- Caracas Metro
-
Caracas Metro
Info Locale Caracas Transit type Rapid transit Number of lines 4 Number of stations 48 Daily ridership 2,000,000 (FY 2010) Operation Began operation January 2, 1983 Operator(s) Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas Technical Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) The Caracas Metro (Spanish: Metro de Caracas) is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It is constructed and operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas,[1] a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who headed the project for more than thirty years since the early planning stages in the 1960s. Its motto is "Enlazamos nuevos destinos" (translated as either "Linking new destinies" or "We link new destinations").
The Metro, as it is known among city dwellers, has been a source of pride since its opening in 1983. Built mostly underground, it is one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in the country. The system is well designed and its clean stations have become architectural landmarks in the city.
Contents
Lines
It currently has the following subway lines in operation:
Line Section Extension Stations Train to Train Transfer Points Notes 1 Propatria ↔ Palo Verde 20.4 km 22 2 The original 8 station line began operations on Jan. 2, 1983 and expanded 3 more times, the latest and final rail expansion of this line occurred on Nov. 19, 1989. The Capitolio station was redesigned to allow passenger transfer by way of a passageway to and from the El Silencio station. Also the Plaza Venezuela station was twice remodelled, first to accommodate line 3 transfer (1994) and later a passageway to the Zona Rental station (2006). 2 El Silencio ↔ Zoológico 18.6 km 11 9 A short run service was opened Oct 4, 1987 and fully expanded to El Silencio on Nov 6, 1988. The original line use has changed, before Line 4 opened July 18, 2006 the train from the terminal station El Silencio served both Las Adjuntas and Zoológico terminal stations. 2 & 4 Las Adjuntas ↔ Zona Rental 23.1 km 14 10 Shortly after Line 4 was opened, it was co-named line 2, at this time Caracas Metro makes no distinction between the 2 separate lines other than that they serve distinct terminal stations. 3 Plaza Venezuela ↔ La Rinconada 10.4 km 9 2 The original line opened in Dec. 18, 1994 and operated between Plaza Venezuela and El Valle. In 2006 an extension to La Rinconada began to operate partially (Users had to transfer trains at El Valle stations). In 2010 three new stations were inaugurated and the line became fully operational between Plaza Venezuela and La Rinconada. These lines were built between 1978 and 2006, please note line 2 has 4 terminal stations. Part of Line 2 was constructed as Line 4, only after its inauguration it was renamed as Line 2. Also one must transfer on line 3 at El Valle station to continue the ride.
Construction of the first phase of Line 4 (now officially renamed line 2) started in 2001; this line runs parallel to Line 1 to the south, and connects Plaza Venezuela station on Line 1 with Capuchinos station on Line 2. It is expected to provide much needed relief to congestion along this segment of Line 1 where most of Metro's ridership is concentrated.
Commuter Rail Transfer Points
Inauguration of Caracas Metro by president Luis Herrera Campins, January 2, 1983.
Las Adjuntas station with Caracas Metro in foreground and Los Teques Metro in background
Metrobus unitLos Teques Metro
Construction was initiated from Caracas Metro Las Adjuntas station (now this expanded station with independent platforms connected by overhead walkways is common to both Metro systems) to the suburban city of Los Teques Alí Primera (formerly called El Tambor) station back in 2001 and completed November 3, 2006.
IFE
Line 3 station La Rinconada is the interchange station between the Caracas Metro and the Caracas Libertador Simón Bolívar IFE train station where connections can be made to and from Charallave and Cúa.
Guarenas / Guatire Metro
A new line with the intention of providing access to the eastern suburban communities. The project consists of 2 parts: First 4 new metro stations within Caracas; Second a 6 stationed light rail service, where both subsystems will transfer at the Guaraira Repano (Petare North) station. In December 2006 the government awarded a 2 billion dollar contract for the construction of a new line between a soon to be built Caracas Metro Parque del Este II station and the nearby twin cities Guarenas / Guatire with completion set for July 2012.
Services
Other than human transportation itself, the Caracas Metro system also provides diverse services to public:
Metrobus
The system possesses a complementary bus transit network called the Metrobus, which covers 20 urban routes and 4 suburban routes, with the aim of transporting users to other popular destinations in the Greater Caracas area that are not reached by subway, including bedroom communities close to the city.
External ticket sale
A modality implanted by the enterprise that consists in the wholesale of tickets used in the subway and in the Metrobús. An amount of tickets is sold to some middlemen, and these to authorized points of sale, such as kiosks and other commercial establishments. This allows subway users to buy tickets when not being inside a station, thus making them more widely available. The points of sale formally authorized for these operations are identified with the Metroseñal (Metro-sign). Tickets sold at such locals have a price discount of 3%.
Fares and types of tickets
The values for tickets depend mostly on the number of travels the user has planned. Thee are also special issues for students, and fares differ for the Metrobús usage. The types of tickets and their pricings are listed below.
Type Coverage Fare Notes Subway One Way One ride Bs.F 0.50 (0.23 USD) Valid for all stations Return Trip 2 rides Bs.F 0.90 (0.41 USD) Valid for all stations Multi-Abono 10 rides Bs.F 4.50 (2.09 USD) 1 free ride AND valid for all stations Metrobús Simple Integrated Subway and one urban Metrobús route ride Bs.F 0.70 (0.32 USD) Subway and one of the sub-urban Metrobús route ride Bs.F 0.90 (0.41 USD) Guarenas, La Rosa, San Antonio and Los Teques. Multi-Abono Integrated 10 rides, for
subway and MetrobúsBs.F 6.00 (2.79 USD) Not available for external sale Future expansions
Map of the Caracas Metro, with current and future or under construction lines and stations.Immediate plans include the completion of the second phase of Line 3, which runs from the El Valle station to La Rinconada, the latter being opened on October 2006, and now requires the addition of the intermediate stations (Los Jardines, Coche and Mercado) which were officially opened on January 9, 2010.
The next phases of the Line 2 extension (also known as Line 5 during construction phase) will be constructed and opened by 2012. The first project a 7.5 km extension includes 6 new stations Bello Monte, Las Mercedes, Tamanaco, Chuao, Bello Campo and Parque del Este II station. A separate project to be carried out simultaneously , a further 6.7 km Line 2 extension (also known as Line 5 or Metro Guarenas-Guatire Urban Route during the construction phase) with 4 additional stations will include the following stations Montecristo, Boleíta, El Marques and terminal/transfer station La Urbina (Petare Norte).
The La Urbina station will be also be Caracas Guarenas-Guatire light rail transfer point. This 31.4 km long has already been assigned funds and is expected to be completed by 2012.
Long range plans contemplate expanding the system with two more lines: Line 5 (15 km long) to southeast Caracas, and Line 6 (17 km) that would run parallel to Line 1 to the north.
Incidents
- On July 30, 2007, after 24 years without a single accident, a collision took place that took the life of 1 person and injured 11 others. It was on Line 1 at Plaza Sucre station at 9:09 a.m. when a train headed in the Propatria direction stopped on the platform. It was hit from behind by another travelling in the same direction. Although there has been much speculation about the cause of the accident, it is clear that there was a defect in the emergency braking system; the operational control centre from the La Hoyada station never activated the automatic braking mechanism when a train approaches a second train.
- On November 12, 2010, 33 people were arrested after staging a protest at Propatria Station over increasingly deteriorating service on the Metro.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Official Metro Caracas website". http://www.metrodecaracas.com.ve. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ "Venezuelan police arrest 33 people in metro protest". BBC News. November 13, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11749346. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
External links
- (Spanish) Metro de Caracas, C.A.
- UrbanRail > America > Venezuela > Metro de Caracas
- Allen Morrison Early Tramway systems in Caracas
- (Spanish) Caracas Metro track map
Urban Rail Systems in Venezuela Caracas Metro | Guarenas / Guatire Metro | Los Teques Metro | Maracaibo Metro | Valencia Metro
Landmarks of Caracas Museums Alejandro Otero Museum · Bolivarian Museum · Simón Bolívar birthplace house · Simón Bolívar Center · Children's Museum · Fine Arts Museum · La Estancia Art Center · National Gallery of Art · National Pantheon of Venezuela · Science Museum · Soto Sphere
Religion Culture and sport Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex · Poliedro de Caracas · Municipal Theater · National Theater · La Rinconada Hippodrome · University City · University Stadium · Brígido Iriarte StadiumOther Parque Central Complex · National Library of Venezuela · Parque del Este · Los Caobos Park · El Silencio · La Pastora · Plaza Bolívar · Plaza Francia · El Calvario · Los Próceres Monument · Plaza Venezuela · Plaza Alfredo Sadel · Humboldt Hotel · Nuevo Circo · Federal Capitol · Miraflores Palace · La Casona · Yellow House · Supreme Tribunal of Justice · Quinta de Anauco · Palace of the Academies · Carmelitas Post Office · Los Conductores del País Mural · Villa Planchart · Caracas Metro · Caracas Aerial Tramway
Categories:- Caracas
- Rapid transit in Venezuela
- Underground rapid transit in Venezuela
- Railway lines opened in 1983
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
