Line 10 (Metrovalencia)

Line 10
An FGV 4200 Series Tram at Amado Granell-Montolivet station  [ es ]
Overview
Status	Opened
Owner	Generalitat Valenciana
Locale	Valencia, Spain
Termini	Alacant Natzaret
Stations	8
Color on map	Light green
Service
Type	Tram
System	Metrovalencia
Route number	10
Operator(s)	FGV
History
Opened	17 May 2022
Technical
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
Route map Legend to Marítim Alacant  [ es ] (at Bailén) to Torrent Avinguda Russafa  [ es ] Amado Granell-Montolivet  [ es ] Quatre Carreres  [ es ] Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justícia  [ es ] Oceanogràfic  [ es ] Moreres  [ es ] Natzaret  [ es ] This diagram: view talk edit

Line 10 is a tram line which forms part of Metrovalencia in the city of Valencia, Spain. It opened on 17 May 2022. ^{[1] [2]} From 2007 until 2014, the line was designated as line 2. However, in November 2014, this designation was given to a branch of the existing Line 1, effective from April 2015. ^[3] The line was then referred to as 'T2' until 1 March 2018 when it was decided to name it Line 10, to avoid confusion with existing metro lines. ^[4]

The first sections of the line had been built by 2007, with the part north of the city centre used by Line 6. A lack of available funds as a result of the Spanish economic crisis ^[5] led to work being halted on the remaining sections. In June 2017, work resumed, with funding from the European Union and regional government used to complete the southern half of the line. The central and northern parts of the line were suspended until 2023 when the new regional government announced plans to revive the project.

Route

The route originally planned included a section between Xàtiva and Tavernes Blanques which has been suspended indefinitely. ^[6] The suspended section was to pass through the district of Orriols, following the current Line 6 as far as Alfauir station, entering the north-south tunnel at Pont de Fusta. Underground stops were planned in Valencia's old town at the Serrano Towers (under the old riverbed), Carme and the central market (Mercat station) before reaching the current main train station at Xàtiva.

The completed route begins at the future central station. It continues underground along Avenida del Regne de València, turning right into Luís de Santángel and Amado Granell with an underground station at Germans Maristes, reaching the surface again near the crossroads of Amado Granell/Avenida de la Plata. From there it runs on the surface to the City of Arts and Sciences, and the Natzaret neighbourhood. ^[7]

History

The completed Natzaret tram stop, the terminus of the line.

Construction began in January 2007 ^[8] and the first sections of the line north of the city centre were completed later that year and put into use as part of Line 6 on 28 September 2007. The remaining sections were intended to be completed by 2010. ^[7] However, work was eventually halted as funding ran out. In an interview in December 2011, Isabel Bonig, the regional minister responsible, stated that completion would be impossible without external help, for example from the central government. The cost of completing the remaining sections was estimated at 160 million euros. ^[9]

As of May 2012, 5.2 kilometres of the southern route had been completed between Natzaret and Calle Alicante, near the main train station. This included a 2.3 km underground section. However, a half kilometre of overground track in this section had not yet been completed, including the Germans Maristes station. Between Calle Alicante and the Serranos Towers, only the Mercat station had been completed in the old town. ^[8]

In May 2012, accidents suffered by pedestrians on the metro bridge over the railway line near the district of Natzaret and flooding of the tunnel already completed on Avenida Regne de València forced the Council of infrastructure to ask for tenders for the maintenance, inspection and cleaning of the sections already completed. The cost of this for six months was estimated to be 264,359 euros plus VAT. ^{[10] [11]} In November 2012, Bonig admitted that it was doubtful that Line 2 would be completed in 2013 as the required funds were not yet available. ^[12] In January 2014, she said that completion of the line was a financial impossibility before the Valencian regional elections scheduled to be held by May 2015. ^[13]

In July 2015, it was estimated that 190 million euros would be required to complete the line. The cost of maintaining the sections already built was 400,000 euros per year. ^[14]

As of October 2015, spending on the line totalled 195 million euro. 51 million had been spent on the Mercat station with the rest on the tram line between the proposed Natzaret station and Calle Alicante. In that month, the regional government began removing the rails which had been installed on the surface to avoid traffic accidents. ^[15] To complete the Natzaret to Calle Alicante section, 100 million euro was needed as of August 2015. ^[16]

On 11 June 2017, Valencian regional president Ximo Puig announced that work on the southern half of the line between Natzaret and Xàtiva would resume. ^[6] The regional government will provide €30 million of funding, with another €20 million of funds coming from the European Union. ^[6] Only one station on the northern half of the line, Mercat Central, was completed at a cost of 27 million euros, but remains a ghost station. In March 2021, the director of Valencian railways said that the sections north of Alacant station had been abandoned and that a decision would be taken on how to use the Mercat Central station. ^[17] This left Line 10 unconnected with the rest of the network. To improve accessibility, the regional government announced that a foot tunnel would be built between Xàtiva and Alacant stations, predicted to open in early 2024. ^[18]

The 2023 regional election resulted in a change of government. The new People's Party-led government announced its intent to complete the northern parts of the line. The newly planned route is to connect with the unused Mercat Central station before linking up with the existing station of Pont de Fusta and passing through the districts of Orriols, Torrefiel, Benicalap and Ciutat Fallera before terminating at Empalme Station. ^[19]

Passenger numbers

In the first year of operations 1.7 million people used the line. Alacant station was used by 488,204 passengers, Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justícia by 299,898, Quatre Carreres by 262,038; Natzaret by 202,658, Amado Granell-Montolivet by 182,791, Russafa by 142,082, Oceanogràfic by 60,887, and Moreres by 46,147 passengers. ^[20]

References

1. "La T2 del metro de Valencia cambia de nombre". Levante-EMV . 29 April 2022.
2. "Valencia celebrates with new line 10". Tramways & Urban Transit . No. 1015. UK: Mainspring Enterprises Ltd. July 2022. p. 244. ISSN   1460-8324.
3. "Así serán las nuevas líneas de Metrovalencia". ABC . 27 November 2014.
4. "La T2 del metro de Valencia cambia de nombre". Las Provincias. EFE. 1 March 2018.
5. Álvarez, Francisco (21 May 2012). "Tranvía a la modernidad". El Mundo.
6. Zafra, Ignacio (12 June 2017). "La Generalitat reactiva las obras de la línea de metro T2 de Valencia, paralizadas desde 2011" [The Generalitat reactivates work on Valencia's T2 metro line, paralised since 2011]. El País (in Spanish). Spain. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
7. "Metro Valencia". Urbanrail.net. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
8. "La Generalitat gastará más de 1.500 euros al día en mantener la línea de metro sin trenes". Levante-EMV. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
9. "PSPV y Compromís exigen a Barberá y Bonig que pidan dinero para la línea 2 del metro". Levante-EMV. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
10. "Las quejas y caídas fuerzan a gastar un millón en la línea del metro sin estrenar". Las Provincias. 24 May 2012.
11. "Sacan a licitación por 264.359 euros el mantenimiento de la línea T2". ABC. 23 May 2012.
12. "Montoro niega 37 millones financiar metro". Levante EMT. 8 November 2012.
13. "Bonig: 'Acabar la línea 2 del metro de Valencia es imposible e inviable esta legislatura'". El Mundo . 13 January 2014.
14. "Hemeroteca: La línea 2, 'navegable' en Russafa". Levante-EMV. 21 July 2015.
15. "La retirada de raíles certifica el final de la línea 2" [The removal of rails marks the end of Line 2]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 25 October 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
16. "La finalización de la línea entre Nazaret y el centro necesita cien millones" [100 million is needed to finish the line between Natzaret and the centre]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 31 August 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
17. Navarro Castelló, Carlos (11 March 2021). "FGV no contempla que la Línea 10 del metro atraviese el centro de València y busca alternativas para la estación fantasma del Mercat Central" [FGV doesn't plan to continue Line 10 through the centre of Valencia and is looking for alternatives for the Mercat Central ghost station]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Spain. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
18. "Las obras del túnel peatonal de la Línea 10 del metro empezarán este verano". Las Provincias. EFE. 9 April 2022.
19. Martínez Bello, Celia (13 February 2024). "Así se perfila el futuro de Metrovalencia hasta 2030: prolongación de la L10 y nuevas líneas 11 y 12" [The future of Metrovalencia by 2030: extension of Line 10 and new lines 11 and 12] (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
20. "Más de 1,7 millones de viajeros utilizan la L10 de Metrovalencia en su primer año" [1More than 1.7 million passengers used Line 10 in its first year]. Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.