Getting Around Medellin
A Quick Guide To Using Medellin Metro System
The metro system is a great way to get around Medellin—it’s affordable, fast, and efficient.
Medellin is the only city in Colombia that has integrated Metro System, something that the people of the city is extremely proud of. Medellin Metro system provides an integrated transport system that includes Train, Cable Cars, Electric Tram and Buses into a single network to help you get to where you want to go quick, efficiently and cheap.
Metro in Medellin is an easy way to get around the city and go sightseeing. The metro in Medellin is extremely clean — you won’t find any graffiti on it or scratched windows, there’s no garbage left inside cars either.
This quick guide will help you get comfortable using the Metro system in Medellin.
Getting Your Civica Card
First and foremost you will need to get yourself a Civica Card, it’ll be very inconvenient for you to use the Metro system without the Civica Card. You pick up the card from the following places (Niquia, San Antonio, Itagui and Javier Stations) from customer service points (Punto de atencion al clienta – PAC) which are open Mon – Fri between 7:30am to 4:30pm.
Colombian ID (Cedula) is not required to get the Civica Card, you can use other identifications such as (Driver’s License, Passport, Birth Certificate, Student ID) for the attendant to process your Civica Card. You will receive your card immediately on the spot.
Where can I recharge my Civica Card?
Civica Card is extremely easy to get recharged. You can recharge your Civica Card in one of the 136 automatic machines in the Metro Stations through the city. Besides the Metro Stations here are the other ways you can recharge your Civica Card:
- Gana: There’s over 1200 locations in Medellin
- Bancolombia app
- Civica App: Download from Google Play Store or Apple
Brief History of the Medellin Metro System
The Empresa de Transporte Masivo del Valle de Aburrá Limitada. Metro de Medellín Ltda the company that manages Medellin’s Metro system was established in 1979, which then presented the Metro System project to Colombia National Government and approved in 1982.
The company was authorized to contract the project to a German and Spanish Firm in 1984, the construction of the project took a little over 10yrs to complete. On November 30th, 1995 the Metro Line A from Niquia to Poblado went public.
Considering the Metro system is a little under 30yrs old it was named top transport system in the world by Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).
Medellin Metro - Train
There only 2 metro lines as of 2022
The main line being Lin A, which connects from north of Medellin; Niquia to south of the city La Estrella a total distance of 26km (16 miles). Line A has a total of 21 stations and total travel time of 40 minutes; rush hour between 6am to 8am in the morning and 4pm to 6pm in the evening are the busiest times for the metro system.
Line B starts from San Javier the east section of Medellin to San Antonio which is considered the Central Station in downtown (El Centro) here you can connect to Line A or the Tram (Transvia)
You can download the full map of Medellin Medellin in PDF
What are Medellin Metro Hours?
Monday – Saturday:
4:30am – 11pm
Sunday & Holidays:
5am – 10pm
Medellin Metro – Tram (Tranvia)
The Tranvia connect from San Antonio station Line A (Grand Central) going East to Oriente station: which is the dark green line (Line T) on the Metro Map. The Tranvia has a total of 9 stops between San Antonio and Oriente which stops close to the La Central Mall in Bueno Aires.
What are Medellin Tranvia Hours?
Monday – Saturday:
4:30am – 11pm
Sunday & Holidays:
5am – 10pm
Medellin Metro – MetroPlus
The buses are part of the integrated metro network. It has 2 lines;
Line 1: from Parque Aranjuez via Avenida Oriental to University de Medellin has
Line 2: from Parque Aranjuez via Avenida del Ferrocarril to University de Medellin.
What are Metro-Plus Hours?
Monday – Saturday:
4:30am – 11pm
Sunday & Holidays:
5am – 10pm
The Metro – MetroCable
The MetroCable system has made it easy for those living on the hillside in poorer neighborhoods that need to travel into the city to work. The Metrocable has 6 lines the main lines being Line J and Line K, following is a break down of the lines:
Line J starts from San Javier Station, where on of the largest tourist area is called Comuna 13, or the public escalators are located, and ends at La Aurora station which is near San Felix a popular place to go Paragliding.
Line K start from Acevedo to Santo Domingo where you can transfer to Line L which is the line that takes you to Parque Arvi another popular tourist destination.
What are MetroCable Hours?
MetroCable (Line H and K):
Monday – Saturday:
4:30am – 11:00pm
Sunday & Holidays:
5am – 10pm
MetroCable (Line J):
9:00am – 10:00pm
Parque Arvi (Line L):
Tuesday – Saturday:
9am – 6pm (Need to be boarding by 530pm)
Sunday and Holidays:
8:30am – 6pm
Mondays are Closed
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