Line E (Buenos Aires Underground)

Line E of the Buenos Aires Underground, which runs from Retiro to Plaza de los Virreyes, currently extending a total distance of 12  km. Opened in 1944, the Line E was the last completely new line to be added to the Buenos Aires Underground, until 2007 when Line H was opened. The line has a history of being re-routed and extended due to having been historically the line with the lowest passenger numbers on the network.

Line E
Bolívar station entrance
Overview
Termini	Retiro Plaza de los Virreyes
Stations	18
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Buenos Aires Underground
Operator(s)	Metrovías
Daily ridership	94,000 (2018)[1] 2.83% [2]
History
Opened	1944
Technical
Line length	12 km (8.07 mi)
Character	Underground
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	Catenary 1500 V DC
Route map Retiro Catalinas Correo Central Bolívar Belgrano Independencia San José Constitución San José vieja original alignment Entre Ríos Pichincha Jujuy General Urquiza Boedo Apeadero Boedo Avenida La Plata José María Moreno Emilio Mitre Medalla Milagrosa Varela Plaza de los Virreyes Mariano Acosta Workshops

History

1955

1966

2015

2019

Line E was opened on 20 June 1944, after construction began in 1938, with an original course that ran from Constitución railway station to General Urquiza. Soon after, it was decided to abandon the terminus at Constitución (which also served as the connection with Line C) and instead reroute the line towards the Plaza de Mayo.

Work began in 1957, and in 1966 the San José, Independencia, Belgrano and Plaza de Mayo (now Bolívar) stations were opened to the public by president Arturo Umberto Illia. For many years, the two stations closed during the re-route remained unused until the mid 1990s when one was converted into a workshop to service the rolling stock of the line.[3]

The line was further extended in 1973 to José María Moreno and then again in 1985 to Plaza de los Virreyes.[4] The PreMetro E2 tramway was completed in 1987 and was linked to Line E with the intention of connecting a larger Premetro network to the line, though this never materialised following privatisation.[5]

Under the private operation of the Subte by Metrovías, the colour of the line was changed from yellow to purple during the 1990s. Purple had previously been used for Line C, while yellow is now used for Line H.[6]

Extension to Retiro

More recently, as part of a general effort to extend the Buenos Aires Underground, it was decided to extend Line E from Bolívar to Retiro railway station (with intermediate stations at Catalinas and Correo Central) where it would re-connect with Line C and the Mitre Line, and eventually Line H when its extension is complete. As of 2014, all major structural works have been completed on the three new stations and are only missing their tracks and signalling systems.[7]

In July 2015, the City of Buenos Aires confirmed that, despite the advanced state of the works, the extension would not be opened until 2019 citing delays that came about as a result of the transfer of the works from the National Government to the City Government in 2012. The city will complete the additional work required in this time, and the extension is expected to increase ridership on the line by 25%.[8]

On Monday June 3rd, 2019 the extension to Retiro was completed.[9]

Rolling stock

CAF-GEE rolling stock

The line originally used Siemens-Schuckert Orenstein & Koppel rolling stock during its inauguration and for many years after, however this was later replaced by similar CAF-GEE rolling stock purchased in 1968 which still serves on the line today.[10][11] In 2006, 64 of the CAF-GEE cars were to be refurbished, but this was ultimately abandoned.[12]

It is expected that once the line's extension to Retiro is completed in 2017, the CAF GEE rolling stock will be retired and replaced by Fiat-Materfer cars, and possibly 50 Siemens O&K cars reformed by the Emepa Group and Alstom.[13][14][8]

Ghost stations

There are two ghost stations on the line – San José vieja and Constitución. These formed part of the line's original trajectory towards Constitución railway station until the line was re-routed in 1966. Both stations have been used as workshops and storage areas for the line's rolling stock. It has also been evaluated using the two stations and their corresponding tunnels as the southern part of Line F since that line's projected trajectory in that area overlaps the former route Line E took.[15]

San José vieja was used as a set for the 1996 Argentine film Moebius and served as the fictional Dock Sud and Parque stations.[16]

Gallery

• 
  Temporary Boedo station being opened (1944)
• 
  Passengers changing to Line C at the former Constitución station (c.1950s)
• 
  Entrance to Plaza de los Virreyes station at the Premetro's Intendente Saguier terminal.
• 
  Medalla Milagrosa station
• 
  Correo Central station being built in front of the Central Post Office
• 
  Subway car at Bolivar station

See also

• Buenos Aires PreMetro
• Rail transport in Argentina

References

1. "Subte: con récord de pasajeros, siguen las quejas por el servicio y busca mejorar con más obras". 13 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
2. "En 2018 el Subte transportó la mayor cantidad de pasajeros en 25 años". 20 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
3. Línea E: 70 años buscando pasajeros – EnElSubte, June 2014
4. Línea E – Buenos Aires Ciudad.
5. Premetro a Puente de la Noria, en el olvido por el Metrobus del Sur – EnElSubte, August 2013
6. "Metrovías cumple 20 años operando el Subte". enelSubte.com (in Spanish). 1 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
7. Reporte de obra: extensión línea E – EnElSubte, May 2014
8. Ciudad confirma que la extensión de la línea E abrirá recién en 2017 – EnElSubte, 23 July 2015.
9. Subte E: tras 20 años, extienden la línea más postergada
10. Línea E: 70 años buscando pasajeros – EnElSubte, 20 June 2014.
11. Ferrofilatelia – EnElSubte, 6 June 2010.
12. "Mientras reforman coches de 80 años, desguazan otros más modernos". enelSubte.com (in Spanish). 17 July 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
13. Metrovías oficializa quita de formaciones – EnElSubte, 4 June 2013.
14. Subtes: el gobierno porteño planea renovar la mitad de la flota para el 2015 – InfoBAE, 23 January 2013
15. Realizarán estudios en Constitución para ubicar la cabecera de la línea F – 1 August 2011
16. Murales alusivos a Moebius en San José – EnElSubte, 18 December 2014.

External links

• Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (Official Page)
• Metrovías S.A. Subte Operator (Official Page)
• Subterráneos de Buenos Aires, E Line
• System map