Valencia late-night metro service used by 155,000 passengers in six months

Spain's third-largest city started running its underground rail network until 03.00 in the morning over Friday and Saturday nights and those on the eve of bank holidays, starting December 14.

And the record number of customers are in spite of a strike that continued until February, meaning the total would have been dramatically higher if services had been running normally.

Once the strike was concluded by the franchise company's agreeing to take on 56 additional employees and increasing the number of trains and street trams by 50%, frequency of metro trains improved considerably.

Involving an investment of around €10 million, the night service was launched in response to long-running requests from residents, and is now used by an average of 3,000 passengers over Friday night and the early hours of Saturday, and 6,000 on Saturday nights and the early hours of Sunday, based upon traveller figures taken between 23.00 and 03.00.

The trains run every 10 to 20 minutes starting from just before midnight, when services used to finish seven days a week and which is now when they stop operating on weekday nights.

They cover the lines heading in the direction of the airport, Torrent, Torrent Avinguda (pictured), Empalme and Marítim-Serrería, and the final stops at the city-centre interchange of Àngel Guimerà are between 02.30 and 03.00.

Trains running in the Alboraia direction every 15 to 30 minutes, and to Seminari and Paterna every 40 minutes.

They are less frequent in the directions of Picassent, Bétera, Llíria, Rafelbunyol and Riba-roja de Túria, arriving every 80 minutes.

Trams which continue until 03.00 on weekend nights run at 40-minute intervals on all lines except the Primat Reig-Doctor Lluch and Marítim-Grau Canyamelar, when they operate at 20-minute intervals.