Among the new tramway systems built in Spain over the last two decades, the modern low-floor tram on the Canary Island of Tenerife is undoubtedly one of the most successful models: the trams provide access to heavily populated urban areas and offer an attractive service with high frequencies that is in high demand. The trams are very well patronized during most times of the day, and not just since the introduction of free travel for island residents during the pandemic.
Following the commissioning of the first T1 line with 21 stops from the Intercambiador central bus station in the capital city of Santa Cruz to La Trinidad terminus in the neighbouring town of La Laguna in 2007, four more stops were added in 2009 as part of the second T2 Tincer – La Cuesta line. A network map is available here: https://www.urbanrail.net/eu/es/tenerife/tenerife.htm. Since then, 26 five-module Alstom Citadis 302 low-floor tramcars have been operating on the island.
Although acceptance was high right from the start, further expansion has stalled since then. Plans to extend the route network have been put on the table time and again, but have never been realised – not least due to a lack of funding.
Now, however, things could finally be moving forward: the president of the island government (Cabildo de Tenerife) announced a few days ago, that the construction of the Tenerife Norte airport link is now specifically planned and that funding has been applied for from the EU and central government. This involves 3.1 kilometres of new line with 6 stops. The planning horizon envisages commissioning by 2030. The construction of a new line within Santa Cruz along the harbour front and to Las Teresitas beach is also part of the medium-term plans.
Representatives of the regional government, including the President, will be travelling to Porto in Portugal at the end of February to take a look at the integration of urban and regional lines into a modern light rail network on site. On the island of Tenerife, the construction of two regional rapid transit lines has also been planned for a long time and is now approaching a more concrete planning stage. A connection with the existing Santa Cruz low-floor tram is one of the sensible alternatives for increasing acceptance. However, one of the key issues before realisation will also be financial viability, which has proved almost impossible to achieve in recent years.
We recently reported about the new electric bus service on the island here:
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/iveco-e-way-the-first-full-electric-buses-in-santa-cruz-de-tenerife/.
