This June in Medellin, Colombia, over 150 directors from all of Latin America’s major urban and rail projects will meet to identify the strategies, financing options and technology required to deliver major new projects.
The event will include roundtable discussions, networking lunches, technology exhibitions, site visits and technical presentations delivered by senior industry leaders.
Colombia’s capital Bogota presented a completely new plan for a one-line and above-ground metro some 70 years after such mass transit system was first proposed. The mayor and the president on Saturday proposed a completely revised above-ground metro line that goes from the Las Americas terminal in the west of the city over the Avenue Primer de Mayo to the eastern Avenue Caracas.
The first of the 42, six-car driverless trainsets, that will be deployed on Line 2 of the Lima Metro, left the port of Salerno in Italy this week. Each 17.6m car, weighing 35 tonnes, was loaded by the Hapag-Lloyd shipping company on 16 August and will take 29 days to reach Lima, Peru. The Nuevo Metro de Lima consortium was granted the US$9bn Line 2 design, finance, build, operate and maintain concession in March 2014.
In spite of a number of setbacks, the $5,500 million dollar project to open Lima’s 2nd metro line is expected to into service during the first quarter of 2021. Deputy Transport Minister Henry Zaira, explains they are facing problems surveying the soil but have adjusted their deadline now that work is expected to take place 24 hours a day.
As the Bogota Metro discussion on underground or overground metro lines continue, we sat down with directors from Lima Metro, Valparaiso Metro, Bombardier Transportation and Bahia Metro during the Metro LatAm 2016 conference, in Medellin, Colombia, to get their advise. Each expert breaks down the pros and cons of each option, and a broad consensus is reached across all of our experts.
In this weeks incredibly informative interview Carlos Ortiz, Director of Associated Businesses at the Medellín Metro discusses signaling upgrades, new rolling stock, the possibility of deploying passenger WIFI, the new tram system, integrating cable cars and developing new lines to change the cities transport from an arterial to a fully integrated grid network.
The Alstom consortium, which includes Thales, Sofratesa, CIM and TSO, have been awarded the €145m contract to supply rolling stock and works to expand trainsets on Panama Metro Line 1. Alstom will supply 70 Metropolis cars for €130m, while also supply onboard and lineside Urbalis 400 CBTC signalling equipment, upgrade the power supply, and enlarge the depot.
Governments, metro operators and leading technology innovators from all over Latin America will meet in Medellin on 26-28 April 2016 to exchange experiences and identify strategies to improve urban transport in the region. With two days of technical and strategies presentations, followed by a site visit to Metro de Medellin, the event will help identify solutions to the challenges facing senior decision makers all over the region.
Panamanian president Juan Carlos Varela met with executives from Alstom, supplier of Panama Metro rolling stock, to announce the possible development of a new light rail line, linking Panama City to Chririqui. Varela met with Alstom CEO Patrick Kron to discuss current projects and available options for expanding Line 2 of the Panama Metro, as well as Line 3 and further expansion.
The Venezuelan National Executive has approved a further US$50 million, to continue work on the light rail connection between Guarenas and Guatire in the Miranda area of the country. The project, lead by Metro de Caracas and Odebrecht, is expected to be completed in 2016. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro explained that the US$50 million investment will contribute towards the total US$150 required for the project.
