Metro de Palma

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Metro de Palma
Metro train in the Estació Intermodal
Metro train in the Estació Intermodal
Route of the Metro de Palma
Metro route map
Route length: 8.5 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system : 1500 V  =
   
 Estació Intermodal - Plaça d'Espanya
   
 (Switch to FS )
   
 Jacint Verdaguer
   
 Son Costa - Son Fortesa
   
 Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca
   
 Son Fuster Vell
   
 Son Castelló
   
 Gran Via Asima
   
 Camí dels rice
   
   
 Son Sardina
   
 Ferrocarril de Sóller
   
   
 UIB (University)

The Metro de Palma de Mallorca was the first subway in the Balearic Islands to open on April 25, 2007 in the capital Palma de Mallorca . The trains on the M1 metro line run 8.5 kilometers and serve nine stations. The line is operated by the state railway company on the Balearic island, Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) . In addition, a second metro line M2 has been set up; this follows the course of the railway line to Inca in the urban area, starting at the border with the old town, in a north-easterly direction.

Route and operation

Overview

logo

Like the rest of the SFM network, the 8½ kilometer long underground line has a track width of 1000 mm and is electrified with an overhead line ( overhead conductor rails in the tunnel , overhead catenary overhead contact line ). The superstructure is designed as a slab track on the tunnel sections . The vehicle stock includes six double railcars from the CAF wagon construction company, each 33 m long and 2.55 m wide. Almost all stations of the M1 line are in tunnels, only one section of the route with the Son Sardina train station is above ground.

The access points are equipped with 80 meter long and five meter wide side platforms. Only the stations Son Costa - Son Fortessa and Jacint Verdaguer each received a five meter wide central platform. These two stations are also transfer points to the regional train and therefore each have two central platforms. Therefore this tunnel section has four tracks. In the ten-track tunnel end station Plaça d'Espanya, four tracks are planned for the metro, but only one track is used for the trains of the M1 line in day-to-day operations.

The metro lines currently operate (2019 timetable, see www.tib.org) as follows: The M1 line (Metro UIB) runs Monday to Friday from around 6.30 a.m. to around 9.30 p.m. continuously every 20 minutes, on Saturdays from around 7 a.m. about 2.30 p.m. every half hour. The M1 line does not run on Saturdays after 2.30 p.m. and on Sundays. The M2 line (Metro Marratxi) compresses the hourly regional train line T1 between Palma and Marratxí to a twenty-minute cycle from Monday to Friday from around 6 a.m. to around 9.30 p.m. The Marratxí station received an additional stub track with a platform for the operation of the compressors. In principle, trains with two double railcars run on the M1 line, and one train with one double railcar on the M2 line.

Stations

The tunnel stations are all very similar architecturally: the walls are covered with white sheet metal panels, while the ceiling is largely uncovered. The only color changes are the red tape with the station names and the like. Some stations are so similar that you can only tell them apart by name.

It is noticeable that the stations Son Costa-Son Fortessa and Jacint Verdaguer appear extremely dark. In addition to the architecturally undemanding design of these two stations, there is pollution from the exhaust gases from the diesel railcars, which ran until the electrification of the lines to Manacor and Sa Pobla.

All stations are accessible via elevators . In addition to the elevator, each platform has an entrance, some of which is equipped with escalators . The stairs from the street are designed with small ramps or a step so that rainwater cannot flow down the stairs from the sidewalk.

The “University” station stands out due to its spacious, light-flooded, above-ground entrance hall, but only one of the two platforms is now used in day-to-day operations, the other platform has been “mothballed” and the stairs are blocked.

Tickets

Automatic locks secure the platforms. The tickets are checked on arrival and departure. The tickets to be purchased at ticket machines have a barcode printed on them.

history

In November 2004 a proposal was made to build an underground line in Palma from the city center to the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). Construction of this metro line began in January of the following year. The track systems on the surface of the existing railway line to Inca were dismantled and an open-cut tunnel was built. The tunnel section between Plaça d'Espanya and Son Costa - Son Fortesa has four tracks and is used by both the metro and the trains to Inca. The area of ​​the old platforms of the Inca Railway was then used to build the new bus station . The remaining area was used to enlarge the Parque de ses Estaciónes . The Plaça d'Espanya station itself has been converted into an Estació intermodal since September 2006 , a station with direct access to the underground bus stops and the parking garage . The cost of construction amounted to around 120 million euros.

During the test phase, a wrongly set point caused a car to derail at the tunnel entrance between the university and Son Sardina. The driver operated the emergency brake so that all vehicles were prevented from derailing.

The maiden voyage took place with the participation of the President of the Balearic Islands, Jaume Matas and the Mayoress of Palma, Catalina Cirer, together with other politicians, the management of the subway and the press. The metro was opened for public use on April 25, 2007, and rides on the metro were free until the end of September 2007. On September 23, 2007 the line was flooded by penetrating water after twenty minutes of heavy rain. According to the first press reports, the water level in the tunnel was up to half a meter. The operation of the metro has been suspended until further notice. At the same time it became known that a similar incident should have already occurred in August 2007. Local authorities attribute the repeated floods to planning errors. After a ten-month renovation phase, the subway was put back into operation on July 28, 2008.

Proposed extensions

The Partit Popular de les Illes Balears (People's Party of the Balearic Islands) proposed an expansion of the Metro de Palma in early 2007. The existing line 1 was to be extended by one station beyond the University of the Balearic Islands to Parc Bit station. In addition, another line was to be built, which is to be built in a first construction phase initially from the Rafael Nou station in a westerly direction to the Intermodal station, where there would be a connection to line 1. From there, the line was to be built in two further construction phases in a wide arc through western Palma to the north to the Gran Via Asima station, where there would also be a connection to line 1. In the final stage, this line was planned to be 11.8 km long with 17 stations. Like the line, it should be built with 1 meter lanes and overhead lines. The status of this proposal after the autumn 2007 floods is unknown.

  • Departure to Estació Intermodal

  • The mezzanine floor of the Estació Intermodal

  • View over the tracks of the Estació Intermodal

  • View over the platforms in the Estació Intermodal

  • View from the Jacint Vardaguer station to the Estació Intermodal

  • Son Sardina train station (Ferrocarril de Sóller on the right)

  • UIB station

  • Inside view of a subway train

See also

Web links

Commons : Metro Palma  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Press release of Mallorca Aktuell from April 15, 2007 ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Flooding of the Palma Metro . (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on May 20, 2020 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ln-online.de . In: Lübecker Nachrichten, September 23, 2007
  3. ↑ Mallorca's mini subway is running again . Mirror online
  4. ↑ Video of the Partit Popular de les Illes Balears, which introduces the new construction of a line 2 and the extension of line 1 (Spanish)