Type Rapid transit Character Underground Electrification Overhead line Stations 11 | Opened 18 October 2007 Rolling stock 300 Series Operator Metrovías Terminis Hospitales, Las Heras | |
 | ||
System Buenos Aires Underground Daily ridership 14,093 (2008)
23,852 (2009) 41.4%
80,000 (2015) | ||
Line H of the Buenos Aires Underground, is the first entirely new line built in Buenos Aires since the opening of Line E on 20 June 1944. The first phase, between Plaza Once and Caseros, opened 18 October 2007, currently it stretches over 8 km between stations Hospitales and Las Heras.
Contents
According to projections, the line will stretch a total of about 11.85 km and will run from between Retiro to Sáenz once the remaining sections are constructed. It connects the southern part of the city with the north, improving the flow to the centre of the city. It is also designed to serve as a transversal line and provide cross-connections across all radial lines, mainly under the axis of Jujuy and Pueyrredón avenues.
Rolling stock
Line H is currently served by a temporary fleet of refurbished vintage Siemens-Schuckert Orenstein & Koppel train sets originally introduced on line C, with electric current supplied by overhead lines. The cars feature 42 seats and 4 doors per side.
As the line is extended and passenger numbers increase, the rolling stock will be replaced by brand new Alstom Metropolis units ordered from that company in 2012 in order to make up the entirety of the Line's rolling stock. The first 6 of the 120 new Alstom cars arrived In August 2015, with the remainder arriving gradually, in time for the inauguration of the section of the line which connects it to Line D.
Further expansion
An initial extension to Corrientes station was inaugurated on Monday 6 December 2010. The Córdoba and Las Heras stations opened in December 2015 with Santa Fe (which links Line H to Line D) set to open in April 2016. This will also mean that the extension will be inaugurated along with the line's new Alstom Metropolis rolling stock, which arrives in the country before then.
The Facultad de Derecho station (located at the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Law) was originally intended to be located across the road next to Plaza Francia, however concerns that it would damage the prestigious Recoleta Cemetery necessitated the revisal of these plans and therefore delayed construction of the station, which is now set to open in 2017. The final stretch to Retiro is not set to open until some time after since its trajectory must also be revised following the relocation of the Plaza Francia station.