- 400,000 PASSENGERS/DAY: It is 22.6 kilometers long and has fifteen stations, as a key part of the city’s new public transport network.
Quito authorities have officially inaugurated the first subway line in Ecuador's capital. The project was built by ACCIONA for $1,592 milllion.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, and various local personalities, as well as ACCIONA representatives led by José Ángel Tejero, ACCIONA's Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer, and Huberto Moreno, CEO of ACCIONA's Construction business.
The subway’s Line 1 runs from Quitumbe, in the south of the city, to El Labrador, in the north. It has a total of fifteen stations: Quitumbe, Morán Valverde, Solanda, Cardenal de la Torre, El Recreo, La Magdalena, San Francisco, La Alameda, El Ejido, Universidad Central, La Pradera, La Carolina, Iñaquito, Jipijapa and El Labrador.
For the construction of this project, ACCIONA has simultaneously employed three tunnel-boring machines of more than 9 meters in height, named "La Guaragua", "La Carolina" and "Luz de América".
The inauguration and start-up of the line is the first element of a new public transportation system in the city. It is estimated that it will serve some 400,000 passengers a day, helping to reduce traffic and improve communication between different parts of the city, as well as reducing travel duration.
SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
The Quito City Council awarded this contract in 2015 to “Consorcio Línea 1 Metro de Quito”, a consortium in which ACCIONA participated, for $1,592 million. The project consisted of the construction of an over 22-meter-long tunnel and fifteen new stations, as well as depots, workshops and the railway facilities required for its commissioning.
The construction of the Quito subway is part of the Integrated Mass Transit System, an ambitious program that not only seeks to respond to the Ecuadorian capital's current traffic problems, but also to organize the future of its urban transport according to new criteria of sustainability and respect for the environment.
EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
ACCIONA has outstanding technical credentials and extensive experience in the development of urban mobility solutions. Regarding railroads and subway lines, the company has built more than 3,000 kilometers of tracks, of which 1,200 kilometers belong to high-speed railways.
The company also has vast experience in underground construction, with more than 600 kilometers of completed tunnels. For example, the Follo Line rail tunnels in Norway and the Legacy Way tunnels in Brisbane (Australia) stand out, as they have won international awards.
ACCIONA has participated or is participating in the construction of subway lines in cities around the world, such as Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Malaga, Seville, Valencia, Sao Paulo, Medellin, Hong Kong, Lisbon and Dubai.