DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Santo Domingo Metro operator OPRET has awarded Alstom a contract to supply and commission eight more three-car Metropolis trainsets to support the extension of Line 2.
Designated ‘Line 2C’, the 7·3 km extension now under construction will run northwest from María Montez to Los Alcarrizos, relieving the congested Duarte highway. The first 900 m is being built in tunnel and the remainder is elevated. The extension will add five stations, including an interchange at Los Alcarrizos with a recently-completed cable car serving Los Americanos, Puente Blanco and Las Toronjas.
The new trains are to be assembled at Alstom’s Santa Perpetua plant near Barcelona, and will be equipped to operate in multiple with the metro’s existing fleet. The walk-through trainsets will have wide doorways for rapid boarding and alighting, and will be fitted with LED lighting. They will also feature a redesigned driving desk, integrated with other elements of the cab.
Valued at €101m, the contract is being fully financed through a credit from the Central American Bank of Economic Integration. CABEI is contributing US$250m towards the construction of Line 2C, which is projected to carry up to 770 000 passengers per year.
‘When the Line 2C extension is operational and with the arrival of these new trains, the Santo Domingo Metro will have a fleet of 72 Alstom Metropolis trainsets, operating on lines 1 and 2’, commented Iván Moncayo, Alstom’s General Manager in the Dominican Republic.
