en Santiago Metro Line 4

Santiago Metro Line 4
Santiago Metro Line 4
	Train at Francisco Bilbao
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro S.A.
Locale	Santiago Province and Cordillera Province, western Santiago, Chile
Termini	Tobalaba ; Plaza de Puente Alto;
Stations	23
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Santiago Metro
Services	1
Operator(s)	Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro S.A.
Depot(s)	Maintenance near Quilín, storage of trains near Las Mercedes
Rolling stock	Alstom AS 2002 [es]
Daily ridership	328,200 (2015)
History
Opened	November 30, 2005
Technical
Line length	24.7 km (15.3 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	Underground, open cut, at-grade and elevated
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

Santiago Metro Line 4 is one of the seven lines that currently make up the Santiago Metro network in Santiago, Chile. It has 23 stations and 23.9 km (14.9 mi) of track. The line intersects with Line 1 at Tobalaba, with Line 3 at Plaza Egaña at northeast, and with Line 4A at Vicuña Mackenna and with Line 5 at Vicente Valdés in southeast. It will also intersect with the futures Line 8 at Macul and Line 9 at Plaza de Puente Alto. Its distinctive colour on the network line map is blue.

Currently, it is the only line in the system to leave the Santiago Province, serving Puente Alto in the Cordillera Province.

In 2015, Line 4 accounted for 18.1% of all trips made on the metro system with a ridership of 328,200.

In October 2019, the line suspended operations as a result of the 2019 Santiago protests,^[1] however by 2020 all of its stations have reopened.

History

The first section of the new Line 4 was opened to the public on November 30, 2005 by President Ricardo Lagos Escobar running between Tobalaba station and Grecia station and between Vicente Valdés station - Plaza de Puente Alto station. The gap in the line between Grecia station and Vicente Valdés station was initially covered by Transantiago buses. Later, Los Presidentes station, Quilín station, Las Torres station, Macul station and Vicuña Mackenna station were opened to the public on March 2, 2006, connecting the first two sections.

On December 9, 2007, an express service began to run on Line 4 at peak times, stopping at certain stations only to allow for faster journeys.

On June 1, 2018 Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced in the public account the extension of Line 4 to the sector of Bajos de Mena in Puente Alto that will be operational in 2026.

October 2019 protests

In October 2019, as a result of the protests caused by the rise in the subway fare, major damage occurred throughout the metro network. Line 4 was the most heavily damaged line out of all the metro's services. The Los Quillayes, San José de la Estrella, Macul, Protectora de la Infancia, Trinidad and Elisa Correa stations were completely burned; the latter two stations suffered the worst amount of damage to their structures and tracks, which would prevent normal operation of Line 4 for a period lasting 10 to 12 months. Line 4 partially reopened between Tobalaba and Quilín stations on October 28.

On November 6, the electrification of the tracks in the section between the stations Las Torres and Plaza de Puente Alto was restored, which suffered considerable damage, while evaluating the repairs to the line. On November 15, 2019, it was announced that service on the entirety of Line 4 would resume (with the exception of Vicuña Mackenna, Vicente Valdés, Hospital Sótero del Río, Las Mercedes and Plaza de Puente Alto stations) from November 18. On August 12, 2020, the Macul station was reopened. On September 14, the Elisa Correa, Los Quillayes and San José de la Estrella stations were reopened. Finally, on September 25, the Trinidad and Protectora de la Infancia stations were reopened, thus completing 100% operation at all stations.

Future

There is an expansion project planned for Line 4 proposing to extend the line to the north through Kennedy Avenue, benefitting the neighbourhoods of Las Condes and Vitacura and allowing an easier access to shopping centres located in Kennedy Avenue. Another proposal is considering connecting the Huechuraba business district with Tobalaba station, passing under the Costanera Center and San Cristóbal Hill.

Communes served by Line 4

Line 4 serves the following communes from south to north:

Tren Expreso (Express Service)

The skip-stop express service^[2] works during peak hours and allows trains to stop at alternate stations, reducing the number of stops and the duration of journeys. The stations on the line are divided into “green route” stations, “red route” stations and “common” stations (Spanish: estación común), where all trains stop and allow passengers to switch between red and green routes. The express service works from Monday to Friday, between 6am - 9am, 12pm - 3pm and 6pm - 9pm.

Red Route Stations

Green Route Stations

Common Stations

There are 9 stations where both red and green route trains stop. They are the busiest stations and give commuters the chance to change between routes.

Stations

Note: in this wikitable a "Province" column is also added, as the Line 4 is the only Line to leave the Santiago Province, with five stations in the Cordillera Province.

Line 4 stations from south to north are:

Stations	Location	Opening	Commune	Province	Notes
Tobalaba	Av. Tobalaba/Avenida Apoquindo	November 30, 2005	Providencia/Las Condes	Santiago
Cristóbal Colón	Avenida Tobalaba/Avenida Eliodoro Yáñez		Providencia/Las Condes
Francisco Bilbao	Avenida Tobalaba/Avenida Francisco Bilbao		Providencia/Las Condes/La Reina
Príncipe de Gales	Avenida Ossa/Avenida Tobalaba/Avenida Principe De Gales		Ñuñoa/La Reina
Simón Bolívar	Avenida Ossa/Avenida Echeñique
Plaza Egaña	Avenida Ossa/Avenida Irarrázaval
Los Orientales	Vespucio Sur highway/Avenida Oriental		Ñuñoa/Peñalolén
Grecia	Vespucio Sur highway/Avenida Grecia		Ñuñoa/Macul/Peñalolén
Los Presidentes	Vespucio Sur highway/Avenida Los Presidentes	March 2, 2006	Macul/Peñalolén
Quilín	Vepsucio Sur highway/Avenida Quilín
Las Torres	Vepsucio Sur highway/Avenida Las Torres
Macul	Vespucio Sur highway/Avenida La Florida		Macul/Peñalolén/La Florida		This station will be future combination with the line in 2030.
Vicuña Mackenna	Vespucio Sur highway/Julio Vildosola		La Florida		Vicuña Mackenna is the only station in the system with at least one island platform, having two.
Vicente Valdés	Avenida Vicuña Mackenna/Vicente Valdés	November 30, 2005
Rojas Magallanes	Avenida Vicuña Mackenna /Rojas Magallanes
Trinidad	Avenida Vicuña Mackenna/Avenida Trinidad
San José de la Estrella	Avenida Vicuña Mackenna/Avenida San José de la Estrella	November 5, 2009
Los Quillayes	Avenida Vicuña Mackenna/Maria Elena	November 30, 2005
Elisa Correa	Avenida Concha y Toro/Elisa Correa		La Florida/Puente Alto	Santiago/Cordillera
Hospital Sótero del Rio	Avenida Concha y Toro/Hospital Sótero del Rio		Puente Alto	Cordillera
Protectora de la Infancia	Avenida Concha y Toro/Ángel Pimentel		Puente Alto
Las Mercedes	Avenida Concha y Toro/Independencia		Puente Alto
Plaza de Puente Alto	Avenida Concha y Toro /Manuel Rodríguez		Puente Alto