Alstom brings metro to Santo Domingo

OPRET, the governmental authority in charge of the reorganisation of public transport in the

, has chosen

for the delivery of 19 Metropolis trainsets worth €92.5 million for the city of

.

This order is part of the government's development programme to meet the increasing demand for public transport and reduce road traffic congestion in Santo Domingo. The trainsets will run on the first line of the capital's new metro system, which is currently under construction, and will connect Villa Mella, north of the city, with La Feria, south of the city.

Alstom will supply a total of 19 trainsets, comprising 3 cars each. The first deliveries are scheduled for the opening of metro line 1 in early 2008. The metro is expected to carry 200,000 passengers every day.

Three Alstom sites will be involved in this project. Alstom's site in Charleroi, Belgium, will be in charge of the manufacture and integration of the traction systems, the Le Creusot site in France will provide the bogies and the Barcelona site will be responsible for the car manufacture and assembly.