Line 6 will radically improve the connectivity of the network as it will connect with Line 1 at Los Leones, the future Line 3 at Ñuñoa, Line 5 at Ñuble and Line 2 at Franklin. Line 6 also provides an interchange with Chilean State Railways’ recently-inaugurated Nos Express suburban service.
Trial operation and systems testing has been underway since July 4 in preparation for the opening. Line 6 will reduce the journey time from Los Leones to Cerrillos from 47 to 19 minutes, and is expected to carry 42 million passengers per year.
Line 6 was constructed simultaneously with the new $US 1.79bn 22km-long Line 3 which will open next year. Both lines have the latest technology including automatic operation with CBTC, platform screen doors, entry and exit gates instead of traditional turnstiles, interactive information screens, and intercoms. CAF is supplying 185 cars, of which 65 are for Line 6 and 120 will be for Line 3.
The completion of Line 6 together with extensions to lines 2 and 3, and the new Line 7, will expand the metro network from 103.5km to 174km with 164 stations by in 2025.
