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Valparaíso, the city proper has 300,000 inhabitants, and the conurbation with Viña del Mar reaches 900,000 inhabitants, including other districts (or comunas) like Villa Alemana, Quilpué, among others.

The Metro Valparaíso runs between the Valparaíso harbour and Limache (43 km, 20 stations). It was developed out of a former suburban railway, which eventually stopped operating on 30 June 2005. Major works were carried out on the route through Viña del Mar, where the alignment was put underground for 5 km with 4 stations (Miramar, Viña del Mar, Hospital Gustavo Fricke and Chorrillos). Since 1999 existing stations have been modernised and some new stations added. The line is operated every 5 minutes between Puerto and El Belloto, but cannot be classified as a full metro due to the existence of various level crossings and the long distances between stations on the eastern section of the line. Limache is served every 15 minutes. A trip from end to end takes 50 minutes.

The Metro de Valparaíso is operated by 'Metro Regional de Valparaíso S.A.', a subsidiary of EFE, Chilean State Railways, with 27 Alstom X'Trapolis trains.

2007 © Stephen Knight

19 Nov 2005: trial operation Puerto - Recreo
23 Nov 2005: official opening Puerto - Limache

 Projects

- OPERATION

06:30 - 23:00 (peak hours 07:30-09:30 & 18:00-19:30)

Puerto - Belloto: every 5 min
Belloto - Stgo Aldea: every 7.5 min
Stgo Aldea - Limache: every 15 min

- FARES (2005)

Fares depend on distance travelled (5 zones): 380 - 780 pesos (360 - 600 off-peak)

Metro de Valparaíso (Official Site)

Metro de Valparaíso at Wikipedia (Spanish)

MetroVal - private site

MetroVal photos