ON JANUARY 5 Alstom Transport announced that the Argentinian government had ordered an additional 16 cars for the Buenos Aires metro, as an option on a contract for 80 cars awarded in 1999. Deliveries under this contract resumed in December 2004 (RG 1.05 p9), and six five-car trainsets are now in service on Line D.
Manufactured in Brazil, the additional motor cars will be used to lengthen the Alstom trainsets to six-car formations. Final assembly will be undertaken at the Alstom facility in La Plata, with deliveries due to start at the beginning of 2007 for completion by the end of that year.
The 16 cars are included in the 2006-08 railway investment programme announced by the government on January 4 (p57). Other metro rolling stock projects include putting into service 36 second-hand cars on Line B and the refurbishment of 149 cars from the existing fleet. The programme will also take forward the project to build a new central workshop.
Other infrastructure projects include an extension to Line E and a track renewal programme. An operations control centre is to be provided for lines C and D, and the station works programme includes new ventilation equipment for 20 stations on lines B, C and D.
- Metro construction authority Sbase has received bids from Benito Roggio, José Cartellone and Dycasa for civil works on Section C1 of Line H from Once to Corrientes (RG 1.06 p9). Tenders were due to be called shortly for the 800m section from Hospitales to an interchange with the Belgrano Sur route at Dr Antonio S
