Line 5 is an underground

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

line in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, part of the

Milan Metro The Milan Metro () is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of five lines with a total network length of , and a total of List of Milan Metro stations, 125 stations (+2 in con ...

. The line, also known as M5 or the Lilac Line (''Linea Lilla'' in Italian), is long and goes through the city from the north to the north-west. It opened in stages between 2013 and 2015. The line operates using Hitachi Rail Italy Driverless Metro vehicles.

Route

The line is fully underground, with a total length of and serving 19 stations. It runs from Bignami to the north of the city to San Siro Stadio to the south-west in less than 26 minutes.

Map

Operation

The line is equipped with a

third-rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

power supply at a voltage of 750 V in

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...

. It is the first line in Milan with a fully automatic management and driving system, as well as the first to have

platform screen doors Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail ...

. The entire line is controlled and managed by a single control centre, located at the depot at the Bignami terminus. The line is connected to the rest of the network by a track between Isola and Garibaldi FS stations, which allows trains to reach the M2 line and then the Precotto depot on the M1 line, the closest one that is able to carry out repairs. The platforms and trains are long, compared to 110 of the other three lines of the Milan Metro. However, thanks to very high frequencies the passenger capacity is high at 24,000 passengers per hour. Although the complete automation allows a maximum frequency of one train every 90 seconds (75 in some cases), the current maximum frequency is 150 seconds due to the limited number of trains available.

Management

The company responsible for construction works and operation is ''Metro 5 S.p.A.'', a consortium of: *

Ansaldo STS Hitachi Rail STS SpA (from ''Hitachi Rail Signalling and Transportation Systems'') or Hitachi Rail STS (previously Ansaldo STS) is an Italian transportation company owned by Hitachi with a global presence in the field of railway signalling and in ...

(24.6%) *

Astaldi Astaldi S.p.A. is an Italian multinational major construction company based in Rome. The group is active in the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, electromechanical engineering and transportation. Significant subsidiaries incl ...

(23.3%) *

Azienda Trasporti Milanesi ("Milanese Transports Company JSC"; ATM) is the municipal public transport company of Milan and 46 surrounding metropolitan municipalities. It operates 5 metro lines (see Milan Metro), 17 tram lines (see Trams in Milan), 122 bus lines and 4 ...

(20.0%) * Torno Global Contracting (15.4%) *

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

(9.4%) *

AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...

(7.3%) ''Metro 5'' covered 40% of global construction costs, and will operate the line for 27 years from the opening.

Rolling stock

Linea M5 - lilla - Milano - treni ansaldo - 02

The line uses 21 four-car

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

driverless trains from AnsaldoBreda (now

Hitachi Rail Italy Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...

), part of the AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro system. Classified Series 5500, they were designed by Giugiaro, and are about long, wide, with seating for 96 and a maximum capacity 536 passengers. The systems are controlled by a fully automated computer system, located at the control and maintenance center.

Future extensions

A northern extension from Bignami to

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

has been approved. It will consist of 11 new stations and the opening is foreseen in 2027.

References

External links

Metro5 – official websiteAzienda Trasporti Milanesi

News about Milan Metro 5
{{Underground rapid transit in the European Union 5 Railway lines opened in 2013