OTD 17 October 1919 Opening of the Metro of Madrid Spain
Travelling and reading about royal history are two of my most favourite hobbies,
so if I can combine the two in one blog post I'm very happy!
This Onthisday post marks a very important date in the travelling history of the
capital of Spain: Madrid.
On 19 September 1916, a royal decree approved the 4-line plan for the creation
of the metro of Madrid. The engineers were: Mendoza, González Echarte and
Otameni. They started to raise 8 million pesetas to begin the first phase of the
project.
Then Carlos Mendoza made contact with Enrique Ocharán, director of
the Banco de Vizcaya who offered 4 million pesetas on the condition that the
public pledged an additional 4 million. The men were able to raise 2,5 million
of the 4 million they needed. However King Alfonso XIII of Spain intervened
and he invested 1.45 million pesetas of his own money.
King Alfonso XIII was a keen promoter of tourism in Spain. He probably had
thought that the Madrid Metro would increase the number of tourists in the
Spanish capital.
The first phase of the construction was finished in 1919. However it was a
narrow section and the enlargement of this line and the construction of two
others followed shortly after 1919.
Finally on 17 October 1919 the Madrid Metro was inaugurated by King
Alfonso XIII.
At the time of the inauguration the metro had just one line which ran for 3.48
km (2.16 mi) between the famous Puerta del Sol and the Cuatro Caminos.
At the day of the inauguration the King, members of the royal family and
others took part in the first official metro ride. Their journey only took 7
minutes and 46 seconds.
After the journey a lunch was served on the Cuatro Caminos platform and
the engineers were congratulated for creating a "miracle".
On 19 October 1919 the Madrid Metro was opened to the public. On its
first day 390 trains ran. 56,220 passengers rode the metro and the company
even earned 8,433 pesetas in ticket fares.
Due to their success the company decided to expand more. See this metro
plan of Madrid in 1994.
Actually I was a bit confused that the Metro of Madrid only was opened in
1919.
For comparison:
The London Underground (United Kingdom) was opened on 10 January 1863
The Paris Métro (France) was opened in 1900
The Berlin UBahn (Germany) was opened in 1902.
More about the Madrid Metro, check their official page on this link.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
1/ King Alfonso XIII during a visit to San Sebastian in 1916
2/ Madrid Metro map in 1994
so if I can combine the two in one blog post I'm very happy!
This Onthisday post marks a very important date in the travelling history of the
capital of Spain: Madrid.
On 19 September 1916, a royal decree approved the 4-line plan for the creation
of the metro of Madrid. The engineers were: Mendoza, González Echarte and
Otameni. They started to raise 8 million pesetas to begin the first phase of the
project.
Then Carlos Mendoza made contact with Enrique Ocharán, director of
the Banco de Vizcaya who offered 4 million pesetas on the condition that the
public pledged an additional 4 million. The men were able to raise 2,5 million
of the 4 million they needed. However King Alfonso XIII of Spain intervened
and he invested 1.45 million pesetas of his own money.
King Alfonso XIII was a keen promoter of tourism in Spain. He probably had
thought that the Madrid Metro would increase the number of tourists in the
Spanish capital.
The first phase of the construction was finished in 1919. However it was a
narrow section and the enlargement of this line and the construction of two
others followed shortly after 1919.
Finally on 17 October 1919 the Madrid Metro was inaugurated by King
Alfonso XIII.
At the time of the inauguration the metro had just one line which ran for 3.48
km (2.16 mi) between the famous Puerta del Sol and the Cuatro Caminos.
At the day of the inauguration the King, members of the royal family and
others took part in the first official metro ride. Their journey only took 7
minutes and 46 seconds.
After the journey a lunch was served on the Cuatro Caminos platform and
the engineers were congratulated for creating a "miracle".
On 19 October 1919 the Madrid Metro was opened to the public. On its
first day 390 trains ran. 56,220 passengers rode the metro and the company
even earned 8,433 pesetas in ticket fares.
Due to their success the company decided to expand more. See this metro
plan of Madrid in 1994.
Actually I was a bit confused that the Metro of Madrid only was opened in
1919.
For comparison:
The London Underground (United Kingdom) was opened on 10 January 1863
The Paris Métro (France) was opened in 1900
The Berlin UBahn (Germany) was opened in 1902.
More about the Madrid Metro, check their official page on this link.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
1/ King Alfonso XIII during a visit to San Sebastian in 1916
2/ Madrid Metro map in 1994
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