Ecuador railway news
News about railway and urban rail infrastructure, operations, policy, projects and the supply industry in Ecuador.
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Metro Report International
High altitude underground metro fully opens
ECUADOR: Full revenue services on the Quito metro finally began on December 1, with local residents cutting ribbons to officially open each of the 15 stations. Mayor Pabel Muñoz reported that 273 000 people travelled on the metro in the first three days, and called on ...
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Metro Report International
Revenue services finally begin on the Quito metro
ECUADOR: Limited revenue services have begun on the first metro line in Quito, after ticketing problems delayed the launch date. Line 1 runs 22 km underground from Quitumbe in the south to the city centre and El Labrador in the north. An ...
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Metro Report International
Quito metro inaugurated for preview visits
ECUADOR: Quito metro Line 1 has been formally inaugurated ahead of the start of services, with official ceremonies including a blessing by the archbishop. ‘The history of Quito will be told as before and after the arrival of the metro’, said Mayor Santiago Guarderas Izquierdo, with ...
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Metro Report International
Cuenca tramway opens
ECUADOR: The Cuenca tramway opened for limited passenger services on May 25, with regular services scheduled to start in June. Travel will be free of charge for the first two months. Because of Covid-19 measures, the capacity of each of the eight trams ...
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Metro Report International
Cuenca tramway to open next month
ECUADOR: The Cuenca tramway is currently in the final acceptance phase and is scheduled to begin revenue service in the first half of March. Test running has been underway since 2015, but completion has been delayed by a series of funding and contractual problems. In 2017 the ACTN consortium ...
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Metro Report International
Metrotenerife supports Cuenca tram project
ECUADOR: Pre-operation technical assistance services for the tramway now under construction in Cuenca are being provided by Tenerife tramway operator Metrotenerife, which is aiming to expand its consultancy activities around the world. As well as providing monitoring and technical assistance during the pre-operation phase, Metrotenerife will provide further support for ...
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Metro Report International
BYD to supply electric buses to Guayaquil
ECUADOR: Bus operator Saucinc has signed a US$7·7m credit agreement with state development bank CFN to finance the purchase of 20 electric buses from BYD. Due to be delivered by March 2019, the 12 m buses will have capacity for 80 passengers and will be equipped with air-conditioning and ...
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Metro Report International
First CAF trainset arrives in Quito
ECUADOR: On September 6 the first of 18 metro trainsets being produced by CAF arrived to Quito. The six-car trains are being supplied to operate the city’s first metro line. CAF was awarded a contract on July 15 2016 under a US$183m agreement financed through a credit agreement between ...
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Metro Report International
ACTN consortium to complete Cuenca tramway works
ECUADOR: A consortium of Alstom, Compagnie International de Maintenance and the NGE Group joint venture of NGE Contracting and TSO has been selected to complete the civil works on the starter light rail line in Cuenca. Planning for a modern tramway in the mountainous southern city began in 2011 with ...
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Metro Report International
Siemens to electrify high-altitude metro
ECUADOR: The consortium of Acciona and Odebrecht which is building Quito Metro Line 1 has awarded Siemens a contract to supply electrification systems for the 22 km line. The scope of the contract announced on October 21 includes the supply of 46 km of rigid catenary, 6 km of conventional ...
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News
Quito metro TBMs completed
ECUADOR: Quito Mayor Mauricio Rodas has visited Herrenknecht’s Schwanau plant in southern Germany to inspect the two tunnel boring machines that the company is supplying to work on the Quito metro. He was joined by officials from the Quito Metro and the Acciona-Odebrecht joint venture that is building the line. ...
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News
CAF to supply Quito metro trainsets
ECUADOR: CAF is to supply 18 six-car trainsets to operate on the first line of the Quito metro. The announcement of the US$183m order on July 15 follows the signing of a credit agreement between Spain’s Instituto de Crédito Oficial and Ecuador’s Ministry of Finance which covers funding of the ...
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News
Quito metro breaks ground
ECUADOR: Mayor Mauricio Rodas launched the construction of the first metro line in Quito on January 19 with a ceremony at the future southern terminus at Quitumbe. The 22 km north-south Line 1 will connect El Labrador and Quitumbe with 15 stations. The end-to-end journey time is expected to ...
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News
Quito metro works contract awarded
ECUADOR: A consortium of Acciona and Odebrecht has been awarded a US$1⋅54bn contact to undertake Phase 2 of the Quito metro, the municipality and project organisation Metro de Quito announced on October 27. The contract covers the construction of 22⋅1 km of tunnels from the bus terminal at Quitumbe in ...
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News
Cuenca tram starts dynamic testing
ECUADOR: Dynamic testing of the Cuenca tramway began on October 19. The first of 14 trams being supplied by Alstom was shipped from the port of Antwerpen in mid-May after leaving Alstom’s La Rochelle factory, and revenue service is due to begin next year. The 10·5 km standard gauge ...
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News
First Cuenca tram on its way
ECUADOR: The first Citadis tram for Cuenca has left Alstom’s La Rochelle factory in France. It is scheduled to sail from the port of Antwerpen on May 17 and is expected to arrive in Cuenca by the end of June. In 2013 the city of Cuenca signed a US$142·6m ...
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News
Cuenca tram contracts awarded
ECUADOR: Mayor of Cuenca Paúl Granada announced on June 28 that contracts had been signed for the construction of a 10·5 km tram route, the first modern line to be built in Ecuador. Scheduled to open in 2015, the route will serve a total of 27 stops and will be ...
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News
Funding approved for Quito metro
ECUADOR: The Inter-American Development Bank announced on December 5 that it had approved a US$200m loan to fund construction of Quito's first metro line, due to be completed in 2016. The mass transit system is expected to generate savings of $68m through shorter journey times, lower transport operating costs ...
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News
Quito metro studies completed
ECUADOR: Madrid Metro has completed design studies for a 22 km metro line in Quito, delivering on September 11 documentation for civil works, 13 of the route’s 15 stations, power supplies and other systems. Tendering for this work was expected to start ‘immediately’, according to Mayor of Quito Augusto Barrera. ...
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News
Quito metro project moves forward
ECUADOR: Mayor of Quito Augusto Barrera met Metro de Madrid CEO Ignacio González Velayos on March 8 to review progress with engineering design for Line 1 of the Quito metro. The Spanish operator has been awarded three contracts worth a total of €21·5m to undertake design studies for Line ...