The subway connection between Xàtiva and Alacant Metrovalencia stations will open to the public next Christmas, as announced Wednesday the second vice president for Recovery, Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, Vicente Martínez Mus.
This new crosswalk, of almost 260 meters, will allow to link directly the line 10 of streetcar with the lines 3, 5 and 9 of subway in an estimated time of “something more than three minutes on foot”, without need that the travelers go out to the exterior to realize the transshipment.
Martínez Mus confirmed this Wednesday that the works are in their final stage and that in the next few weeks the equipment and architecture of the tunnel will be completed.
The total investment of the action exceeds 24 million euros and is financed by European Funds.
It will serve to connect line 10 with the city center.
Although it will be used for the first time as a pedestrian connection, Martínez Mus has detailed that during the construction process “it has been necessary to modify the characteristics” of the tunnel under Alicante Street. As a result, the gallery is designed to accommodate the passage of streetcars in the future and thus give continuity to line 10 to the city center, as planned according to Metrovalencia’s plan for 2030.
The opening of the crossing will connect the 6.5 million annual passengers that the Xàtiva station registers with the nearly one million users of the Alacant station (line 10), with destinations of great affluence such as the City of Arts and Sciences, l’Oceanogràfic or the new Roig Arena pavilion.
The new access will have a new elevator and an escalator at the connection with Xàtiva, while the link from Alacant will be made by means of a ramp after overcoming the validation line.
In parallel to the opening of the underpass, it will be possible to travel completely along Alicante Street, whose redevelopment works will be completed soon to link with Gran Vía Germanías.
These works are in addition to those already completed in the carriage yard of the Estación del Norte and the area around the Plaza de Toros.