New tram system to relieve traffic congestion
A new light rail system, or tranvia as it is more generally known, goes into service on the island of Tenerife shortly.
A 7.5-miles line will operate between the island capital of Santa Cruz and the neighbouring city of La Laguna.
The metro system is designed to relieve congestion in the two cities, which, unless checked, will cause traffic gridlock in five years time.
The route of the new service will mean that more than half of the 350,000 population of the two cities will have no more than a five-minute walk to their nearest tram stop.
The overhead electricity power supply to the tramcars will be generated by ten specially-commissioned wind turbines, making it a totally zero-emission system.
Initially, trams will run every five minutes, with a journey time of 37 minutes. Stops are situated every 500-600 metres and the whole line has double track.
The tramcars, built in Barcelona, have been specially adapted to cope with the steep gradients along the route, the track climbing 600 metres in 12km. The 32-metre trams are driven through all six wheels, enabling them to average 20km per hour on the journey. They have a top speed of 70km per hour.
The system will have 20 tramcars available at start up, each capable of carrying 200 passengers, 60 of them seated.
The operators, Metropolitano de Tenerife, expect around 44,000 journeys to be made each day in the first year, removing an estimated 10,000 cars from congested city streets.
Trams will run from 5am-midnight during weekdays and 24 hours a day at weekends and during festivals.
Future plans for the system include an extension taking the line from La Laguna to Tenerife’s north airport at Los Rodeos and a branch line to serve the district of La Cuesta, another heavily populated area.