ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri opened the new Puán and Carabobo stations on Line A of the Buenos Aires metro on December 22.
Work on the extension started in 2004 and formed part of a wider programme to refurbish and modernise the infrastructure of Line A, the oldest line in the city (MR 9.08 p34). The 1·2 km extension to Flores provides more than 80 000 inhabitants with access to the metro less than five blocks from their home. Already used daily by 216 000 passengers, ridership is now expected to increase by a further 40 000.
A further 1·4 km extension to Nazca is underway but work on a new depot and maintenance workshop must be completed before this section can open.
- Having researched the potential light rail market in Buenos Aires and other Argentine cities, on December 31 Alstom announced plans to manufacture trams at its Los Hornos facility in La Plata. Alstom was the only bidder for last November’s tender to supply 15 trams, a workshop and depot for the proposed 5 km tram line between Retiro and La Boca in Buenos Aires. A 2 km trial route is currently operating in Puerto Madero using Mulhouse cars on loan from Alstom.
