The Santiago Metro () is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 143 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by the state-owned Metro S.A. and is the first rapid transit system in the country.

The Santiago Metro carries around 2.5 million passengers daily. This figure represents an increase of more than a million passengers per day compared to 2007, when the ambitious Transantiago project was launched, in which the metro plays an important role in the public transport system serving the city. Its highest passenger peak was reached on 2 May 2019, reaching 2,951,962 passengers.

In June 2017 the government announced plans for the construction of Line 7, connecting Renca in the northwest of Santiago with Vitacura in the northeast. The new line will add and 19 new stations to the Metro network, running along the municipalities of Renca, Cerro Navia, Quinta Normal, Santiago, Providencia, Las Condes and Vitacura. Its cost has been initially estimated at US$2.53 bn, and it is projected to open in 2027.

Santiago Metro is the second largest metro system in Latin America after the Mexico City Metro, and the sixth largest metro system in the Americas after the New York City Subway, Mexico City Metro, Bay Area Rapid Transit (San Francisco Bay Area), Washington Metro and Chicago "L".

In March 2012, the Santiago Metro was chosen as the best underground system in the Americas, after being honoured at the annual reception held by Metro Rail in London.

History and development

Early projections and construction of Line 1

left|thumb|Metro network projection in 1944.

The idea of constructing an underground railway network in Santiago dates back to 1944 when efforts to improve the chaotic transport system were initiated due to the rapid population growth the city had been experiencing since the early 1930s.

However, concrete plans began to materialize in the 1960s when Juan Parrochia was appointed as Chief Architect of the Intercommunal Plan of Santiago and began working on an urban master plan featuring a Metro network.

Consequently, the government issued an international tender for the development of an urban transport system. On 24 October 1968, the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva approved the draft submitted by the Franco-Chilean consortium BCEOM SOFRETU CADE, in which the construction of five lines with an extension of approximately by 1990 was proposed.

On 29 May 1969, works finally began for the construction of the first line, which would link the Civil District and the area of Barrancas (current-day Lo Prado).

On 15 September 1975, the first line of the metro was opened by Augusto Pinochet during the military dictatorship. Line 1, during its opening stage, was mostly underground from San Pablo to La Moneda, running below the Alameda. In 1977, the line was extended towards Providencia and by 1980, the line reached as far as Escuela Militar in Las Condes.

In March 1978, Line 2 was opened. Its initial section ran at ground level from Los Héroes to Franklin. By December, the second segment of the line was opened, running underground towards the south along the Gran Avenida up to Lo Ovalle.

Line 2 and 3 extensions

left|thumb|[[Plaza Quilicura metro station|Plaza Quilicura station mezzanine level in 2023]]

On May 26, 2016, Metro announced the extension of Lines 2 and 3, adding 8.9 kilometers and 7 new stations to the Metro network. Both extensions were expected to begin operations during the second half of 2021. The extension of Line 2 to the south would add 5.1 kilometers and 4 new stations connecting the current terminal station in La Cisterna with San Bernardo locality. The new terminal station would be located next to a hospital called Hospital El Pino in San Bernardo. Meanwhile, the extension of Line 3 to the west would add 3.8 kilometers and 3 new stations to the Metro network, connecting the then-future station Los Libertadores with Quilicura.

On November 2, 2017, Line 6 was inaugurated from Cerrillos to Los Leones adding 10 new stations. This new line does not have staffed ticket offices; instead there are automatic machines for ticket sales and loading money onto bip! cards. It has platform-edge doors to protect passengers, and traction power is supplied by overhead line equipment, not by conductor rails as on the other lines. It has new entrance and exit turnstiles at stations. The trains on Line 6 only have steel wheels, and are driverless.

On January 22, 2019, Line 3 was inaugurated, after 9 years of prospecting and construction and being delayed since the 1980s after the 1985 Algarrobo earthquake and the changing demographics of the city during the 1980s and 1990s. Its rolling stock is identical to that on Line 6, and the lines were built simultaneously, so they are considered "twin lines".

On September 25, 2023, Line 3 was extended 3.8 km west from its northern terminus to Plaza Quilicura.

2019 protests

In October 2019, the Santiago metro network was affected by social protests due to the increase in the fare of the entire Metropolitan Mobility Network. Initially, secondary students staged massive acts of evasion between 6 and 11 October. The protests quickly escalated to several metro stations, resulting in train service being repeatedly interrupted.

On 18 October, the situation escalated and the entire network had to be closed due to attacks on stations and workers. At night, after the declaration of a state of emergency by President Sebastián Piñera, several stations of the Metro were destroyed and burned, some of which were attacked again the next day, even though a curfew had been established. Meanwhile, the Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos investigated accusations that the Baquedano station was used as a detention and torture center by police and military. On the morning of the same day, the site was reviewed by staff from the INDH, PDI and guarantee judges. The judges found no evidence of torture or illegal detentions at the site, but an investigation was launched to rule out any irregular situation. However, investigations conducted by the National Institute of Human Rights and the Public Prosecutor's Office found no evidence in this regard; in 2020, the allegations were dismissed, and the case was closed.

The Metro network was partially reactivated as of Monday, October 21; however, due to the damage of some stations, the network would only be available in its entirety within a period of up to 7 months. Damages were estimated at more than $300 million. Metro de Santiago indicated that station infrastructure and rolling stock had not been insured. Lines 3 and 6, meanwhile, opened on 23 October, Lines 2 and 5 on the 25th, Line 4 on the 28th, and line 4A on November 25, in all cases partially and on a shortened schedule.

On October 23, it was reported that 79 stations had been damaged in all, with lines 4, 4A, and 5 having the highest number of stations destroyed or vandalized. There were also damage to 6 trains, 5 on line 4 and one on line 1 - the latter set on fire at the San Pablo station. Upon the reopening of the last two stations (Trinidad and Protectora de la Infancia) on September 25, 2020, the metro system was back to 100% operation.

Lines 7, 8, 9 and Line A

thumb|Projected lines and extensions for year 2037:<br/>It includes the extension of lines [[Santiago Metro Line 4A|4A and 6, the construction of four new lines 7, 8, 9 and A, and the construction of the Santiago-Batuco commuter rail and the extension of the Melitrén commuter rail.]]

On June 1, 2017, President Michelle Bachelet announced in her last public account the construction of Metro Line 7. The plan initially included 21 stations along a 25&nbsp;km extension, between the commune of Renca in the northwestern sector, and Vitacura in the northeastern sector. The route, estimated to open around 2027, was designed with a line parallel to the Mapocho River and Line 1 in mind, which would allow it to be decongested by approximately 10 000 daily passengers. Line 7 would allow the incorporation of the communes of Renca, Cerro Navia and Vitacura into the Network, also connecting popular neighborhoods with part of the financial and commercial district of the city.

At the end of 2017, the newspaper El Mercurio published a report that indicated that the route of the line was modified, so that in the Providencia sector it would not circulate under Andrés Bello Avenue (as originally thought), but would go parallel to Line 1 along Providencia Avenue, eliminating the combination in Salvador and moving it to Pedro de Valdivia. In addition, Metro announced that it would extend Line 6 to Isidora Goyenechea of the future Line 7.

One year after the announcement of Line 7, President Sebastián Piñera announced in his 2018 annual account that studies would begin for the construction of two new metro lines in a north–south direction: Line 8, which will connect the communes of La Florida and Puente Alto with Providencia, while Line 9 would reach from the center to the commune of La Pintana, one of the last in the city to receive the Metro. In addition, he announced that Line 4 would be extended by three stations in the southern sector to reach Bajos de Mena in Puente Alto. It was projected at that time that lines 8 and 9 would be inaugurated in 2028.

The impact of the social outbreak of 2019 delayed the planning work for the extension of the three lines, being resumed in September 2021, so it is estimated that lines 7, 8 and 9 would be inaugurated from 2030. In August 2023, a modification to the layout of Line 9 was announced, expanding it in the north to the Puente Cal y Canto station — which will become the first station with four concurrent lines — and in the south to Plaza de Puente Alto, combining with Line 4 and absorbing the proposed extension to Bajos de Mena.

On May 14, 2025, the newspaper Diario Financiero reported that President Gabriel Boric would announce during that year's public address the construction of a light rail project that would connect the future Line 7 with the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport. With an estimated length of between six and seven kilometers, the train would connect the airport with the future station located on Avenida Mapocho Sur with Huelén in Cerro Navia.

Finally, before the National Congress of Chile, President Gabriel Boric announced on June 1, 2025, the construction of Line A, a light rail line connecting the country's main airport and the Huelén station on Line 7.

Extension of Line 6 and 4A

Before the full Congress, President Gabriel Boric announced on June 1, 2025, that once funds are available, the extension of Line 6 will be built to the populous western part of Maipú, near the Hospital El Carmen. The extension will consist of 6.4 km and three new stations.

Similarly, Line 4A will be extended from La Cisterna to Maipú to Del Sol station, connecting the Lo Espejo district to the metro network, one of the poorest and most isolated in the metropolitan area. The line will also undergo a modernization process and be renamed Line 10. The extension will consist of 10 km and seven new stations.

Both projects are expected to be completed no earlier than 2037.

Future plans

Various proposals have been presented to expand the Santiago Metro once lines 7, 8 and 9 are built.

Two communes in Greater Santiago will not have a direct connection to the Metro Network: Padre Hurtado and Lo Barnechea, while other three only have in theirs limits; San Bernardo, Peñalolén and Huechuraba. Lo Barnechea has expressed its interest in building two additional stations on Line 7 to reach La Dehesa.

During the inauguration of Line 3 in 2019, President Sebastián Piñera declared that Line 10 was going to be built. Although Metro indicated that a tenth line was not officially in its project portfolio, the government indicated that the initiative attempted to connect the Avenida Mapocho sector with Avenida Tobalaba, following the so-called "central ring" along Las Rejas, Suiza and Departamental avenues.

Other alternatives for new lines have been analyzed in the media in recent years and have been momentarily discarded; a line in the eastern sector through Tobalaba-Vespucio or Manquehue, another parallel to Line 1 through 5 de Abril-Blanco Encalada-Santa Isabel-Bilbao and Manquehue, and the northern section of "Line 10" through Dorsal, Lo Espinoza and Radal.

Timeline

{| class="wikitable"

!colspan=2|Line

!Length

!Stations

!Opening Date

!Type

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|San Pablo – La Moneda

|align=center|8.2&nbsp;km

|align=center|12

|align=center|15 Sep 1975

|align=center|Trench/Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|La Moneda – Salvador

|align=center|3.2&nbsp;km

|align=center|5

|align=center|31 Mar 1977

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Los Héroes – Franklin

|align=center|4.9&nbsp;km

|align=center|5

|align=center|31 Mar 1978

|align=center|Ground Level

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Franklin – Lo Ovalle

|align=center|4.8&nbsp;km

|align=center|6

|align=center|21 Dec 1978

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Salvador – Escuela Militar

|align=center|4.5&nbsp;km

|align=center|7

|align=center|22 Aug 1980

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Los Héroes – Santa Ana

|align=center|0.7&nbsp;km

|align=center|1

|align=center|25 Jul 1986

|align=center|Ground level

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Santa Ana – Puente Cal y Canto

|align=center|1&nbsp;km

|align=center|1

|align=center|15 Sep 1987

|align=center|Ground/Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Baquedano – Bellavista de La Florida

|align=center|10.3&nbsp;km

|align=center|12

|align=center|5 Apr 1997

|align=center|Viaduct/Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Baquedano – Santa Ana

|align=center|2.7&nbsp;km

|align=center|3

|align=center|4 Mar 2000

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Santa Ana – Quinta Normal

|align=center|1.9&nbsp;km

|align=center|2

|align=center|31 Mar 2004

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Puente Cal y Canto – Cerro Blanco

|align=center|1.6&nbsp;km

|align=center|2

|align=center|8 Sept 2004

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Lo Ovalle – La Cisterna

|align=center|2.1&nbsp;km

|align=center|2

|align=center|22 Dec 2004

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Cerro Blanco – Einstein

|align=center|1.9&nbsp;km

|align=center|2

|align=center|25 Nov 2005

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Bellavista de La Florida – Vicente Valdés

|align=center|0.6&nbsp;km

|align=center|1

|align=center|30 Nov 2005

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Vicente Valdés – Plaza de Puente Alto

|align=center|10.9&nbsp;km

|align=center|9

|align=center|30 Nov 2005

|align=center|Viaduct/Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Tobalaba – Grecia

|align=center|7.7&nbsp;km

|align=center|8

|align=center|30 Nov 2005

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Grecia – Vicente Valdés

|align=center|6.1&nbsp;km

|align=center|5

|align=center|2 Mar 2006

|align=center|Ground level

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Vicuña Mackenna – La Cisterna

|align=center|7.7&nbsp;km

|align=center|6

|align=center|16 Aug 2006

|align=center|Ground level

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Einstein – Vespucio Norte

|align=center|3.6&nbsp;km

|align=center|3

|align=center|21 Dec 2006

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|San José de la Estrella

|align=center|0&nbsp;km

|align=center|1

|align=center|5 Nov 2009

|align=center|Viaduct

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Escuela Militar – Los Dominicos

|align=center|4&nbsp;km

|align=center|3

|align=center|7 Jan 2010

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Quinta Normal – Pudahuel

|align=center|5.8&nbsp;km

|align=center|5

|align=center|12 Jan 2010

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Pudahuel – Plaza de Maipú

|align=center|8&nbsp;km

|align=center|7

|align=center|3 Feb 2011

|align=center|Viaduct

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Cerrillos – Los Leones

|align=center|15.3&nbsp;km

|align=center|10

|align=center|2 Nov 2017

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Los Libertadores – Fernando Castillo Velasco

|align=center|21.7&nbsp;km

|align=center|18

|align=center|22 Jan 2019

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Los Libertadores – Plaza Quilicura

|align=center|3.8&nbsp;km

|align=center|3

|align=center|25 Sept 2023

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|La Cisterna – Hospital El Pino

|align=center|5.2&nbsp;km

|align=center|4

|align=center|27 Nov 2023

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Cerrillos – Lo Errázuriz

|align=center|3&nbsp;km

|align=center|1

|align=center|2027

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Los Leones – Isidora Goyenechea

|align=center|1.4&nbsp;km

|align=center|1

|align=center|2028

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Brasil – Estoril

|align=center|26&nbsp;km

|align=center|19

|align=center|2028

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Bío Bío – Plaza de La Pintana

|align=center|12.2&nbsp;km

|align=center|10

|align=center|2030

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|15px

|align=center|Aeropuerto - Huelén

|align=center|6.5&nbsp;km

|align=center|2

|align=center|2032

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Chile España – Mall Plaza Tobalaba

|align=center|14.7&nbsp;km

|align=center|2

|align=center|2032

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Puente Cal y Canto – Bío Bío

|align=center|5.4&nbsp;km

|align=center|4

|align=center|2032

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Plaza de La Pintana – Plaza de Puente Alto

|align=center|9.8&nbsp;km

|align=center|5

|align=center|2033

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Los Leones – Chile España

|align=center|4.3&nbsp;km

|align=center|3

|align=center|2033

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Hospital El Carmen – Lo Errázuriz

|align=center|6.4&nbsp;km

|align=center|3

|align=center|2037

|align=center|Underground

|-

|align=center width=20px|

|align=center|Del Sol – La Cisterna

|align=center|10&nbsp;km

|align=center|7

|align=center|2037

|align=center|Underground

|}

Rolling stock

thumb|right|The [[NS 93 rubber-tyred stock, based on the MP 89 from the Paris Metro]]

The Santiago Metro currently operates 9 models of rolling stock: two models (the AS-2002 and the AS-2014) are steel-wheeled, while the others are all rubber-tyred. The NS 74 and NS 93 stock are based on the MP 73 and MP 89 stock of the Paris Metro respectively, while the NS-2007 stock is based on the NM-02 stock of the Mexico City Metro. All rubber-tyred stock is preceded with the acronym NS (for Neumático Santiago); likewise, all steel-wheeled stock is preceded with the acronym AS (for Acero Santiago). The number representing each type of rubber-tyred and steel-wheeled rolling stock is the year of design of a particular rolling stock, not year of first use, similar to the practice in the Mexico City Metro and Paris Métro.

In September 2012, the NS 2012 trains went into service on Line 1. These trains are the first to be built with air conditioning. Currently, all the NS-2007 stock and a number of the NS-93 stock units are retrofitted with air conditioning, whereas the NS-2012, AS-2014 and NS-2016 were all built with air conditioning.

On November 2, 2017, the line 6 entered revenue service. This line utilizes the AS-2014 (Acero Santiago 2014) which are the most modern stock of the system , being the first model in the system that are driverless. However, in the first and last car there is a control panel meant to control the train when necessary. It is also the first with security cameras, energy obtainment via overhead rigid catenary, and evacuation doors at the front of the first and last car (with an evacuation ramp for people on wheelchairs) as well as on the sides of each convoy. They are also the second to be built with air conditioning, and the third with LED lights. The line that they operate in is also the first in revenue service with platform safety barriers, followed by Line 3 opened in January 2019.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Model !! Manufacturer || Year(s) Built || Type of train || Operating Lines

|-

| NS-74|| Alstom || 1973–1981 || Rubber-tyred || align="center"|15px 15px

|-

| NS 93 || Alstom || 1996–2003 || Rubber-tyred || align="center"|15px 15px

|-

| AS-2002|| Alstom || 2004–2010 || Steel-wheeled || align="center"|15px 15px

|-

| NS-2004|| Alstom || 2006–2007 || Rubber-tyred || align="center"|15px

|-

| NS-2007|| CAF || 2009–2010 || Rubber-tyred || align="center"|15px

|-

| NS-2012|| CAF || 2012–2014 || Rubber-tyred || align="center"|15px

|-

| AS-2014|| CAF || 2015–2017 || Steel-wheeled || align="center"|15px 15px

|-

| NS-2016|| Alstom || 2017–2021 || Rubber-tyred || align="center"|15px 15px

|-

|AS-22-UTO

|Alstom

|2026-present

|Steel-wheeled

| align="center" |

|}

<gallery>

File:NS 74, Metro de Santiago.jpg|NS-74

File:NS 93, Metro de Santiago.jpg|NS 93

File:AS 2002, Metro de Santiago.jpg|AS-2002

File:Neptuno L1.jpg|NS-2004

File:Ns2007.jpg|NS-2007

File:NS 2012.jpg|NS-2012

File:Michelle_Bachelet_visita_instalaciones_del_Taller_Cerrillos_de_nueva_L%C3%ADnea_6_de_Metro_%2830657937662%29.jpg|AS-2014

File:Tren NS-2016.jpg|NS-2016

</gallery>

Stations

In bold are transfer stations. In <span style="color:#808080">grey</span> are stations projected or currently under construction.

{| class="wikitable" width="100%"

|- align=center

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:red">Line 1</span><br />West to East

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#FFC300">Line 2</span><br />North to South

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#8b4513">Line 3</span><br />Northwest to East

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#292D91">Line 4</span><br />Northeast to Southeast

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#0099FF">Line 4A</span><br />South to Southeast

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:green">Line 5</span><br />Southwest to Southeast

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#A35DB5">Line 6</span><br />Southwest to Northeast

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#808080">Line 7</span><br />Northwest to Northeast

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#FF6414">Line 8</span><br />East to Southeast

|valign=top width=12%|35px<br /><span style="color:#EE7FA9">Line 9</span><br />North to South

|- style="font-size:100%;"

|valign=top|

  • San Pablo 15px
  • Neptuno
  • Pajaritos
  • Las Rejas
  • Ecuador
  • San Alberto Hurtado
  • Universidad de Santiago
  • Estación Central
  • Unión Latinoamericana
  • República
  • Los Héroes 15px
  • La Moneda
  • Universidad de Chile 15px
  • Santa Lucía 15px
  • Universidad Católica
  • Baquedano 15px 15px
  • Salvador
  • Manuel Montt
  • Pedro de Valdivia 15px
  • Los Leones 15px 15px
  • Tobalaba 15px
  • El Golf
  • Alcántara
  • Escuela Militar
  • Manquehue
  • Hernando de Magallanes
  • Los Dominicos

|valign=top|

  • Vespucio Norte
  • Zapadores
  • Dorsal
  • Einstein
  • Cementerios
  • Cerro Blanco
  • Patronato
  • Puente Cal y Canto 15px 15px 15px
  • Santa Ana 15px
  • Los Héroes 15px
  • Toesca
  • Parque O'Higgins
  • Rondizzoni
  • Franklin 15px
  • El Llano
  • San Miguel
  • Lo Vial
  • Departamental
  • Ciudad del Niño
  • Lo Ovalle
  • El Parrón
  • La Cisterna 15px
  • El Bosque
  • Observatorio
  • Copa Lo Martínez
  • Hospital El Pino

|valign=top|

  • Plaza Quilicura
  • Lo Cruzat
  • Ferrocarril
  • Los Libertadores
  • Cardenal Caro
  • Vivaceta
  • Conchalí
  • Plaza Chacabuco
  • Hospitales
  • Puente Cal y Canto 15px 15px 15px
  • Plaza de Armas 15px
  • Universidad de Chile 15px
  • Parque Almagro
  • Matta 15px
  • Irarrázaval 15px
  • Monseñor Eyzaguirre
  • Ñuñoa 15px
  • Chile España 15px
  • Villa Frei
  • Plaza Egaña 15px
  • Fernando Castillo Velasco

|valign=top|

  • Tobalaba 15px
  • Cristóbal Colón
  • Francisco Bilbao
  • Príncipe de Gales
  • Simón Bolívar
  • Plaza Egaña 15px
  • Los Orientales
  • Grecia
  • Los Presidentes
  • Quilín
  • Las Torres
  • Macul 15px
  • Vicuña Mackenna 15px
  • Vicente Valdés 15px
  • Rojas Magallanes
  • Trinidad
  • San José de la Estrella
  • Los Quillayes
  • Elisa Correa
  • Hospital Sótero del Río
  • Protectora de la Infancia
  • Las Mercedes
  • Plaza de Puente Alto 15px

|valign=top|

  • La Cisterna 15px
  • San Ramón
  • Santa Rosa 15px
  • La Granja
  • Santa Julia
  • Vicuña Mackenna 15px

|valign=top|

  • Plaza de Maipú
  • Santiago Bueras
  • Del Sol
  • Monte Tabor
  • Las Parcelas
  • Laguna Sur
  • Barrancas
  • Pudahuel
  • San Pablo 15px
  • Lo Prado
  • Blanqueado
  • Gruta de Lourdes
  • Quinta Normal
  • Cumming
  • Santa Ana 15px
  • Plaza de Armas 15px
  • Bellas Artes
  • Baquedano 15px 15px
  • Parque Bustamante
  • Santa Isabel
  • Irarrázaval 15px
  • Ñuble 15px
  • Rodrigo de Araya
  • Carlos Valdovinos
  • Camino Agrícola
  • San Joaquín
  • Pedrero
  • Mirador
  • Bellavista de La Florida
  • Vicente Valdés 15px

|valign=top|

  • <span style="color:#808080">Lo Errázuriz </span>
  • Cerrillos
  • Lo Valledor
  • Presidente Pedro Aguirre Cerda
  • Franklin 15px
  • Bío Bío 15px
  • Ñuble 15px
  • Estadio Nacional
  • Ñuñoa 15px
  • Inés de Suárez
  • Los Leones 15px 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Isidora Goyenechea</span> 15px

|valign=top|

  • <span style="color:#808080">Brasil</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Infante</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Salvador Gutiérrez</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Huelén</span> 16px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Cerro Navia</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Radal</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Walker Martínez</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Matucana</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Mapocho</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Puente Cal y Canto</span> 15px 15px 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Baquedano</span> 15px 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Pedro de Valdivia</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Isidora Goyenechea</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Vitacura</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Vespucio</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Parque Araucano</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Gerónimo de Alderete</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Padre Hurtado</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Estoril</span>

|valign=top|

  • <span style="color:#808080">Los Leones</span> 15px 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Eliodoro Yañez</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Diagonal Oriente</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Chile España</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">José Pedro Alessandri</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Los Olmos</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Vicente Huidobro</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Dr. Amador Neghme</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Macul</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">La Florida</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Rojas Magallanes Oriente</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Camilo Henriquez</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Diego Portales</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">El Peral</span>

|valign=top|

  • <span style="color:#808080">Puente Cal y Canto</span> 15px 15px 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Santa Lucía</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Matta</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Maule</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Bío Bío</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">La Legua</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Llico</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Sebastopol</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Linares</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Santa Rosa</span> 15px
  • <span style="color:#808080">Hospital Padre Hurtado</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">La Pintana</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Lo Martínez Oriente</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Gabriela</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">La Primavera</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Eyzaguirre</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Bajos de Mena</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Ejército Libertador</span>
  • <span style="color:#808080">Plaza de Puente Alto</span> 15px

|}

<gallery>

Image:Estacionuchile.jpg|Universidad de Chile 14px 14px

Image:Estacionsantana.jpg|Santa Ana 14px 14px

Image:Metro de Santiago - Est. Vicuña Mackenna.jpg|Vicuña Mackenna 14px 14px

Image:Estacionñuble.jpg|Ñuble 14px 14px

</gallery>

MetroArte

The Santiago Metro incorporates 73 public artworks in its stations through the MetroArte fundation. Universidad de Chile features Memoria visual de una nación ("Visual Memory of a Nation"), a 1,200 square-meters mural created by Chilean painter Mario Toral and represents the history of the country. Other pieces of art are in Baquedano (featuring modern art and a concert space), Bellas Artes (multimedia art), Santa Lucía (Portuguese azulejos, a gift made by the Lisbon Metro), La Moneda (with realistic painting representing typical landscape), and various other stations.

<gallery widths="150" heights="150">

File:Toral, Mario -Metro U Chile (W) -Tributo a nuestro oceano -f02.jpg|Memoria visual de una nación at Universidad de Chile by Mario Toral.

File:Verbo América.jpg|Verbo América, mural by Roberto Matta

File:Constelación II, Pablo McClure.jpg|Constelación II by Pablo McClure

File:M Pza Armas -Aguirre, Alicia -Mural escultorico del cobre f01.jpg|Mural escultórico del cobre by Elisa Aguirre

</gallery>

Station amenities

A diverse array of services are provided within each Metro station. Ticket offices, public telephones and metro-network information panels exist in every station; Redbanc, Cirrus and Plus-enabled ATMs, typically provided by either the Banco de Chile company or the BancoEstado national bank, are common. Automatic recharge machines are also common, with all such machines charging a customer's Bip! card with either cash deposits or a Redbanc-enabled card. In higher-traffic stations, there are screens that display MetroTV, featuring additional system information as well as music videos and short news segments.

Some 21 of the busiest stations contain a branch of Bibliometro, a system of lending libraries supported by the national Department of Libraries, Archives and Museums (Dibam). A Chilean ID or foreign passport allows any Metro customer to freely borrow from a reserve of books and other literature, but a registration is needed first.

Customers may rent a parking space for their bicycles through the Bicimetro network, which opened in 2008 at six stations and is slowly expanding, for a starting cost of $300 (approximately US$0.50) a day. There are weekly and monthly rental services too, that guarantee a fixed space for the bike (contrary to the daily rent which relies on random free-space).

Most underground Metro stations contain at least one shop or convenience store, with large line-transfer stations such as Baquedano featuring several food vendors and retailers, and even a small underground "shopping center" in Universidad de Chile.

Security and safety

Various private security agencies have day-to-day responsibility for maintaining order in the metro and deterring petty crime or attempts to board without paying. The largest transfer stations, such as Tobalaba, also feature depots of the Carabineros de Chile, the national military police force. Metro staff man the ticket counters in closed box offices and distribute tickets and money through small transaction windows.

Signage to advise customers of safety hazards is extensive, and each platform has a painted yellow line which customers are advised to not cross except to board a train. During rush hour, Metro staff line the platform edge to keep people from being crowded off the platform and to support disabled customers. There is no physical barrier between the edge and the tracks (with the exception of recently opened Lines 3 and 6), including the hazardous, electrified third rail. However, lines 3 and 6 use overhead lines as the powersource of the trains.

Metro travelers are advised to keep a close guard on their belongings, as petty or opportunistic theft is somewhat of a problem in lines that connect some districts to the center of Santiago. This is most apparent with passengers who reverse their backpacks so that the bag is across the stomach, to ensure that no one can pilfer the pockets out of sight.

Pricing and working hours

Metro is part of Red Metropolitana de Movilidad, the integrated public transport system that serves the capital using also feeder and main bus routes. Red works with an integrated fare system, which allows passengers to make bus-bus or bus-metro transfers on a two-hour time limit from the first trip (maximum of two changes) using a contactless smart card called Tarjeta bip!. Bus-to-bus, metro-to-bus and metro-to-train transfers do not cost extra. Bus-to-metro transfers costs $20 (approx. US$0.03) during Horario Valle (low-use hours) and $80 (approx. US$0.12) during Horario Punta (rush hour).

Bip! cards are available in all the ticketing offices in every station at a cost of $1,550 (approx. US$2.23), with a minimum first charge of $1000 worth of credit (approx. US$1.41). Tickets are sold from 6:00 to 23:00 Monday to Friday, 6:30 to 23:00 on Saturdays, and 8:00 to 22:30 on Sundays and holidays. Cards can be topped up to $20000, and the credit only expires if the card it is not used in two years.

Metro also used to sell single-trip, Metro-use only tickets, but they went out of circulation in early 2017. Fares depended on the time of the use of the system. The cost of a ticket in the Horario Punta (rush hour, 7:00–8:59 and 18:00–19:59) was $700 (approx. US$1.01); in the Horario Valle (off-peak hours, 6:30–6:59, 9:00–18:00, 20:00–20:44, and all day on weekends and holidays) was $640 (approximately US$0.90); and in the Horario Bajo (low-use hours, 6:00–6:29 and 20:45–23:00) was $590 (approximately US$0.85).

Senior citizens (65 and older) and students holding concession cards pay $200 (US$0.28). Senior concession fare does not apply during rush hours.

On weekdays, the metro operates from 5.35 am until 12.08 am, while on Saturdays it operates from 6.30 am until 12.08 am and on Sundays and public holidays the metro operates from 8 am (Line 1 from 9 am) until 11.48 pm. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, operating hours have varied in accordance with national curfew.<br />

(warning: stations close earlier - see timetable)

See also

  • List of Latin American rail transit systems by ridership
  • List of metro systems
  • Rail transport in Chile

References

Further reading

  • Chastain, Andra B. (2024). Chile Underground: The Santiago Metro and the Struggle for a Rational City. Yale University Press.
  • Metro S.A.
  • UrbanRail.net/Santiago
  • Santiago Metro Map
  • Santiago Metro Track Map
  • Tarjeta Bip!
  • Plan and Authority of Transit of Santiago de Chile, Transantiago
  • Santiago Metro in Wikipedia in Spanish