The pedestrian tunnel, 260 meters long, which connects the Metrovalencia stations on Xàtiva and Alicante streets, opened its doors this Thursday in the center of Valencia and will serve more than seven million travelers who had to travel 300 meters on the surface to pass from one metro to another. “Now they will get off the metro, walk three minutes and be able to take the tram without having to leave the station,” explained the Vice President and Minister of Transport of the Generalitat, Vicente Martínez Mus. The work, which began in 2023, lasted two years and cost 24 million euros.
The pedestrian underpass will connect Metrovalencia line 10 to the rest of the suburban lines, that is, lines 9, 5 and 3, and has been prepared so that in the future, if it is decided, it can become a railway tunnel to extend the L-10 tram to the center of the Valencian capital. There were several months of complex work, underground and above ground: it was necessary to save the collectors and divert the gas and water connections. And one of the busiest streets in the capital has been closed to traffic for two years.
The infrastructure was initially designed by the Botànic Government (PSPV, Compromís and UP), but exclusively as a pedestrian crossing and when the PP joined the Consell de la Generalitat, in 2023, it modified the initial project, giving it more width precisely to be able to lay railway tracks in the future. The work has subjected the neighborhood’s businesses to a long period of precariousness, with fences barely a meter from their facades for two years.
To facilitate access to the underpass, a new elevator and escalator have been installed in connection with the Xàtiva station, while access from Alicante is via a ramp, once the validation line has been crossed. The pedestrian crossing can also be used without having to take the metro.
The President of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, inaugurated the passage in the company of the Councilor for Mobility of Valencia, Jesús Carbonell, highlighted that it is a tunnel that is in the transport hub with the highest traffic of the entire Metrovalencia network and stressed that these works will decongest the evacuation of people from the center during the Fallas.
Pérez Llorca also assured that the idea in 2026 is to maintain the reductions on public transport in Valencia despite the fact that to date the capital has not been able to approve a low emissions zone, which means, de facto, the loss of transport aid from the Spanish government. He also stressed that free transportation would be maintained for those affected by the damage.
The opening of the passage now allows a direct pedestrian connection without going out into the street between several metro lines (numbers 3, 5, 9) and tram line 10, which represents a significant improvement in mobility in the city center. The tunnel has an approximate distance of 260 meters and improves user comfort when transferring between different stations. The show ends with the total reopening of Rue d’Alicante.
In parallel with the launch by the Generalitat of the Metrovalencia pedestrian canyon, the Provincial Delegation of Valencia restored the bullring and the Spanish government carried out the first major renovation of the Gare du Nord.
He president Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca highlighted these initiatives and stressed that “this set of actions carried out by the four administrations is an example of joint work and commitment to create more friendly and people-centered urban environments.”
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