Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana
Encyclopedia
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (ˌfɛrokaˈriɫz ðə la dʒeneɾaliˈtad valensiˈana, "Valencian Government Railways") or FGV is a public Valencian
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...

 railway company which operates several metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

 lines, in the Autonomous Community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...

 of Valencia, in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

The company operates a non-electrified 92 km (57.2 mi) long line, between Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...

, Benidorm
Benidorm
Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....

, and Dénia
Dénia
Dénia is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, the judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta...

.

And also operates the city tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 and metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 system of Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...

 (Valencia Metro
Valencia Metro
Metrovalencia is a modern amalgamation of former FEVE narrow gauge diesel and electric operated suburban/regional railways. It is a large suburban network that crosses the city of Valencia, with all trains continuing out to far-flung suburbs. It also has destinations on lines that make it more...

) and Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...

 (Alicante Tram
Alicante Tram
The Alicante Metropolitan TRAM operates in the Spanish city of Alicante and its surrounding area and, like other narrow gauge railways in the Valencian Community, is run by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana...

).

The company is owned by the Generalitat of Valencia (government of the Valencian Community).

Establishment of FGV

FGV was founded as a company in 1986, and on 1 January 1987 took over all remaining narrow gauge railways in the Valencian Community. These had previously been part of the nationally owned FEVE
FEVE
FEVE is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's of metre gauge railway.-History:...

 system.

The newly formed railway system consisted of various electrified suburban lines around Valencia and the diesel-worked Alicante to Denia railway. Much of the infrastructure was in a poor state following neglect by the FEVE administration and patronage was consequently low.

Investment in the Valencia system

The early years of FGV saw much investment in the Valencia suburban system. The lines to the north and south of the city were connected by cross-town tunnels which were developed into the current metro system. FGV also introduced the first modern tram in Spain, partly running on the alignment of narrow gauge railways.

Both the metro and trams systems are being developed through the addition of new lines. Projects are also in hand to modernise the classic parts of the system through realignments and new rolling stock.

Investment in the Alicante system

In Alicante too, the narrow gauge railway is being developed into a modern tramway. It has been extended through a tunnel to Mercado and will ultimately reach the RENFE railway station through an extension of this tunnel. The tram system is also being extended in other directions.

The Alicante to Dénia railway line is being electrified as far as Altea and will be served by tram-train
Tram-train
A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run both on an urban tramway network and on main-line railways to combine the tram's flexibility and availability and the train's greater speed...

s (vehicles that can run on both railway and tramway infrastructure). The remaining section to Denia will continue to be diesel-worked for the time being and trainsets have been modernised for this purpose.

In Benidorm, a local tram service is also being planned. This will branch off the main railway line and serve the centre of this town.

Future projects

FGV is seeking to take over the Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....

 to Alcoi railway from Renfe
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...

. The mountain railway is currently in a poor state and served only by three trains per day and direction.

External links

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