.Fleet and operations
27 single-deck multiple-car X'TrapolisX'Trapolis
The X'Trapolis train is an electric passenger train, designed by the transport technology company Alstom. The trains have high floors, and are available in both single- and double-deck models.Models include:...
train sets manufactured by Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
operate the service. Trains have a blue and white livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
.
Services operate daily between 06:30-22:30 on weekdays; 07:30-22.30 on Saturday, and 08:00-22:15 on Sunday and public holidays. Services between Puerto and Sargento Aldea are most frequent on the line at 6-minute frequency. Services covering the whole line have a 12 minute frequency, and 18 minutes in weekends and public holidays.
Ticketing and fares
Metro Valparaíso uses a smart contactless card as unique payment method. Its price as of September 2010 is Ch$1.200 (USD 2,40) and its sold in all of the stations. The card needs to be scanned both entering and leaving the stations, since there are different fares depending on the length of the journey and the time of day it takes place. There are 5 Zones and 3 time-of-day fares. Tickets go from Ch$204 (USD 0,40) in low-usage hours within Zone 1, to Ch$716 (USD 1,50) in rush-hour travelling through the 5 current fare zones, that is, from Valparaíso to Limache. Entering and leaving the same station will result in charging the highest fare.There are also available concession cards for students, senior citizens, and disabled or handicapped
Handicapped
Handicapped or handicap may refer to:*Handicapping, various methods of leveling a sport or game**Golf handicap, a sport-specific handicapping method**Go handicaps**Handicaps in shogi**Asian handicap, bookmakers technique to level odds...
people. Children below one metre height travel for free.
Customer service and information office is located in Viña del Mar station.
See also
- List of metro systems
- TransantiagoTransantiagoTransantiago is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertaken by a developing country according to the World Resources Institute....
- List of Valparaíso metro stations