There has been a rich history of urban rail service in Alicante. The tram service began on 13 July 1893 and the network was rapidly expanding to Mutxamel (1902), Elche and Crevillent (1905) and San Vicente del Raspeig (1906). Initially, the streetcars were horse-drawn. Since 1903 the trams were carried as well by the power of steam engine, leading to the disappearance of the horse-drawn trams by 1924. The electrification of tram lines began in 1923. In 1920s and 30s the network was further expanded throughout the city and was extensively used in 1940s. In 1950s, due to high costs of electricity, trams were gradually losing the competition against growing automobile services and by 14 November 1969 they completely disappeared from the streets. Thirty years later, on 13 March 1999 the trams were back with the inauguration of an experimental route between Plaza del Mar and Albufereta that was extended to El Campello in 2003.[3][4]
Lines
Tram at Holanda station on line L4Flexity Outlook type tram at the station Alicante - La MarinaNew MAN 2500 series diesel train at depot near La Marina stationOld MAN 2300 series diesel train in El Campello station
† Notes: What is now L3 was opened initially in 1999 as an experimental service between Porta del Mar and Albufereta, and was extended to El Campello in 2003. 4L no longer operates as of 2013 and instead has had its service replaced by L5. L9 was originally taken over by FGV in 1987, and was incorporated into the tram network upon its opening.[5]
L1
L1 is a limited-stop service from Alicante city centre to Benidorm taking 70 minutes journey time. In Benidorm, it connects with line L9 to Denia.[6]
L2
L2 starts from the city centre to the General Hospital of Alicante, the University of Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig, with a journey time of 28 minutes.
L3
L3 is a stopping service from Alicante to El Campello.
L4
L4 runs from the city centre to a loop in Playa de San Juan district.
4L
4L ran from Porta del Mar to Sangueta. The section is now replaced by the longer L5 that additionally runs through the shared L4 loop though the Playa de San Juan. 4L was previously an extension of the old L1 built to facilitate passengers to the core of the city but due to the diversion of all lines through the urban tunnel to Luceros, the tracks were connected to the new diversions and established as 4L (Puerta del Mar - Sangueta | Lanzadera Puerta del Mar), later closing in 2013 but reopening as a part of the then new L5.[7][circular reference]
L5
L5 starts at Porta del Mar to Sangueta, then following the L4 loop in Playa de San Juan district. It was opened in 2019, using former alignment from Porta del Mar and Sangueta that was used prior to the opening of the city centre tunnel to Luceros.[8]
L9
L9 is diesel powered commuter rail service from Benidorm along the coast to Denia, stopping at other important tourist towns like Altea and Calp. Services are subject to disruption due to engineering works as the line is prepared for electrification.
Shared Central Section
Lines L1, L2, L3 and L4 share the city centre underground section between MARQ and the city centre Luceros station. The Mercado station on the segment was opened on 10 May 2007 and the Luceros was opened on 18 June 2010.
Utilisation
In 2022, the network served more than 13 million passengers. The busiest stations were Luceros (2,110,810 passengers), Mercado (1,367,514), Benidorm (731,051), San Vicente del Raspeig (686,983) and El Campello (540,622).[2]
Line 9 route in 2023
Future expansion
The underground section is planned to continue westward to Estación Multimodal serving the Adif station (and a possible relocation of the bus station). This was originally delayed, but in April 2022 President of the Valencian GovernmentXimo Puig committed funds to progress this extension.[9]
On the other hand, there are plans to extend the tram-train service in different places:[10]
New Line 6, from Estación Intermodal to Hospital of San Vicente del Raspeig
New line to the neighborhoods in the south of the city
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