Tren de Gran Canaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Unknown (probably suspended) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Cabildo insular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Gran Canaria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini |
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Stations | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Autoridad Única del Transporte | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Planned opening | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 57 km (35 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tren de Gran Canaria (TGC, the Train of Gran Canaria) is a proposed railway on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is planned to run from the island's capital, Las Palmas along the eastern coast of the island, serving Gran Canaria Airport and terminating in Maspalomas. First announced in 2004, construction on the line has not yet commenced due to funding difficulties. [1]
Between 1893 and 1944 steam trams ran between Las Palmas and Puerto de La Luz. The line was electrified in 1910, although the line reverted to steam traction in 1944, when trams were hauled by a steam locomotive known as La Pepa. A reproduction of this locomotive is now on display in the Elder Museum in Las Palmas. [2]
A plan to build a north–south rail link began with the building of an experimental tren vertebrado ("vertebrate train") track in Las Palmas between 1972 and 1974. The transit system, designed by Basque engineer Alejandro Goicoechea, consisted of an unusual low-profile train running on elevated concrete tracks through Las Palmas. The project was unsuccessful and was dismantled within a year. [3]
Plans to develop a rapid transit railway line on Gran Canaria linking the capital with San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the south were put forward in the early 21st century by the Gran Canaria Cabildo. The line would run along the eastern coast and connect Las Palmas with the airport. [4] In 2004 the Spanish Ministry of Development put a contract out to competitive tender for a feasibility study on a 50 km (31 mi) railway line from Las Palmas to Maspalomas. [1]
Originally, it was planned to construct the railway in phases, with an initial phase consisting of a line running between San Telmo Park in Las Palmas and El Veril Beach on the edge of Playa del Inglés. In future phases the line could be extended northwards into central Las Palmas, with a terminus at Santa Catalina park, and at the southern end the line would be extended through Maspalomas to terminate at Meloneras. In 2008 the Cabildo announced its intention to construct the full route from Las Palmas to Meloneras in a single phase. [4]
In 2009 the plans were approved by the Autonomous Government of the Canary Islands, and a planned operational date was given as 2015. The Cabildo's Autoridad Única del Transporte de Gran Canaria formed a public company called Ferrocarriles de Gran Canaria to manage the construction project. [5] The total cost of the scheme was estimated at €1,500 million. [6]
The Cabildo applied to Spain's central Government for funding for the project, but the scheme did not progress due to budgetary constraints. [7]
In June 2019, the local government announced that it had completed drafting the projects for the route, and the cost of the scheme was estimated at €1,650 million. 85% of the needed funds were planned to be received from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), while the remaining 15% would come from local and regional government funding and private finance. [8] However, that money was never received.
Between 2009 and 2023, the Spanish Ministry of Development and the Cabildo spent €32 million on preparatory work for the new railway line. [9]
In 2024, the Cabildo announced that it had decided to prioritize the construction of the section between Aeropuerto and Vecindario. This first phase will cost €390 million and will include train depots and workshops (in Vecindario), as well as a wind farm to generate energy for the trains. It is expected that €190 million will be provided by the Connecting Europe Facility, with the remaining €200 million coming from state and local governments. [10] In June 2024, it was announced that the local government hopes that construction of the train will begin before the end of 2027. [11]
The planned 57-kilometre (35 mi) railway line would run between Las Palmas in the north and Meloneras in the south of the island. The line is planned to have 11 stations, including an underground station at Gran Canaria Airport. Much of the line is planned to run in tunnels, with the section in the capital running entirely underground as far as the suburb of Jinámar. [5] [12]
According to plans published by the Cabildo, stations are planned in Santa Catalina Park, San Telmo Park, the island Hospital, Jinámar, Telde, Gran Canaria Airport, Carrizal, Arinaga, Vecindario, Playa del Inglés and Meloneras. An additional station at Juan Grande has been proposed by the mayor of San Bartolome de Tirajana. Journey times between Las Palmas and Meloneras would be 25–30 minutes. [4]
The trains that will to operate on the Gran Canaria railway are planned to be a hybrid of a commuter train and a high speed train. Initially, ten 100-metre (330 ft) units of five carriages will operate on the line with a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph), each capable of carrying 500 passengers. Eventually, 13 units will operate on the line. [13]
In 2009, a full-scale mockup of the proposed Gran Canaria train was put on public display in San Telmo park, Las Palmas. [6]
The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish region, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.
Las Palmas, officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Gran Canaria, also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa and is part of Spain. As of 2023 the island had a population of 862,893 that constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of the island, is the biggest city of the Canary Islands and the ninth of Spain.
Santa Lucía de Tirajana is a town and a Spanish municipality in the south-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria, in the Province of Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands.
San Bartolomé de Tirajana is a village and a Spanish municipality in the south-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. With an area of 333.13 km2 (128.62 sq mi), San Bartolomé de Tirajana is the largest municipality in area on the island as well as the Canary Islands. The population is 56,698 (2013).
Maspalomas is a tourist resort in the south of the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, stretching from Bahía Feliz in the east to Meloneras in the west, including the resort towns of San Agustín, Playa del Inglés and San Fernando. Maspalomas constitutes the southernmost part of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and of the island.
David García Santana is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central defender for UD Tamaraceite.
The Maspalomas Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse at the southern end of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary archipelago. It lies at one end of the Maspalomas beach, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the resort town centre, next to the area known as the Maspalomas Dunes.
The El Maipés necropolis is an ancient burial site near Agaete on the Spanish island of Grand Canary, province of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands of the west coast of Africa.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain.
Vecindario is a town in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana in the south-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria, in the Province of Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands. The population of Vecindario was estimated at 80 235 inhabitants in the 2023 census. Its current president is D. Francisco José García López.
The Yumbo Centrum is a shopping complex on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is situated in the tourist resort of Playa Del Ingles, between Avenida de Tirajana and Avenida de España.
The Autoridad Única del Transporte de Gran Canaria is the transport authority on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is responsible for the management and coordination of public transport across the island. TGC is owned by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and operates in conjunction with the municipalities of Gran Canaria, including the municipal councils of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Lucía de Tirajana.
The Elder Museum of Science and Technology is a museum in Las Palmas, the capital city of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.
In the run up to the 2019 Spanish local elections, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in local entities in Spain. Results of such polls for municipalities and island cabildos in the Canary Islands are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous local elections, held on 24 May 2015, to the day the next elections were held, on 26 May 2019.
Meloneras is a tourist town on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, part of the town of Maspalomas in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
In the run up to the 2015 Spanish local elections, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in local entities in Spain. Results of such polls for municipalities and island cabildos in the Canary Islands are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous local elections, held on 22 May 2011, to the day the next elections were held, on 24 May 2015.
The GC-3, known officially as Circunvalación de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a superhighway in Gran Canaria. It connects the two trunk roads GC-1 and GC-2 over a length of 13 km (8.1 mi). A good half of the north-south traffic on the island is now handled by the GC-3, which significantly relieves the Avenida Marítima and the Túnel del Ingeniero Julio Luengo.
In the run up to the 2023 Spanish local elections, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in local entities in Spain. Results of such polls for municipalities and island cabildos in the Canary Islands are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous local elections, held on 26 May 2019, to the day the next elections were held, on 28 May 2023.