- Fare and where to buy tickets
- Metro lines
- Working hours
- History
- Peculiarities
What will happen if you combine tram lines and metro lines into one transport network? The result is the Valencia metro. In Spain, this metro is the second longest (the first in this area is the Madrid metro) and only the fourth in terms of passenger traffic.
If you are planning to visit Valencia and see all its sights, then we can say with confidence that you will actively use the services of the local metro. The fact is that the sights in this city are sometimes located at a fairly large distance from each other (although the city is not large, especially in comparison with some Russian megacities). The metro will quickly deliver to almost anywhere in the city. Moreover, its network covers even the suburbs. If you decide to move around the city and its environs in a subway car, then comfort and speed will be your choice. In addition, you will get the opportunity to familiarize yourself in sufficient detail with the transport system, which is unusual for Russians (although it bears the name familiar to us).
Fare and where to buy tickets
The city and the adjacent territories covered by the metro network are divided into several zones. Almost the entire city belongs to the zone designated by the first letter of the Latin alphabet, but the airport and the suburbs are already the territory of other zones. The fare depends on which transport zone you are heading to and where the starting point of your journey is.
To get from the airport to the city center, you need five euros: the fare is a little less than four euros, the price of a refillable cardboard card is one euro. You can buy not a cardboard, but a plastic card, but it will cost one euro more. Please note that if you immediately purchase round-trip tickets (say, from the airport to the city center and back), then their cost will be lower. Also, the purchase of several trips at once on one rechargeable card reduces their cost.
Here are the rates for ten trips based on the number of zones visited:
- one zone - about seven and a half euros;
- two zones - about ten and a half euros;
- three zones - fourteen euros;
- four zones - twenty euros.
There are long-term passes - for twenty-four hours, for several days, for a month, and even for a year. However, as a rule, ten trips are quite enough for tourists to explore the city.
It should be noted that a large number of attractions are concentrated in zone A, more precisely, in the historical center of the city. Many tourists even confine themselves to this area without visiting other areas of the city.
You can buy a pass in the way we are used to - at the ticket office or at the appropriate machine. But keep in mind that not all stations have ticket offices. The machines can be divided into three categories: some accept only cash, others only credit cards, and still others both. The menus in all three types of vending machines are in English and Spanish only. If you have not been able to figure out the rules for using the machine, then you should contact one of the metro employees at the station. He will certainly help you.
If a child under the age of ten is traveling with you, the metro ride will be free for him. You just need to present a document confirming the age of the young passenger. Each adult can spend two such children in the metro, but for the third one will have to pay, even if he is not yet ten years old.
Metro lines
The metro system consists of nine lines. The total length of the network is one hundred fifty six and a half kilometers. Of these, about twenty-seven kilometers of track are laid in tunnels. Of the one hundred and thirty-eight stations, only thirty-five are underground. The first completely underground line was opened only at the beginning of the 21st century. It connected the airport and the seaport area.
Several years ago, the Valencian Metro underwent a major reorganization. As a result, several new lines appeared.
The gauge of the Valencian metro is one thousand millimeters, that is, this gauge is narrower than the standard European one. One hundred and eight trains serve passengers. The annual passenger traffic is sixty million passengers.
Working hours
The Metro opens its doors for the first passengers at about five in the morning. Tourists and locals can use its services until midnight. However, this schedule may vary slightly depending on the day of the week. The opening hours of some lines and stations may differ from the general schedule of the metro.
In the city center, the time interval separating one train from another is about seven or even ten minutes at normal times, and decreases to four minutes during rush hours. On suburban sections of the transport system, the traffic interval is much longer - it is about fifteen minutes.
History
Valencia Metro opened relatively recently - in the late 80s of the XX century, but in fact, its history begins much earlier. The fact is that the metro inherited the old railways built in the 19th century and connecting the city with the suburbs. Thus, the time of construction and opening of these railways can be considered the beginning of the history of the Valencian metro.
The railway network was modernized, expanded and eventually turned into a modern transport system, consisting of three metro lines and two tram lines. Later, the network was completed, new branches appeared.
The Valencian metro became the third metro system built in the country (the Madrid and Barcelona metro appeared somewhat earlier).
The summer of 2006 became a dark page in the history of the metro. In early July, in one of the tunnels, the train derailed, dozens of people died, and many passengers were injured. At first, a version of a terrorist act was considered, but then the real cause of the accident became known - speeding. On the section of the route where the disaster occurred, the speed of the train should not exceed forty kilometers per hour, and the train, for some reason, was moving at a speed of eighty kilometers per hour.
Peculiarities
Several metro stations are located directly along the coast, thanks to which tourists and locals often go to the beach in metro cars.
An important nuance: some branches are bifurcated, so you need to carefully read the inscriptions on the arriving trains. If you make a mistake on the train, you can go in the wrong direction.
If the official Valencian metro map seems too complicated for you, you can download its simplified English version on the Internet. In suburban areas, trains can make stops at the request of passengers.
Trash cans are installed in the carriages, which distinguishes the Valencian metro from many other metro systems on the planet.
The design of the stations, as a rule, is quite strict and minimalistic. The decoration uses modern but inexpensive materials. Most often these are metal and concrete. It should be noted that the stations are often very well integrated into the surrounding landscape.
Official website: www.metrovalencia.es
Valencia Metro
Updated: 2020.02.
