The
Buenos Aires Metro (locally known as
Subte - from "
subterráneo" -
underground or
subterranean-) is a mass-transit system that serves the city of
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
,
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
. The first station of this network was inaugurated in 1913, being the first of its kind in
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and in the entire
Southern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'...
. The network expanded rapidly during the early decades of the 20
th century, but the pace of expansion fell sharply after the years following the Second World War.
The
Buenos Aires Metro (locally known as
Subte - from "
subterráneo" -
underground or
subterranean-) is a mass-transit system that serves the city of
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
,
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
. The first station of this network was inaugurated in 1913, being the first of its kind in
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and in the entire
Southern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'...
. The network expanded rapidly during the early decades of the 20
th century, but the pace of expansion fell sharply after the years following the Second World War. Towards at the end of 1990 began a new process of expanding, with the planning of four new lines.
At the present,
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
is the only Argentine city with a
metro systemA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
, nonetheless there is a project to build an underground system in the city of
CórdobaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province....
(
Córdoba MetroThe Córdoba Metro is a project that will, according to its proponents, serve the Argentine city of Córdoba through a metro network. The metro system will become the second in Argentina along with the Buenos Aires Metro.- Overview of system :...
) which would make it the second metro system in Argentina
History
The first station was opened on 1 December 1913 making it the oldest
metroA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
system in
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the
Southern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'...
, and the entire
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
-speaking world. It grew rapidly in the early part of the twentieth century, but work on extending the network stagnated in the years following
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Initially managed by three different companies (Line A was managed by Anglo-Argentine Tramway Company, Line B by Lacroze Hnos. y Cia. and Lines C, D and E by CHADOP y F - Hispano-Argentine Company of Public Works and Finances-), the entire network was centralised and nationalised during the late 1930s under the management of the Transport Corporation of Buenos Aires (CTBA), which in 1952 was absorbed by the Buenos Aires Transport General Administration (AGTBA). In 1963 the administration was dissolved and the subway network became the property of the Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (SBA) company (later SBASE). In 1994 the service was
privatisedFollowing a prolonged period of hyperinflation in the 1980s, accompanied by a steep increase in fiscal deficit and a sharp fall in reserves, the Argentine government, under the presidency of Carlos Menem from 1989, initiated a series of neoliberal reforms which included the privatisation of...
and is now managed by
MetrovíasMetrovías S.A. is a privately-owned company which, on 1 January 1994, took over the concession, granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem, for the operation of the standard gauge Línea Urquiza commuter rail service in Buenos Aires,...
S.A. with the stations remaining the property of SBASE.
Current Network
The network comprises six underground lines, labelled "A" to "E" and "H" and which are further identified by different colours, covering a total track length of 52 km. There is also one surface
PreMetro E2PreMetroThe PreMetro or Line E2 is a 7.4 km light rail line that connects with the Buenos Aires Metro Line E, at Plaza de los Virreyes station and runs to General Savio and Centro Cívico and is operated by Metrovías....
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
line. Daily ridership is 1.7 million and on the increase. With the current usage patterns, the entire system is overstretched, and during weekdays overcrowded and with insufficient services. An expansion program is planned, and it is expected to enlarge the network to 97 km by 2011.
Fares are cheap (
ARSThe peso is the currency of Argentina. Its ISO 4217 code is ARS, and the symbol used locally for it is $ . It is divided into 100 centavos...
1.10 (around USD 0.31) and are in fact cheaper than the city buses. While tokens have been used in the past, at present, riders purchase either single-use or multi-use cards (called SubtePass) with a magnetic strip or use
ContactlessContactless may refer to:* Contactless smart card* Proximity card, a contactless integrated circuit device used for security access or payment systems* Contactless payment, systems which use RFID for making secure payments...
cards called Monedero which can be rechargeable with cash or linked to a bank account for automatic debit. Trains run from 5:00 until 22:45, every 3-6 minutes.
style="margin:inherit; text-align:center; padding-bottom:0.25em"|Buenos Aires Metro Lines
| Line |
Colour |
Date opening |
Original path |
Current termini |
Length /km |
Number of stations |
Daily passengers |
| Line A Subte Line ASubte Line A is the oldest line of the Buenos Aires Metro. This historical line runs from Plaza de Mayo to Carabobo , and is scheduled to be extended towards Nazca....
|
Light Blue |
1913 |
Plaza de Mayo-Plaza Miserere |
Plaza de Mayo-Carabobo |
8.5 |
16 |
190,000 |
| Line B Subte Line BLine B of the Buenos Aires Metro runs from Leandro N. Alem to Los Incas .Opened on 17 October 1930, 8.94 km.-Stations:* Leandro N...
|
Red |
1930 |
Federico Lacroze-Callao |
L. N. Alem-de Los Incas/Parque Chas |
10.2 |
15 |
345,000 |
| Line C Subte Line CThe Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro that runs from Retiro to Constitución terminus, opened on 9 November 1934, 4.4 km.-Stations and connections:* Retiro Station* General San Martín* Lavalle* Diagonal Norte Line B Line D...
|
Blue |
1934 |
Plaza Constitución-Diagonal Norte |
Plaza Constitución-Retiro |
4.5 |
9 |
278,000 |
| Line D Subte Line DSubte Line D of the Buenos Aires Metro runs from Catedral to Congreso de Tucumán. The D Line opened on 3 June 1937 and has been expanded to the north several times...
|
Green |
1937 |
Catedral-Tribunales |
Catedral-Congreso de Tucumán |
11.0 |
16 |
385,000 |
| Line E Subte Line ESubte Line E of the Buenos Aires Metrowhich runs from Bolivar to Plaza de los Virreyes , opened on 20 June 1944, currently extends a total distance of 9.2 km.-Stations and connections:...
|
Purple |
1944 |
Plaza Constitución-Gral. Urquiza |
Plaza de los Virreyes-Bolívar |
9.6 |
15 |
104,000 |
| Line F This line of the Buenos Aires metro is only planned.*Plaza Italia *Salguero*S de Bustamente*Puerreydón *Junín*Argelia*Santa Fe *Córdoba*Corrientes...
* |
Maroon |
No official opening date |
Plaza Constitución-Plaza Italia** |
* |
8.6** |
13** |
* |
| Line G Line G is a planned addition to the Buenos Aires Metro.This line is planned as follows:*Retiro*Cerrito*Uruguay*Callao*Pueyrredón*Jean Jaures*Mario Bravo*Gascón*Estado De Israel*Parque Centenario*Cid Campeador-External links:...
* |
Orange |
No official opening date |
Retiro-Cid Campeador** |
* |
7.3** |
11** |
* |
| Line H Subte Line HRecently inaugurated Plaza Once-Caseros Line H of the Buenos Aires Underground is planned to run from Retiro to Nueva Pompeya once the remaining sections are constructed....
|
Yellow |
2007 |
Once-Caseros |
Once-Caseros |
3.4 |
5 |
10,000 |
| Line I Line I is a planned addition to the Buenos Aires Metro.This line is planned as follows:*Directorio *Rivadavia *Pedro Goyena*Díaz Vélez *Warnes*Corrientes*Córdoba*Costa Rica...
* |
Gold |
No official opening date |
Plaza Italia-Parque Chacabuco** |
* |
6.6** |
9** |
* |
* Planned lines
** Anexo I from the law 670. |
Cultural Heritage
The Buenos Aires Metro has been historically characterized by the presence of murals and other artistic works in its stations, constituting a true museum throughout its entire system. This work and a number of stations themselves are considered part of the cultural patrimony of the city and several of them were declared National Historic Landmarks in 1997.
In popular culture
The metro is featured in the 1996
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
film
Moebius directed by Gustavo Mosquera. In the film, the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a metro train are investigated by a
topologistTopology is a major area of mathematics concerned with spatial properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, for example deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...
. The film is based upon the
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
, "A Subway Named Möbius" that takes place in the
Boston SubwayThe Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is "a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
.
PreMetro light rail
-
-
- Main article: PreMetro
PreMetroThe PreMetro or Line E2 is a 7.4 km light rail line that connects with the Buenos Aires Metro Line E, at Plaza de los Virreyes station and runs to General Savio and Centro Cívico and is operated by Metrovías....
See also
External links