This line connects the city centre with the main tourist assets of the municipality—the City of Arts and Sciences—, the City of Justice and the Natzaret neighbourhood, one of the seafront districts of Valencia.
The construction project of this line as a whole is co-financed by the European Union, through the operational programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the Valencian Community 2014-2020.
El The Ministry of Finance and Public Administration, responsible for the management of European funds, has emphasised that this endeavour is “good practice” and an example of good management of European resources.
Construction process
Work on Metrovalencia Line 10, originally T2, began in 2007, but came to a stop in 2011. In June 2017, the President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, announced its resumption.
After investing around 200 million euros, 2,500 metres of underground section (Alicante-Hermanos Maristas), 2,480 metres of overground section (Hermanos Maristas-Natzaret) and the Mercat underground station, not connected with the two previous sections, had been built.
The current works began in April 2019 and include track infrastructure and superstructure works on the underground and new overground sections; architecture and equipment; signalling and communications; electrification and substations; and the construction of the Natzaret temporary depot and workroom.
Line 10, the beginning of future extensions
The commissioning of Metrovalencia Line 10 is the first of many future extensions of the tramway network in the city of Valencia. The first kilometres of route will be shared by the future Line 11, which will be diverted at the City of Arts and Sciences (Pont l’Assut de l’Or) to Grao, and Line 12, which will take an alternative route after the Amado Granell-Montolivet station and before the Quatre Carreres stop, reaching the largest hospital in the city, La Fe.
Sustainable transport
Given that Metrovalencia’s transport emissions are practically zero as it is powered by electricity, it is estimated that the commissioning of Line 10 means a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of around 3,000 tons of CO2 per year.
Tramways in service
The rolling stock that runs between Alacant Street and the Natzaret neighbourhood consists of seven Bombardier, nowadays Alstom, series 4,200 low-floor tram units with automatic manual ramps at all double doors to facilitate access for people with reduced mobility. Their capacity is more than 200 people per unit.
A new image for Valencia’s trams
The graphic design and communication was developed by “estudio pg“, specialists in packaging and branding since 1996. The most important aspect of the new design is Metrovalencia’s corporate image and the importance given by the Generalitat Valenciana to public transport in its commitment to decarbonisation and the fight against climate change.
The design was based on certain key elements, such as reinforcing the “m” identity of Metrovalencia, linking it to Generalitat Valenciana through the corporate red colour.
The Natzaret workroom and depot
The temporary workroom and depot for the line’s rolling stock is located on a municipal plot next to the Camí Canal in the Natzaret neighbourhood. The building has a prefabricated concrete structure with enclosures, as well as access roads and pits.
In addition, it has a small warehouse, changing rooms, machine rooms and a control booth.
Traffic light priority
The new line has a traffic light priority system at all pedestrian and vehicle crossings along the entire overground route. FGV coordinated this with the department of Sustainable Mobility of the City Council of Valencia and it was developed as part of the signalling and architecture of the new line.
The signalling system installed by FGV on Line 10 is equipped with the necessary elements (detection, control, management and signals) for the coordination of tramway, road and pedestrian crossings. This will ensure safety along the different crossing points located along the route.
Travel times
The tramway route between Alacant and Natzaret stations takes 16 minutes, while between Alacant and the Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justicia stop, the travel time is 11 minutes.
Frequency
The train frequency is 7.5 minutes to Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justicia and 15 minutes to Natzaret on weekdays. This becomes 10 and 20 minutes, respectively, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Stations and stops
Line 10 has three underground stations: Alacant, Russafa and Amado Granell-Montolivet. All fully accessible mobility-wise. The first has two entrances, one on Segorbe Street and the other on Germanies Avenue; Russafa has a single entrance on Antic Regne de València Avenue; the Amado Granell-Montolivet facilities have two entrances on the avenue itself, at the intersection with Luis Oliag Street and at the junction of Granada Street and Plaça doctor Torrens.
Fifteen lifts have been installed in the three underground stations.
The overground stops are Quatre Carreres, Ciutat de les Arts-Justícia, Oceanogràfic, Moreres and Natzaret.
The stops are 23 metres long, ensuring greater accessibility and more space for people taking the tram. In addition, the new equipment has sufficient space for service information, such as timetables and maps, tele-indicators, loudspeakers and advertising media. These are metallic structures with a reproduction of the silhouette of the “trencadís” (mosaic) on the back.
Line workers
More than 70 people are in charge of the daily operation of Line 10, including train drivers, regulators, and intervention personnel in the stations and at the provisional depot in Natzaret.
They are 36 train drivers, 8 traffic managers, 12 route intervention agents dedicated to customer service and supervision tasks, 8 traffic regulators assigned to the Command Post and 9 people joining the provisional rolling stock depot in Natzaret.
Customer service
Accessibility
Together with the lifts in the underground stations, differentiated routes with tactile surfaces have been installed to facilitate mobility for all people, guaranteeing fully accessible itineraries.
In addition, there are 19 automatic ticket machines that allow the purchase of tickets by all users.
Espai d’Alacant
To facilitate customer service, an “Espai del Client” (customer area) has been installed in the Alacant station to carry out the different procedures related to the transport service offered by Metrovalencia. These include providing information and processing the monthly and annual personal cards or the TuiN, Gent Major, Familias Numerosas and de Mobilitat cards.
Information and tele-indicators
719 informative elements have been distributed, including maps, posters, notices, timetables, fares, pictograms, logos and other items, in order to help users in their journeys through the new FGV infrastructure.
In addition, the new line’s stations and stops are equipped with intercoms and tele-indicators that provide service information to assist users.
Intercoms
A total of 53 intercoms have been installed in lobbies, lifts and on platforms. These are devices through which users can contact the agents at the Command Post to request information and assistance by pressing the intercom button.
Validation steps
As for ticket validator flaps, FGV has installed 29 in the underground section, 10 of which are for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM).
Connection to the rest of the network
The Alacant and Bailén (Line 7) stations are connected by a pedestrian passage which will allow users of Line 7 to transfer to Line 10.
This year, work will begin on the pedestrian passage from Alacant to Xàtiva (Lines 3, 5 and 9). Its projected length is of more than 250 metres and it will connect both stations underground, starting at lobby level on the Alacant side and reaching about three metres below the lobby level of the Xàtiva station. This will require a vertical communication core consisting of fixed stairs, an escalator and a lift for PRM.
Free transfer in Alacant
From the moment the new line enters into service, its connection with the rest of the metro network will be free of charge. Consequently, transfers between the stations of Xàtiva (L3, L5 and L9), Bailén (L7), Plaça Espanya (L1 and L2) and Alacant (L10) will be free of charge, even if the pedestrian passage that will link Alacant and Xàtiva is not completed. In the reverse direction, from L10 to the rest of the network, the transfer will also be free of charge.
In other words, after leaving the Metrovalencia facilities at these stations, passengers will be able to walk down the street or along the Bailén pedestrian walkway to Alacant, where they will be able to validate their ticket without being charged for any additional trip. The time available for users to make this free transfer will be 20 minutes.
Additionally, thanks to the new SUMA integrated tickets, Cercanías, MetroBus and EMT passengers will be able to transfer free of charge to Line 10, as is the case with all Metrovalencia lines.
Video surveillance
FGV has installed a total of 168 video surveillance cameras, both in the underground and overground sections, as well as in the pedestrian passage that will link the Alacant and Bailén stations and in the temporary rolling stock depot that has been built in Natzaret.
Art in the stations
The comic artist Paco Roca, winner of the National Comic Prize and Medal of Fine Arts, created a large-scale mural dedicated to Amado Granell in the station of the same name.
The idea of the mural, in the words of Paco Roca, is “to show a part of his life. Amado Granell symbolises the sadness of the exile of so many Spaniards and their struggle outside the country to defeat fascism and Nazism. Thanks to their sacrifices, their struggles and their victory, we now have democracies in Europe and in Spain.”
Russafa station has two large artistic murals that were installed on the front walls of the two platforms.
The works occupy the entire platform wall of each level of the station, covering an area of more than two hundred square metres per mural. The mural on the second floor is the work of artists Mr. Simon and Azucena Gonzalez, and offers their particular vision of sustainable mobility. The second mural is the work of the artistic duo formed by Nero and Unamesa, who sequentially reflect the evolution of the Russafa neighbourhood.
These artistic works are the result of the collaboration between FGV and the Zedre Cultural Association under the #Artalmetro initiative.
Station and stop illustrations
The names of some of the eight stations and stops on Line 10 are based on more functional geographical criteria, and others are of a historical and popular nature. The aim is always to help users to find their way around.
The creations of eight different illustrators accompany the names of the stations and stops. The illustrations present elements or characters linked to the chosen name, along with each artist’s personal style.
Diego Blanco made the picture of Alacant; Mar Hernández “Malota” that of Russafa; Pau Valls that of Amado Granell-Montolivet; Irene Pérez that of Quatre Carreres; Víctor Visa that of Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justícia; Ángela Fernández del Campo that of Oceanogràfic; Simone Virgini that of Moreres; and Elga Fernández Lamas that of Natzaret.
