Tenerife Tram () is a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

service located on the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, one of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is operated by Metropolitano de Tenerife, a limited company now 100% owned by Cabildo de Tenerife. Service started on 2 June 2007 over a route that linked the Intercambiador in

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

with Avenida de la Trinidad in La Laguna. A second line between La Cuesta and Tíncer opened in 2009 (connecting with Line 1 at Hospital Universitario and El Cardonal). It is the only existing tramway or train in the Canary Islands.

History

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

(tram) system had once existed on Tenerife. It was inaugurated on 7 April 1901, with a service that began in Santa Cruz and finished in La Laguna. It was designed by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

engineer and military man Julio Cervera Baviera. In 1904 the line was extended to Tacoronte. In 1927 the Cabildo of Tenerife took control of the operating company due to economic problems. The tram car lines remained functional until 1951, when, due to a series of problems and accidents, and increased competition with the

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

(on Tenerife, buses are called ''guaguas''), the service was discontinued.

Construction

After much political debate on investment in trams versus buses, approval was eventually given to the

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

306 million budget. Construction started in 2004, and by December 2005 sufficient track existed for train supplier

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 ...

to start test-running on a section of track between the systems train depot and the Hospital Universitario de Canarias in La Cuesta. The last of the 20 tram units were handed over in August 2006. The construction phase officially ended on 2 June 2007 with the opening day tram on Line 1. Free service was provided to all passengers from that weekend all the way through to the following Sunday, before tariffs and tickets were introduced.

Rolling stock

The

(

) rolling stock is entirely made up of the Citadis 302 model, 100% low floor from

, as already used on the Madrid Light Metro, the Casablanca Tramway, the Parla Tram, and lines Trambaix and Trambesòs in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. These low-floor and floor lighted trams have a maximum speed of , and are powered through a 750 V DC

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

. The trams are each made up of five carriages, two driving carriages sandwiching three passenger/power carriages.

Operations

Line 1

Line 1 (SC Interchange - Trinidad) consists of 21 stops along a route of , transporting an average of 46,000 people per day in the metropolitan area. Each of the 20 trams is capable to transport 200 passengers (60 seated) at a maximum speed of , though for safety they only reach a maximum speed of on this line. In January 2011 the Padre Anchieta stop was moved from its initial location in the Trinity Avenue, to its current location next to the La Laguna bus interchange at a cost of €900,000. Plans are in place to lengthen the line with four additional stops, including Tenerife North Airport. There would also be new stations in San Antonio, San Lazaro (Park and Ride) and Los Rodeos-TFN.

Line 2

Line 2 opened on 30 May 2009, running from La Cuesta to Tíncer, sharing stops at University Hospital and El Cardonal with Line 1. It is planned to extend the line by from Tincer to La Gallega (district of the District southwest of Santa Cruz) to give coverage to the greater population.

Line 3

A third line is expected to be built, proposed to run along the coast of the capital of Tenerife, and not as speculated through the center of the city of Santa Cruz.

Tariffs

In agreement between Cabildo de Tenerife, TITSA and MTSA, tram and bus systems are a fully integrated transport system, with journeys costing exactly the same, whichever system is chosen.Tipos de billetes y tarifas
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Network Map

References

External links

Tranvía de Tenerife

Tranvía de Tenerife
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Android App for Tenerife Tram
{{Rail transport in Spain Transport in Tenerife Tram transport in Spain Railway lines opened in 2007 2007 establishments in Spain