Alicante light rail

Alicante light rail logo

The newest and the oldest vehicle of the Alicante light rail: At the old Alacant - La Marina station, a diesel railcar from the MAN 2300 series is reflected in the windows of the Flexity Outlook tram .

Flexity Outlook in a typical Alicante design, used on line L4 in front of the station building of the La Marina station

The Alicante light rail (in Valencian Tram Metropolità d'Alacant ) is a meter-gauge local transport system in Alicante and the northern region. Like the other public narrow-gauge railways in the Valencia region (example: Metro Valencia ), it is operated by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV). It was opened on August 15, 2003, initially only replacing a meter-gauge, diesel- powered railroad and is gradually being expanded into a line network.

The network contains elements of trams (line 4), surface and underground light rail vehicles in the city center (lines 1, 3 and 4) as well as regional rail transport with electric and diesel operation (lines 1 and 9). In technical terms, however, in contrast to the Valencia Metro , the entire network is a railway company with uniform dimensions for wheelsets and track.

history

Alicante – Dénia railway

On March 23, 1882, studies of possible railway lines from Alicante to La Vila Joiosa and from Dénia to Altea were approved. The approval for the construction of a narrow-gauge railway from Alicante to La Vila Joiosa and the extension to Dénia via Altea was granted on August 1, 1889 by King Alfonso XIII. , who officially inaugurated the construction work on the future station of La Vila Joiosa on February 13, 1911. The Alicante-Altea railway line went into operation on October 28, 1914, the Altea-Dénia extension on July 11, 1915. On August 1, 1964, there were continuous passenger trains on the Alicante – Dénia– Carcagente line . However, individual route sections were closed on July 11, 1969 ( Gandía –Carcagente) and February 11, 1974 (Dénia – Gandía). On June 1, 1971, the Limón Exprés nostalgia train also ran for the first time. On November 10, 1986, the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) public transport company was founded, and the track between Alicante and El Campello was renewed in 1987.

The way to the Alicante light rail

Increasing mobility problems as well as the high population growth suggest the construction of an expanded urban and regional local transport system, which could consist of a redesign and modernization of the Alicante-Dénia railway line. On December 15, 1997, the new route via Condomina was put into operation on this line and at the same time the section via Cabo de Huertas was closed.

In 1999 the TRAM Metropolità light rail project was decided.

The first phase consisted in light rail moderate expansion of the section Alicante- Benidorm -Altea, in a range of extension from the station Alacant - La Marina to Plaza del Mar, the tunneling underground to the city center to the future central station Hauptbahnhof , and a new Linienast to the districts Albufereta Cabo de las Huertas and Playa de San Juan (see line L4 below).

In the second phase, the section from Altea to Denia is to be expanded for light rail operations and two new sections to the Terra Mítica amusement park and the city center of Benidorm are to be created.

On March 17, 1999, trams ran in a trial run between Alacant and Porta del Mar and Albufereta Platja.

Work on the El Campello – La Vila Joiosa section was completed on March 22, 2002. Between September 16 and December 23, 2002, line operations on the Alicante – El Campello section were discontinued in order to electrify the line, to renew the track between La Marina and Isleta and to double-track the Isleta – El Campello section.

The operating stages of the Alicante light rail

On August 15, 2003, the first construction phase Alicante-El Campello was put into operation. This made Alicante the fifth major Spanish city, after Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao and Valencia , to have a modern, high-capacity urban transport system.

In 2006, work on the first section of the tunnel that crosses under the city center was completed. The tunnel is located under Monte Benacantil and temporarily ended at the underground station Mercado (market). The construction contract for line L2 to the University of Alicante was awarded to the Subús company, which operates local public transport in Alicante ( Transporte Metropolitano de Alicante - TAM). In addition, work on the future Sergio Cardell tram station on line L4 was completed. The station is controversial because of its special artistic design (picture: see line L4). Work began on the future underground station Plaza de los Luceros, as well as on the La Vila Joiosa – Benidorm section.

On May 10, 2007, the first two underground stations, Mercado (market) and MARQ (archaeological museum) went into operation. This made it necessary to assign line numbers. Line L3 ran on the new inner city section. The existing route from Puerta del Mar to Albufereta was served by the new short line L4; There were only four stations for a month. On June 15th, the line from Lucentum to Avenida Naciones was inaugurated and put into operation. It was served by the extended line L4. On July 30th, the section between El Campello and La Creueta was ready for regular traffic. This established the L1 express line , which only served the main train stations between Mercado and La Creueta. Line L3 was extended once an hour from El Campello to Venta Lanuza and the trains served all stations on this section. Line L9, served by diesel railcars, was withdrawn to La Creueta.

On June 2, 2008, the catenary with the platform adjustments between La Creueta and Benidorm was put into operation. Line L1 was lengthened accordingly and L9 shortened again. On July 17, the L3 trains stopped at the new Sangueta station for the first time.

On June 2, 2009, on the anniversary of the electrified route to Benidorm, the new Campo de Golf stop (golf course) on line L3 was set up. On December 18, the single-track, loop-shaped section from Avenida Las Naciones to Plaza Coruña and another way back was put into operation, the line is served by the L4 line.

On June 18, 2010, the underground station "Luceros" was put into operation and lines L1 and L3 were extended to this point. Since then, the L4 line has also operated to “Luceros”. For the stations “Puerta del Mar” and “La Marina”, which it no longer serves, a new, short shuttle line 4L was set up, which offered a transfer to the lines L1, L3 and L4 at the “Sangueta” station.

On July 1, 2013 the pendulum line 4L was discontinued.

On September 4, 2013, the new L2 went into operation with eleven new stops to Sant Vicent del Raspeig.

The Calpe – Denía section has been out of service for renovation work since August 2016. The superstructure on this section is from the FEVE operating period.

Planning

Line L1 is to be extended to Altea and Garganes. A new line L5 between La Vila Joiosa and Garganes is to be set up. Line 8 is also planned in the Benidorm area. The routing of the extension of the line L1 to the airport is to be determined.

Route network

Overview

Alicante light rail network with tariff zones (status 2019)

line	Line route	Line length	Stations	vehicle	Platform length	Tact
	Luceros ↔ El Campello ↔ Venta Lanuza ↔ Benidorm	43.210 km	15th	Vossloh Citylink	80 m	30 min
	Luceros ↔ Sant Vicent del Raspeig	9.03 km	14th	Cityrunner (low-floor multi-articulated car)	65 m	15 minutes
	Luceros ↔ El Campello	14,095 km	17th	Cityrunner	80 m	30 min
	Luceros ↔ Plaza La Coruña	10.039 km	18th	Cityrunner	65 m	30 min
	Puerta del Mar ↔ Sangueta (out of service)	1,359 km	3	Cityrunner	65 m	20 min
	La Vila Joiosa ↔ Benidorm ↔ Altea ↔ Algar (planned)	20 km	14th	Cityrunner	80 m	?
	Benidorm ↔ Altea ↔ Denia	50.831 km	18th	Diesel railcars	80 m	60 min
	Total in operation (6 lines)	103.564 km	70	-	-	-

B-level of the Mercado station. Customer information on the left, the platform barrier system on the right.

Like the entire Mercado station, its platform level is also purely functional and largely black.

The MARQ station is characterized by an island platform, daylight and natural stone.

Trunk line

Line 1 has been running between the Mercado (market) and Benidorm stations since June 2, 2008. The route is largely identical to that of line 3 between Mercado and Venta Lanuza . In contrast to line 3 with its shorter frequency and significantly more stops, line 1, which runs every half hour during the day, is an express connection. There are tunnels at various points on the route. The most important one is 3 km long and passes under the center of Alicante from the viaduct over the Avenida de Denia to the future station Central Station. It runs in the underground of Monte Benacantil and the streets Avenida Alfonso X El Sabio and Avenida Estación below a two-story underground car park.

It will have four underground stations: MARQ (Archaeological Museum), Mercado (market), Luceros and Central Station.

In line with the level of the award-winning Archaeological Museum , the MARQ station has also been designed to be particularly appealing: it is the only station to date with a central platform. Daylight comes in through one of the two entrances. Natural stones were used for the floor.

The Mercado station is 22 meters deep and has direct access to an underground car park. A lecture hall with 500 seats will also be opened there in mid-2008.

Level B of the Luceros station, which is currently under construction, is to become a small underground shopping center with newspaper kiosks, restaurants, cafeterias and other small shops; Daylight is let in through light shafts and you will hear the bubbling of the fountain on the surface. The platform level is at a depth of 20 meters.

At the main station, transfer options to Renfe trains and buses will be created; 450 underground parking spaces are also to be created there.

The four tunnel stations are equipped with entry and exit barriers, and there are also entrances for people with reduced mobility.

At the end of 2006, the tunnel beneath Monte Benacantil was completed and on May 10, 2007, the MARQ (Archaeological Museum) and Mercado (market) stations began operating. The section between Mercado and Finca Adoc, which was newly opened on this day, is 2.4 km long (740 meters of which are in the tunnel) and cost 105.4 million euros, of which 15 million were allocated to the MARQ station and 30 million to Mercado. The UGT union has criticized the relatively high costs and various safety deficiencies on the new section of the route .

The Luceros station has been operational since June 2010. The construction work for the 400 meter long section between Luceros and the main train station, including the planned underground car park with 450 parking spaces, was put out to tender; the deadline was July 16, 2007; in the last quarter of 2007 the actual construction work began. After its completion, the tunnel and its four stations will be used jointly by lines L1, L2, L3 and L4, in the future also by line L9 and by another line to Sant Joan d'Alacant . It forms the main line of the light rail network. The current end point of Luceros has been the busiest station on the entire route network since it opened.

Lines L1 (TREN-TRAM) and L3 (Tranvía de la Costa)

Expansion and electrification work at Creueta (2007)

Line L1 operates on the central 43 km long route between Luceros and Benidorm. All other existing and planned lines are linked to it. The trains on line L1 do not serve the Albufereta stop and all between Lucentum and El Campello. In this section, line L3 takes over the fine development. The L1 trains stop at all stations between El Campello and Benidorm. The terminus of line L3 is El Campello with a journey time of 31 minutes, line L1 goes to Benidorm in 72 minutes . Since there is still a single-track section between the Sangueta and La Isleta stations, the trains on both lines only run every half hour. The cycle will be compressed when the 1.4 km long double-track tunnel under construction is completed. Due to financing difficulties, this is currently not foreseeable.

				Abf.- Min. Back		Abf.- Min. Back	Abf.- Min. Back		Abf.- Min. Back			Stations	Change	opening	Remarks
												Direction Babel - Airport
												ADIF / Hbf.		?	from here underground
				19 49			11 41		51 21			Luceros		06/18/2010	Island platform
				21 51		11 41	13 43		49 19			Mercado / market		05/10/2007	Outside platforms
				23 53		09 39	15 45		47 17			MARQ / Museum		05/10/2007	Island platform
															until here underground
												Direction Sant Vicent del Raspeig
												Direction Puerta del Mar
				23 53		06 36	18 48		14 44			Sangueta		07/17/2008
															single track from here
				30 00		02 32	00 30		10 40			La Isleta		08/15/2003	up to here single track
				31 01		01 31						Albufereta		08/15/2003
				32 02		00 30	24 54		08 38			Lucentum		08/15/2003
												Direction Playa de San Juan - Plaza La Coruña
				34 04		58 28						Condomina		08/15/2003
				35 05		57 28						Campo de Golf		06/02/2009	Walk to »Instituto« (L4)
				37 07		55 25						Costa Blanca		08/15/2003
				40 10		52 22						Carrabiners		08/15/2003
				42 12		50 20						Muchavista		08/15/2003
				44 14		48 18						Les Lllances		08/15/2003
				46 16		46 16						Fabraquer		08/15/2003
				48 18		45 15						Salesians		08/15/2003
				49 19		43 13						Pla Barraques		08/15/2003
						42 12	37 07		54 24			El Campello		08/15/2003
												Poble Espanyol		?	single track from here
												Amerador		?
												Coveta Fumà		?
												Cala Piteres		?
							53 23		37 07			Venta Lanuza		?
							02 32		26 56			Paradis		?
							05 35		23 53			La Vila Joiosa		?
							08 38		21 51			Creueta		?	up to here single track
							10 40		18 48			Costera pastor		?	single track from here
							15 45		15 55			Hospital Vila		?
							18 48		10 40			Hiper Finestrat		?
							20 50		08 38			Terra Mitica		?
									05 35			Benidorm		?
														?
												Direction Denia		?

Line L2 (university line)

The route on line L2 was completed in autumn 2011, but due to a lack of operators it could not be put into operation immediately. Trial operation began on June 26, 2013, and regular operation in September 2013. The 9.03 km long route leads from the main train station to Sant Vicent del Raspeig , opening up the districts of Pla, Garbinet, Sagrada Familia, Virgen del Remedio and Virgen del Carmen in the city of Alicante and the district of Santa Isabel in the municipality of Sant Vicent del Raspeig . This line can also be used to reach the hospital, the university , the Outlet Park shopping center and the San Vicente II health center. In the street Bulevar del Pla, the tram will run on turf , similar to the L4 line in Avenida Miriam Blasco and La Goleta street.

						Future stations	Change	opening	Remarks
						Towards the airport
						Babel	|| 2015 ||
									from here underground
						Orihuela avenue	(L1)	2015
						Gran Vía	(L1)	2015
						ADIF / Central Station	(L1, L3, L4)	?
						Luceros	(L1, L3, L4)	2011	Central platform
						Mercado / market	(L1, L3, L4)	2011	Outside platforms
						MARQ / Archaeolog. museum		2011	Central platform
									until here underground
						Direction Playa de San Juan - Plaza La Coruña
						Towards El Campello
						Direction El Campello - Venta Lanuza - Benidorm
						Goteta		2013
						Bulevar del Pla		2013
						Garbinet		2013
						hospital		2013
						Maestro Alonso		2013
						Gascon Castelló		2013
						Bulevar Norte		2013
						Ciudad Jardín		2013
						Santa Isabel		2013
						University / University		2013
						Sant Vicent del Raspeig		2013

A worker is pouring the already rather dried up grass of the grass track on the section of the L4 line that was opened in June 2007.

Artistically designed Sergio Cardell tram station on the L4 line

Line L4 (Playa de San Juán)

Line 4 connects the Playa de San Juán district with the center of Alicante. The line 4 branches off from the main Alicante – Benidorm line at the Lucentum separation station. From there it first leads through Avenida Miriam Blasco and Calle Goleta. There begins a large loop through the Avenidas Costa Blanca, Oviedo and de las Naciones. This loop with several stops is driven counter-clockwise, there is no real end point with a longer stay. The trains on lines 3 and 4 serve all stops between Luceros and Lucentum. The entire route of line 4 is in the urban area of ​​Alicante and thus in tariff zone A. Line 4, with its route through city streets and covered or high-lying grass tracks and driving at sight, most likely gives the impression of a classic tram system.

At the beginning, the 4 trains ran from Puerta del Mar near the port via the old Alacant - La Marina station and Finca Adoc to Avenida Las Naciones station. Test drives on the section from Lucentum to the beginning of Avenida Las Naciones have been carried out since June 1, 2007. Since June 2010 the trains no longer run to Puerta del Mar, but with the other lines to the center of Alicante.

Abf.- Min. Back							Abf.- Min. Back	Stations	Change	opening	Remarks
								Direction Babel - Airport
								ADIF / Hbf.		?	from here underground
59 29							33 03	Luceros		06/18/2010	Central platform
01 31							31 01	Mercado / market		05/10/2007	Outside platforms
03 33							29 59	MARQ / Museum		05/10/2007	Central platform
											until here underground
								Direction Sant Vicent del Raspeig
								Direction Puerta del Mar
06 36						26 56		Sangueta		07/17/2008	single track from here
10 40						22 52		La Isleta		08/15/2003	up to here single track
11 41						19 49		Albufereta		08/15/2003
13 43						17 47		Lucentum		08/15/2003	from here grass track
14 44						14 44		Miriam Blasco		06/15/2007
16 46		12 42						Sergio Cardell		06/15/2007	Artist. layout
18 48		10 40						Tridente		06/15/2007
19 49		08 38						Avenida Naciones		06/15/2007	single track from here
								Condomina		08/15/2003
↓			05 35					Holanda		December 18, 2009	Artist. layout
21 51			↑					Cabo Huertas		December 18, 2009
↓			04 34					Países Escandinavos		December 18, 2009
22 52			↑					Avenida Benidorm		December 18, 2009
↓			↑					Campo de Golf		06/02/2009
↓			02 32					Instituto		December 18, 2009	Walk to "C. Golf"
24 54			↑					Londres		December 18, 2009
26 56			00 30					Plaza La Coruña		December 18, 2009	up to here grass track
								Towards El Campello
								Direction El Campello - Venta Lanuza - Benidorm

Line 4L (port shuttle)

La Marina train station, main track towards Puerta del Mar with stop plate

The entire 1.359 km long line 4L is single-track and runs near the beach next to Avenidas Villajoyosa and Juán Bautista Lafora. It runs from Porta del Mar station near the port via the old Alacant - La Marina station to Sangueta station. There is a connection to lines 1, 3 and 4.

The short line 4L with only three stations was set up in June 2010 after line 4, which had previously served the route, was led into the inner city tunnel to the Luceros station. The 675 m long section between Porta del Mar and La Marina was put into operation as a test and demonstration route before the actual light rail was built in 1999 and formed the basis for the original line 1. Due to the use of articulated tram cars from FGV borrowed in Valencia - Row 3800 were laid between Puerta de Mar and La Marina grooved tram rails. They are still there today on one of the platform tracks in Puerta del Mar.

The line has been out of service and closed since July 1, 2013, but has been kept operational so far.

Abf.- Min. Back	Abf.- Min. Back					Stations	Change	opening
						Porta del Mar / Puerta del Mar	Airport bus C6	08/15/2003
						La Marina		08/15/2003
						Towards Luceros
						Sangueta		07/17/2008
						Direction Plaza La Coruña
						Towards El Campello
						Direction El Campello - Venta Lanuza - Benidorm

Line L9 (north / north)

Benidorm railway station to the east, June 2017. The middle track has a high and a low edge of the platform.

Calpe train station, heading west

Gata (de Gorgos) station in March 2015 before the start of the renovation work

The Benidorm – Dénia section is served by the L9 line, and because of the lack of a catenary, this is used by diesel railcars. It runs along the northern coast of Alicante province from Benidorm via Altea, Calpe and Teulada to Dénia and has a length of 50.831 km. In particular between Altea and Gata de Gorgos, the continuous single-track route has the character of a mountain railway, despite the relatively low altitude. The journey time is 77 minutes. The platform height differs from the rest of the network. Although the plan was to continue electrification beyond Benidorm, preliminary work in the form of mast foundations has already been made. However, due to the financing problems, further construction is currently not foreseeable. The Calpe – Dénia section has been out of service since August 2016 due to the renewal of the superstructure;

Abf.- Min. Back			Abf.- Min. Back	station	Change	opening	Remarks
				Direction Alicante
36				Benidorm		?	from here diesel-powered
38			19th	Disco Benidorm		?
40			17th	Camí Coves		?
43			15th	L'Alfàs del Pi		?
45			12	El Albir		?
50			08	Altea		?
53			14th	Garganes		?
55			01	Cap Negret		?
00			59	Olla de Altea		?
12			46	Calpe		?	from here rail replacement service
15th			42	Ferrandet		?
25th			33	Benissa		?
30th			29	Teulada		?
39			19th	Gata		?
46			11	La Xarà		?
49			08	Hospital Denia		?
50			07	Alqueries		?
			04	Denia		?

Other planned lines

In 2007 it was announced that the City Council and Consejería de Transportes (Transport Department) are planning new lines from the central transfer station at the main train station to the south. A line is to connect the city center with the municipal cemetery and also serve the Benalua and La Florida districts as well as the Babel industrial area. For a later phase, the possibility of a ring line around the city center is also being considered.

In the medium term, a light rail connection to a station to be built at Alicante Airport (El Altet) is also planned , at which, similar to the main train station, it will be possible to change between different means of public transport. The airport terminal is currently (spring 2008) being rebuilt and expanded. New lines to Elche are also planned , which could also connect this city with the airport as well as with Santa Pola and Torrevieja .

vehicles

Interior of a Flexity Outlook type tram car . It is a pure low-floor vehicle.

The interiors of the MAN 2500 series diesel vehicles have also been extensively renovated.

Siemens-Duewag series 3800 tram cars

By 2006, the former route of Alacant-Porta del Mar to El Campello of was Siemens - Duewag -cars served the series 3800, which Nahverkehrsgesellschaft FGV had borrowed in also from her powered tram in Valencia (picture: see story ). These were replaced by the CityLink railcars from Vossloh, known by FGV as the 4100 series.

Vossloh series 4100 tram-trains

Vossloh's tram-trains are used on lines L1 and occasionally L3.

Bombardier 4200 Series Flexity Outlook

The FGV have ordered a total of 30 Flexity Outlook multi-articulated wagons from Bombardier for their networks in Alicante and Valencia. Eleven of these pure low-floor vehicles with 50 seats each are intended for Alicante, the remaining 19 for tram line 4 of the Valencia metro. These trains have been in regular service on the Alicante line L4 since May 25, 2007 (picture: see beginning of article; interior: right).

Complex modern technology creates a high level of comfort for passengers. Wheelchair users and parents with strollers in particular will appreciate the zones intended for them, the low-floor design and the connection between the vehicle floor and the platform that automatically extends when the doors are opened. Vehicles from the same family have already enjoyed great success in Graz , Linz ( Austria ) and Łódź ( Poland ) and have therefore recently also been used in Geneva ( Switzerland ), Brussels ( Belgium ), Marseille ( France ) and Eskişehir ( Turkey ).

MAN diesel multiple unit series 2300 of the Alicante light rail in El Campello

MAN diesel railcars of the 2300 and 2500 series

The route between Benidorm and Dénia (line 9) is served by diesel railcars of the 2300 and 2500 series from MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG). The six 2500 series double railcars were rebuilt and modernized and were given the paintwork of the Alicante light rail system (picture: see beginning of the article, interior: right). On the other hand, the two still existing original vehicles of the 2300 series are soon to be taken out of service and were therefore only pasted on the outside in the light rail design (picture: left).

Stadler diesel railcars

In August 2017 it was announced that FGV had ordered six diesel-electric multi-part multiple units worth 35.8 million euros from Stadler Rail Valencia . This is part of the modernization program for the Benidorm – Dénia railway line, which will cost a total of 72 million euros.

A passenger car and two locomotives of the Limón Exprés tourist train in Benidorm station

Limón expresses

The idea for the establishment of the nostalgic train Limón-Exprés (lemon express) came from the Englishman David AG Simpson. He saw old passenger coaches parked at the Benidorm station, which were used on the line from Dénia to Carcagente, which was then partially and a little later completely shut down, and which were to be scrapped.

Building of the old Alacant - La Marina train station

Alacant-La Marina train station. Two Flexity Outlook trams and a MAN 2300 series diesel railcar are parked. The old station building on the left.

The innovative project was a success: the cars were refurbished and from June 1, 1971 to May 27, 2005, twelve CC-200 and ZZ-200 series cars built in the 1920s operated as Limón-Exprés between Benidorm and Gata de Gorgos . Both car types were rebuilt and renewed in 1987. They were drawn by series 1000 locomotives built between 1954 and 1964 by Babcock & Wilcox. The Limón-Exprés was particularly popular with British tourists (photo: left).

The nostalgia train has stopped running since the end of May 2005. The cars are in poor condition; the train was recently derailed several times. The wagons would have to be reconditioned before operations can be resumed. Due to other more important projects, such as the electrification of lines (see above), this is not to be expected in the near future.

Depots, parking facilities

El Campello light rail depot

The light rail depot in El Campello was inaugurated at the end of March 2007 after a two-year construction period. The cost of this facility is over 30 million euros. It is strategically located: on the one hand the depot is not far from the provincial capital Alicante, on the other hand it is also easily accessible from the long northern route Benidorm – Dénia on the L9 line. Both the Flexity Outlook tram cars and the tram trains are parked and maintained there.

The light rail depot in El Campello, inaugurated at the end of March 2007, is a 65,000 square meter complex. In the background the skyline of El Campello.

Benidorm train station

Electrical operation is currently ending at Benidorm train station. Because of the different boarding conditions, there are three platform tracks with two low platforms for the electric and two high platforms for the diesel railcars. In addition, there are two catenary-free sidings for two double diesel multiple units each, and there is an office building with the commercial facilities.

Dénia train station

In addition to commercial facilities, the modern station building in Dénia also houses a small workshop and a depot where a train is parked overnight.

From practice

Passenger numbers

Development of the number of passengers

year	2019	2018	...	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Passengers	12.091.192	11,054,418	...	6,045,742	6,132,716	5,240,971	4,702,686	3,960,074	2,726,882	2,456,444	2,510,122	2,299,000	1,741,048

Timetable

A provisional timetable was in place until the Albufereta – Las Naciones line on line L4 opened. Lines 1, 3 and 4 run every half hour from around 6 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. In addition, there are four more trips a day in each direction on line 3 at peak times. On line 9, there was an hourly service between El Campello and Altea and a two-hour service between Altea and Dénia. It is expected that with the delivery of more vehicles and the opening of new routes, the frequency will gradually increase.

In the summer months, in addition to the normal timetable, the Tramnochador is used at night on weekends . These special trains run on line L1, but stop at all stops on the line if necessary.

When purchasing tickets at the machine, customers can choose between five languages. The German translation could still be improved. What is meant is: "Select your destination" and "Change will be returned".

Announcements and music on the tram

You can usually hear music on the tram line 3 trains. It is all about classical music , mostly by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . This is how, for example, the variations on Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman for piano , the aria of the Queen of the Night and the Papageno aria A girl or a woman from the Magic Flute , as well as various solo concerts .

Again and again a broken rising D major triad suddenly interrupts the music. On the trains on line 4, on the other hand, it is a descending G major triad. These signals prepare the passengers for the announcement of the next station. All stations are announced in this way. Information on the destination and transfer options are given in three languages ​​in Spanish, Valencian and English. For example, one can hear: "correspondencia con la línea cuatro - correspondència amb la línia quatre - connecting with line four".

References

See also

• List of cities with trams
• List of cities with light rail
• List of cities with subways

Web links

Commons : Trams in Alicante  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• FGV (Spanish, Valencian, English)
• Tram Alicante (Spanish, Valencian, English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Información newspaper of May 10, 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( spanish )  
2. ↑ La Verdad de Alicante daily newspaper , May 10, 2007 (Spanish)
3. ↑ Horarios TRAM (PDF; 747 kB)
4. ↑ ^{a b} Daily newspaper 20 minutos Alicante of June 1, 2007, p. 2
5. ↑ Información daily newspaper, May 23, 2007, p. 10
6. ^ Daily newspaper metro Alicante of May 29, 2007, p. 4
7. ↑ ^{a b} Camps dice que Alicante vive un momento histórico en materia de infraestructuras (Camps says, Alicante is experiencing a historical moment of its infrastructure '), daily newspaper Información of July 17, 2008 (Spanish)
8. ↑ Conoce tu Tram Metropolitano de Alicante (Get to know your Alicante light rail), leaflet published by the FGV in April 2007
9. ↑ Qué newspaper ! dated June 6, 2007 (Spanish)
10. ↑ déjate llevar magazine ... (Let yourself be taken away ...) No. 3, February 2010, and the leaflet Línea dos veces buena (line twice good) published by TRAM Metropolitano de Alicante without a date
11. ↑ Información daily newspaper of April 1, 2007, p. 25
12. ↑ Informacón newspaper from June 1, 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Spanish)  
13. ↑ Camps dice que Alicante vive un momento histórico en materia de infraestructuras (Camps says, Alicante is experiencing a historical moment of its infrastructure '), daily newspaper Información of July 17, 2008 ( Spanish )
14. ↑ ^{a b} FGV Alicante Parque Móvil (car park) (Spanish)
15. ↑ La Verdad de Alicante daily newspaper of May 26, 2007 (Spanish)
16. ^ Daily newspaper Información of April 1, 2007, p. 24
17. ↑ Cityrunner
18. ↑ Spain order for Stdler Rail , in: St. Galler Tagblatt of 23 August 2017
19. ↑ ^{a b} Tranvía Portal ( Memento of the original from June 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of January 22, 2006 (Spanish) 
20. ^ Daily newspaper Información of April 1, 2007, p. 23
21. ↑ https://www.lacronicavirtual.com/index.php/alicante/25535-el-tram-de-alicante-logra-en-2019-un-registro-historico-con-12-millones-de-pasajeros
22. ↑ FGV Alicante Horario (timetable) (Spanish, Valencian, English )