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| RED Metropolitana | |
|---|---|
| Name | RED Metropolitana |
| Native name | RED Metropolitana de Movilidad |
| Locale | Santiago, Chile |
| Transit type | Rapid transit, Commuter rail, Bus rapid transit |
| Lines | 7 (core metro lines) + commuter rail corridors |
| Stations | 136+ |
| Began operation | 2007 |
| Operator | Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metropolitanos (ETPM) |
| Annual ridership | 600 million (approx.) |
| Electrification | 750 V DC third rail; 25 kV AC overhead (commuter) |
| Map state | collapsed |
RED Metropolitana RED Metropolitana is the integrated public transport system serving the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile. It coordinates urban rapid transit, commuter rail, and high-capacity bus corridors to provide mobility across Santiago, connecting with municipal services, regional rail, and intercity links. The system integrates infrastructure, rolling stock procurement, fare systems, and service planning across multiple agencies and private operators.
RED Metropolitana's development followed decades of transit planning in Santiago. Early components trace to the opening of the Santiago Metro lines in the 1970s and expansions during the 1980s and 1990s under administrations of Augusto Pinochet and successive democratically elected governments. Major integration steps occurred during the 2000s with projects led by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (Chile), the Transantiago reform, and investment programs under presidents including Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera. Key milestones included construction of new metro lines, modernization of the Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, and rollout of the unified contactless fare system piloted with support from the World Bank and consultancy from firms like Gordon Wilcock & Associates.
RED Metropolitana operations involve coordination among public agencies and private operators. Core infrastructure ownership rests with entities such as the Metro de Santiago and the Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, while concessions for bus and feeder services have been held by operators including Transdev Chile, Metbus, and SBA. Service planning interfaces with the Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo for transit-oriented development around key nodes such as Estación Central and Los Héroes. Operational control centers use signaling and scheduling frameworks influenced by standards from International Association of Public Transport partners. Security and fare enforcement coordinate with the Carabineros de Chile and municipal transit police units.
The network combines metro lines, commuter rail corridors, and bus rapid transit trunk routes. Major interchange stations include Baquedano, Los Héroes, Universidad de Chile, and Estación Central, linking metro services with Puente Alto and San Bernardo commuter flows. Peripheral extensions connect to municipalities like Maipú, San Miguel, and La Florida. Accessibility upgrades have followed guidelines from the National Disability Service (Chile) and international norms exemplified by stations in New York City and London retrofits. Several stations are integrated with urban redevelopment projects associated with the Santiago Centro renewal and the Costanera Center precinct.
Rolling stock in RED Metropolitana encompasses multiple generations of metro trains, commuter electric multiple units, and articulated buses. Metro fleets include models procured from manufacturers such as Alstom, CAF, and Siemens. Commuter corridors utilize EMUs compatible with 25 kV AC overhead systems procured in coordination with Portugal's CP advisors. Bus rapid transit vehicles have been supplied by companies including Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. Signaling systems incorporate communications-based train control influenced by implementations in Barcelona and Paris. Fare collection uses contactless smartcards interoperable with systems in Madrid and Sao Paulo and back-end platforms developed with assistance from Thales Group and Cubic Transportation Systems.
Governance is multi-layered: national policy guidance from the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (Chile), regional planning by the Metropolitan Regional Government (Chile), and operational agencies such as Metro de Santiago and Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado. Funding mixes public capital investment, concessional loans from multilateral lenders like the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank, and private-public partnership contracts with firms such as Aguas Andinas-associated consortia. Fare policy has been shaped by political processes involving municipal authorities and national budgetary allocations under administrations including Ricardo Lagos and Patricio Aylwin.
Pre-pandemic annual ridership figures were in the hundreds of millions, with peak-hour demand concentrated on corridors serving Puente Alto, Pudahuel, and Providencia. Performance metrics track on-time performance, mean distance between failures (MDBF) benchmarking against systems like Buenos Aires Metro and Mexico City Metro, and customer satisfaction surveys modeled after Transport for London indices. Service disruptions have been analyzed in reports by Universidad de Chile and consultancy studies from BCG.
Planned expansion projects include new metro lines, commuter rail electrification, and station capacity upgrades coordinated with the National Infrastructure Commission (Chile). Proposed extensions aim to serve growth areas such as Quilicura, Renca, and the Cordillera foothills, with project financing discussions involving the Inter-American Development Bank and private consortia. Technology roadmaps consider battery-electric buses influenced by pilots in Copenhagen and deployment of advanced signaling similar to projects in Singapore. Environmental assessments reference standards from the United Nations Environment Programme and national regulation under the Ministry of Environment (Chile).
Category:Transport in Santiago Category:Public transport by city