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  locale Santiago
  transit Type Rapid Transit
  began Operation September 15 1975
  system Length 73,1 Km
  lines 5
  stations 78 ''(23 under construction)''
  operator Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro SA


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''Metro de Santiago'' is the Metro system serving Santiago , the capital of the Republic Of Chile . It is a network of five lines with a total of 85 stations, with some currently under construction.


HISTORY


Origin and first project

Popular, modern, secure and efficient, it serves a city of 5.5 million inhabitants. Since its opening in 1975 , ''el Metro'' has changed the city; it is one of Chile 's most important construction projects.

The rapid growth of the population in the city (in 1920 , 507,296 habitants; in 1940 , 1,073,699 habitants) was the principal factor in the birth of the idea. The first plan was in 1944 , but only in 1968 did the works begin. The original idea was 5 lines:

  • Line 1, between Las Rejas and Los Leones by the Alameda and Providencia Avenue.

  • Line 2, between Conchalí and San Miguel by Vivaceta, Panamerican Highway and Gran Avenida.

  • Line 3, between Mapocho and Ñuñoa, by Ahumada and the avenues Matta and Irarrázaval.

  • Line 4, between Estacion Central (Alameda) and San Bernardo, following the Railway to the South

  • Line 5, between Los Cerrillos and Ñuñoa, using the Beltway Railway.



Extension


On September 15 1975 , the ''Metro de Santiago'' was opened between the stations ''San Pablo'' and ''La Moneda'' on Line 1. '''Line 2''' was opened in 1978 between ''Los Héroes'' and '' Lo Ovalle'', and Line 1 was extended to Escuela Militar in 1980 . '''Line 2''' was extended to the north and found the remains of the Cal y Canto Bridge (built in 1782 and destroyed in 1880 ). The extension between ''Los Heroes'' and ''Cal y Canto'' (former ''Mapocho'' Station) was inaugurated in 1987 .

The city had changed since 1968 and the plan had to be changed too. La Florida had become the most populous zone of the city, and the Metro needed to go there. Line 5 was built south from ''Baquedano'' along Vicuña Mackenna Avenue and was opened in 1997 . The Line 5 was extended in 2000 to the west and entered the historical Centre of the City (''Plaza de Armas'' Station), and in 2004 the extensions of '''Line 2''' to the north and south and Line 5 to the west were opened.

In 2002 the construction of Line 4 and '''Line 4A''' began to connect Puente Alto and the southeast of the City to the ''Red de Metro''.

Near the end of 2005 , President Ricardo Lagos said that the government will start to plan the construction of another extension of line 5. It would reach to Maipú, one of the municipalities that is farther away from the center of Santiago .

At this moment, the metro consists of four lines which total 64.4 kilometres and a total of 69 Stations and five transfer stations: ''Los Héroes'', ''Baquedano'', ''Santa Ana'', ''Tobalaba'' and ''Vicente Valdés''; shortly, there will be a total of 31 new stations.
The table shows the evolution of the Metro de Santiago:


STATIONS

In bold are junction stations. In ''italics'' are stations currently under construction.