Buenos Aires
HISTORY OF THE Buenos Aires METRO
Mister M presents
Buenos Aires subway
Buenos Aires Metro Museum
The Buenos Aires Underground (Spanish: Subterráneo de Buenos Aires), locally known as Subte (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsuβte], from subterráneo – 'underground' or 'subterranean'), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo-Plaza Miserere) opened in 1913, making it the 13th subway in the world and the first underground railway in Latin America, the Southern Hemisphere, and the Spanish-speaking world, with the Madrid Metro opening five years later, in 1919. Currently, Buenos Aires is the only Argentine city with a metro system.
Currently, the underground network's six lines—A, B, C, D, E, and H—comprise 56.7 kilometers (35.2 mi) of route that serve 90 stations. The network is complemented by the 7.4-kilometre-long (4.6 mi) Premetro line, and the 26-kilometre-long (16 mi) Urquiza suburban line, with 17 more stations in total. Traffic on lines moves on the left because Argentina drove on the left at the time the system opened. Over a million passengers use the network, which also provides connections with the city's extensive commuter rail and bus rapid transport networks.
The network expanded rapidly during the early decades of the 20th century; by 1944, its main routes were completed, with the addition of its newest line occurring as late as 2007. The pace of expansion fell sharply after the Second World War. In the late 1990s, expansion resumed at a quicker pace, and four new lines were planned for the network. Despite this, the network's expansion has been largely exceeded by the transportation needs of the city and is said to be overcrowded. As of 2015, two modernisation plans have been presented: City of Buenos Aires law 670, proposing the creation of 3 new lines (F, G, and I), and the PETERS plan, wherein 2 lines are created and the I line is postponed for future expansion, plus several other route amendments. Since 2019, there are no expansions under construction, for the first time in half a century.
TIMELINE STORIES
MAPLINE routes
It is 108 years since the inauguration of the first section of line A. It was the first subway in Latin America, Latin America and the southern hemisphere. Despite this pioneering impulse, the extension of the Subway is stagnant: for the first time in half a century there are no stations under construction. Line H, unfinished at both ends, and line F in permanent postponement. SBASE, between indefinitions and minor works. The abandonment of the Subway and its disappearance from public debate.
Today, Wednesday, December 1, marks the 108th anniversary of the inauguration of the first sector of the Buenos Aires Underground network: the section between Plaza de Mayo and Plaza Once (later renamed Plaza Miserere), which was built by the Company of Tranvías Anglo-Argentina (CTAA) and which is currently part of line A.
Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is one of South America's biggest cities with 3 million inhabitants (Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires) and 12 million in the larger metropolitan area (Gran Buenos Aires). For a city of this size the metro network is still very small although it's by far the oldest subway in South America.
After losing many passengers during the 1980's, the Subte was privatised and was then operated by Metrovías which immediately started refurbishing stations and buying new rolling stock to replace older trains, some of which had been running since the Subte opened. On 1 Dec 2021 (until 2033), the new operator became Emova Movilidad, a company formed by Metrovías and Benito Roggio Transporte.
