The assembly of 13 of the 15 units that will operate the rail system has begun, while the project is over 92% complete and is preparing to receive new trains before the end of the year
SANTO DOMINGO.- While the columns and stations of the Santiago Monorail are nearing their final phase in the Dominican Republic, more than 7,000 kilometers away another fundamental piece of the project is beginning to come to life.
In the city of Belfort, in eastern France, the assembly of 13 of the 15 trains that will make up the country's first monorail system has begun, according to the Trust for the Development of the Mass Transit System of the Dominican Republic (FITRAM).
The entity indicated that the process marks a new stage for the project, after completing the supply of parts and components that will make up the railway units during the last year.
During a technical visit to the Alstom plant, FITRAM's CEO, Jhael Isa, oversaw the manufacturing and logistics work that will allow the progressive arrival of the new trains to Santiago starting in December.
From concrete to trains
After several years focused on the construction of the viaduct, stations and electromechanical systems, the Santiago Monorail now begins a different phase: the preparation of the rolling stock that will bring the system to life.
The transport system noted that the first two trains arrived in the country in 2024. The remaining units are already being assembled in France.
These are Innovia 300 trains with four cars, capable of carrying 590 passengers per unit and designed to operate at intervals of just 90 seconds.
Technology and inclusion
According to the mobility company, the trains incorporate spaces for people with disabilities, areas reserved for wheelchairs, sound announcements, and preferential seating for senior citizens.
Furthermore, they are part of a new generation of units developed by Alstom after the acquisition of Bombardier in 2021, so the Santiago system will become one of the first projects to use the innovations that have emerged from that industrial integration.
A system designed to move 200,000 people a day
The monorail will cover 13 kilometers between Cienfuegos and Pekín, crossing a large part of Santiago and connecting with line 1 of the cable car.
The system will have 14 stations, a central integration terminal and the capacity to move up to 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction, equivalent to about 200,000 daily users.
According to the information, more than 500,000 people will directly benefit from the project, which aims to reduce traffic congestion, decrease household transportation costs, and improve urban mobility.
The final stretch
Four years and 72 days after the start of construction, the project has achieved an overall progress of 92.6%, according to FITRAM data.
With the infrastructure practically finished and the trains already in production, the Santiago Monorail enters one of its most symbolic phases: the one in which the work ceases to be just columns and stations to begin to become the railway system that will transform the mobility of the country's second city.
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