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The Milan metro: how Milan turned into a metropolis
4 lines, 113 stations and 101 km (63 miles)
Today, the metro network in Milan has 4 lines, 113 stations and a development of 101 km (63 miles). It's one of the 30 largest networks in the world on the existing 150, and among the top 10 in Europe, where there are about 40. In Italy it is the longest and its path exceeds the sum of that of the 5 lines in other cities. The "metro", as they call the Milanese, serves the territory of the municipality, which covers 182 km ² and populated by 1.3 million inhabitants, a population density of settlements of over 7,000 inhabitants / km ². The underground network also meets the demand for mobility of residents also hinterland. The City of Milan, in fact, is the center of a larger metropolitan area with over 4.5 million residents of approximately 2,250 km ², is the largest in Italy and among the five largest in Europe and originates substantial shifts overhang type. The network is internal to the City of Milan for 73% of its length, equivalent to 69 km and 84 stations and covers about 20% of its territory and 25% of the total built. Together with the surface lines and suburban rail lines, the Milan metro allows that almost 50% of urban trips take place with public transport.
The lines
The four lines are in operation, as well as identified with the serial number, with the color that characterizes the set-ups stations and trains are: ■ M1 (red): from Sesto FS to Rho Fiera / Bisceglie ■ M2 (green): from Assago Milanofiori Forum / Abbiategrasso Gessate / Cologno Nord ■ M3 (yellow): from San Donato in Comasina ■ M5 (purple): from Bignami to San Siro Stadio The network has 6 stations correspondence between the various subway lines, 13 matches with the rail network and 12 parking spaces. There are ongoing improvement work on lines M1 and M2, which will be extended to the hinterland to allow connections to the major road junctions and line M3 whose network will be brought to areas not currently served.
The major advantages of the Milan metro are:
■Its considerable length; ■Its excellent links with the railways network; ■Its high technology levels; ■Its high safety record
The new lines
The project M4 adds an important new urban line, crossing the city from east to west, passing through the historic center and intersecting the three existing lines