Line D of the
Buenos Aires Underground
The Buenos Aires Underground ( es, Subterráneo de Buenos Aires, links=no), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Pl ...
runs from
Catedral to
Congreso de Tucumán
() is a musical band from Chile. Founded in 1969 in Quilpué, it is a highly acclaimed band with over 50 years of experience fusioning and developing Latin American music.
Began their career in the late 1960s linked to New Chilean Song movemen ...
. The line opened on 3 June 1937 and has been expanded to the north several times. The line is currently 11 km long and has 16 stations, while running approximately parallel to the city's coastline.
History
Line D was the second line to be built by the Compañía Hispano Argentina de Obras Públicas y Finanzas (CHADOPyF, Hispanic-Argentine Company for Public Works and Finances), following the construction of
Line C in 1934. Construction began in 1935 and the first part of the line was inaugurated in 1937 and ran 1.7 km from
Catedral (still the current terminus) to
Tribunales. Three years later, the section which brought the line to
Plaza Italia in
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...
was completed, bringing the length of the line to 6.5 km.
The line was not properly extended until 1993 when it was extended to
Ministro Caranza, a station named after the
Radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
* Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...
politician. Further extensions occurred in the 1990s, beginning in 1997 with the opening of
Olleros
Olleros District is one of twelve districts of the province Huaraz in Peru.
Geography
The Cordillera Blanca traverses the district. Some of the highest peaks of the district are listed below:
* Ararankha
* Arway
* Kashan
* Puma Waqanqa
* Ru ...
and
José Hernández José Hernández may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* José Hernández (writer) (1834–1886), Argentine writer
* Pepe Hern (José Hernández Bethencourth, 1927–2009), American actor
* José Hernández, American singer (born 1940), better known ...
, then
Juramento in 1999, and finally
Congreso de Tucumán
() is a musical band from Chile. Founded in 1969 in Quilpué, it is a highly acclaimed band with over 50 years of experience fusioning and developing Latin American music.
Began their career in the late 1960s linked to New Chilean Song movemen ...
in 2000, where it currently terminates.
Over the decades it has been discussed numerous times whether to extend the line out to the limits of the city proper. The last of these proposals came forward in 2002 which would have seen an additional two stations added to the line. However, this was later abandoned since the line was already at full capacity after the opening of
Congreso de Tucumán
() is a musical band from Chile. Founded in 1969 in Quilpué, it is a highly acclaimed band with over 50 years of experience fusioning and developing Latin American music.
Began their career in the late 1960s linked to New Chilean Song movemen ...
station. In June 2015 the
Metrobus Cabildo line opened, connecting Line D from its terminus at Congreso de Tucumán to
Vicente López district in
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adj ...
, some kilometres away from the city limits, essentially making the extension of Line D redundant. Line D is the only line in the network which will not be extended as part of the most recent expansion plan.
Until the privatisation of the underground in the 1990s, Line D was identified by the red colour; whilst
Line B used green.
Museum Stations
Cultural activities occur at the Line D Juramento, Congreso de Tucumán and Olleros stations. These stations can be visited to see the exhibitions provided by the city's and national museums, education institutions and other civil society organisations.
“The objective of the museum-stations is to get the population acquainted with the huge cultural and historical patrimony that the City owns, thus turning the subway network, a massive transport medium, into an ideal diffusion agent. The lending of the facilities is absolutely free for the museum and institutions that wish to exhibit their activities or part of the historical or cultural patrimony they treasure”.
Rolling stock

Line D was originally served by
Siemens-Schuckert Orenstein & Koppel rail rolling stock, and then by
CAF cars. In 1999, cars from the
Nagoya Municipal Subway
The is a rapid transit system serving Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture in Japan. It consists of six lines that cover of route and serve 87 stations. Approximately 90% of the subway's total track length is underground.
The subway system ...
were purchased second hand from
Japan and used on the line. In 2001, numerous
Alstom Metropolis
The Alstom Metropolis is a family of electric multiple units designed and produced by the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom. It is designed for high capacity rapid transit or metro rail infrastructure systems. Trains can be run in various ...
100 Series cars were purchased and built in Brazil and Argentina with the intention of incorporating them into
Line A, however they were ultimately put into service on Line D where they remain to this day. More 100 Series cars were purchased up until 2009, making a total of 96 cars.
The remaining Nagoya cars were moved to
Line C in 2007 and replaced with the 100 Series cars and with
Fiat-Materfer cars. To make the rolling stock more uniform, 24 more modern
300 Series Alstom Metropolis cars were ordered in 2013 to replace the Materfer cars on the line, which meant that the line was entirely composed of 120
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Av ...
cars. In September 2015, at a conference in Brazil, the head of SBASE gave a presentation in which the number of new cars to be purchased for the line was 84 instead of 30.
[Plan de modernización del Subterráneo de Buenos Aires]
– Buenos Aires Ciudad, September 2015. By 2016, the final figure had been fixed at 60 new cars, which meant that the was composed of 156 Alstom Metropolis cars by 2017.
Gallery
File:Subterráneo Buenos Aires-Línea D-Tribunales.jpg, Tribunales station entrance
File:Magazine stand in Plaza Italia station.jpg, A magazine stand at Plaza Italia station
File:Estación 9 de Julio de la línea D de subtes por D2000.JPG, 9 de Julio station
File:Coche 3 - Linea D.jpg, Interior of 100 Series rolling stock
File:Coche 2 Linea D Subte.jpg, Alstom train
References
External links
Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (Official Page)Metrovías S.A. Subte Operator (Official Page)Subterráneos de Buenos Aires, D LineSystem map
{{Buenos Aires Transit
Buenos Aires Underground
Railway lines opened in 1937
Buenos Aires – Line D
1937 establishments in Argentina