SANTO DOMINGO.-The Office of Urban and Interurban Mobility Project Development, yesterday Friday, moved the first four cars for the monorail that will be operating in Santiago de los Caballeros, and whose work began in March of 2022, scheduled to be inaugurated during this year.
The transfer was made from Punta Caucedo, Boca Chica, to the Santiago Oeste municipal district, where station one of the monorail is located, traveling along the entire Duarte highway, then the heavy equipment that transports the piece took the North ring road, arriving in Cienfuegos, the place where the first components of the modern transport system were finally left.
Before arriving in the country, the train and carriages underwent a process of stationary and moving tests in the city of Kingston, Canada, which ensures that the train's subsystems were validated and will be functioning in accordance with the standards and protocols defined contractually and by which this type of system is governed internationally.
Engineer Jhael Isa, in charge of the project, explained that these cars will be controlled by an advanced control panel, and that this innovative technology will allow the trains to be operated not by a driver, but through the control panel located in one of the monorail stations.
“From now on, the work teams will concentrate on attaching these components to the beams on which the train will run,” engineer Isa explained to Listín Diario.
In addition, static and dynamic tests will be carried out to ensure its proper functioning.
The project is part of the Trust for the Development of the Mass Transit System of the Dominican Republic (FITRAM), which is set to complete the project by 2025 with the delivery of all 15 trains, each with four cars.
The train is 50.474 meters long, with a total width of 3.142 meters and a height of 2.120 meters. Its interior consists of a steel frame and aluminum side walls and roof. The train has a capacity of 580 passengers.
Details
The Santiago Monorail connects the most populated areas and major employment centers. The project directly benefits approximately 500,000 people with 200,000 trips per day, offering advantages such as a 30% reduction in transportation costs, a 20-minute decrease in travel time, increased productivity, universal accessibility, and a reduced environmental impact, according to the official website.
The first monorail line in Santiago de los Caballeros will have a route of approximately 13.2 kilometers and will connect the northwest with the southeast of the city in no more than 35 minutes. It will link the populous Cienfuegos district with the thriving Pekín district. The line will have 14 stations.
Stages
The stations in the first stage will be: Cien Fuego, San Lorenzo, Espaillat, La Plazona, Circunvalación, Cuesta Colorada, Las Águilas, Pueblo Nuevo and Central, the latter being intermodal for monorail-cable car-buses-electric bicycles. In addition, the system will have a workshop and garage of approximately 34,000 square meters, for the purpose of storage, maintenance and cleaning of the trains.
The second stage includes the stations Las Carreras, Monumento de los Héroes, Juan Pablo Duarte, Madre y Maestra and Pekín.
The completed system will move around 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction, with a journey time of approximately 30 to 35 minutes between the 14 stations.
