Santiago Metro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Locale | Santiago |
|---|---|
| Transit type | Rapid transit<tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">Began operation</th><td>September 15 1975</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">System length</th><td>73,1 km</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">No. of lines</th><td>5</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">No. of stations</th><td>82 (19 under construction)</td></tr> |
| Operator | Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro S.A. |
Image:Letrero Metro Estacion Militar.jpg Metro de Santiago is the metro system serving the capital city of Santiago, Chile. It is a network of five lines connecting a total of 85 stations, some of which are still under construction. The system carries around one million passengers per day.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origin and first project
Popular, modern, secure and efficient, it serves a city of 5.5 million inhabitants. Since its opening in 1975, el Metro has changed the city; it is one of Chile's most important construction projects.
The rapid growth of the population in the city (in 1920, 507,296 habitants; in 1940, 1,073,699 habitants) was the principal factor in the birth of the idea. The first plan was in 1944, but only in 1968 did the works begin. The original idea was 5 lines:
- Line 1, between Las Rejas and Los Leones by the Alameda and Providencia Avenue.
- Line 2, between Conchalí and San Miguel by Vivaceta, Panamerican Highway and Gran Avenida.
- Line 3, between Mapocho and Ñuñoa, by Ahumada and the avenues Matta and Irarrázaval.
- Line 4, between Estacion Central (Alameda) and San Bernardo, following the Railway to the South
- Line 5, between Los Cerrillos and Ñuñoa, using the Beltway Railway.
[edit] Extension
On September 15 1975, the Metro de Santiago was opened between the stations 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 Heroes and 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. The 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 to connect Puente Alto and the southeast of the City to the Red de Metro.
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 to Maipú, one of the municipalities that is farther away from the center of Santiago.
At this moment, the metro consists of four lines which total 64.4 kilometres and a total of 69 stations and five transfer stations: Los Héroes, Baquedano, Santa Ana, Tobalaba and Vicente Valdés; shortly, there will be a total of 31 new stations. The table shows the evolution of the Metro de Santiago:
[edit] Stations
In bold are junction stations. In italics are stations currently under construction.
[edit] Art in the Metro
The Metro does not only function as a transport system: it also has a cultural, artistic and social function.
Art is an important 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), República (with realistic painting representing typical landscape), and various other stations.
[edit] Pricing and working hours
The Metro de Santiago sells tickets from 6:00 to 22:30 Monday through Saturday and 8:00 to 22:30 on Sundays. The fare depends on the time of the use of the Metro. The cost of a ticket in the unitario (rush hour, 7:15-8:59:59 and 18:00-19:29:59) is $460 (US$ 0.85) or $440 with the Multivia card and in the unitario rebajado (6:30-7:14:59, 9:00-17:59:59, 19:30-22:30 and Sat–Sun) is $370 (US $0.69) or $350 if using the Multivia. Senior citizens (65 and older) and school and university students pay $120 (US $0.22).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Metro S.A.
- (English) UrbanRail.net/Santiago
- Tarjeta Bip!
- Flickr Group about Chilean metros
- Plan and Authority of Transit of Santiago de Chile, Transantiagode:Metro de Santiago
es:Metro de Santiago fr:Métro de Santiago du Chili fi:Santiagon metro sv:Metro (Santiago)
