IAFE President Ángel García announced at the end of January that the 41·4 km Tuy Medio suburban line between Caracas and Cúa in Venezuela will open on October 15.
Named the Ezequiel Zamora Railway after a federalist general born in Cúa in 1817, the route has cost US$2·5bn to build. It has 24 tunnels and 27 viaducts (RG 9.04 p544). Major civil engineering works are nearing completion, and only 8 km of formation remains to be prepared for tracklaying.
Serving intermediate stations at Charallave Sur and Charallave Norte, the line terminates at La Rinconada, with an interchange to Line 3 of the Caracas metro, which is due to be extended from El Valle on the same day.
The first six-car EMUs for the Tuy Medio line were due to arrive in Caracas at the end of February. The trains are expected to carry up to 600000 passengers a day; the service will be free until March 2007.
