The latest section of Line 1 to open is the 5.2km stretch from Plaza de Pilar Murallas to Avenida de la Academia and follows previous extensions of 816m from Gran Via to Plaza de España which opened in October 2012 and a 844m section to César Augusto and Plaza del Pilar which opened in December.
Line 1 includes a 3.2km catenary-free stretch in the city's historical centre between Gran Vía and La Chimenea. Here 21 CAF Urbos LRVs supplied for the line from its Zaragoza plant operate using an on-board energy storage system based on supercapacitors and batteries which are recharged at stations and during braking.
The second phase of Line 1 adds 14 stations to the 11 on the inaugural 5.9km stretch which opened in April 2011 and runs north from Mago do Oz to Plaza Aragon in the city centre.
The project has been implemented as a public-private partnership with a €130m contribution from the Aragon regional government and the city council, and the rest from the private concessionaire, Traza.
Traza is operating the line under a 35-year contract which commenced at the start of construction in 2009 and is a joint venture comprising CAF (25%), a subsidiary of bus operator Avanza (25%) and construction companies Acciona and FCC which each have a 16.6% stake, as well as some minor shareholders.
Ridership is forecasted at 100,000 passengers per day with each LRV having capacity for 206 passengers, including 52 seated. The vehicles have a maximum speed of 70km/h allowing for a commercial speed of 20km/h.
