Consortium wins rail contract

A Siemens and Thales consortium is to supply the electromechanical equipment for the first metro line in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The state transportation authorities placed an order with the consortium that is worth €99m, with Siemens receiving €72m and Thales €27m.

The contract was signed with the Dominican Republic’s Oficina para la Reorganización del Transporte (OPRET). The new line will have 16 stations and will be about 14 kilometres long, linking the north and the south parts of the city. It is the first stage in a major upgrade of the island’s transportation systems designed to meet the growing needs of the capital’s three million residents for mass transit infrastructure. Work on the metro began 10 months ago. The line is due to open in 2008.

Siemens and Thales are to supply the fixed trackside equipment for the new line. Siemens’ scope of supply covers the project management, signalling and safety systems, automatic train protection, the operations control system and the power supply, which includes traction substations and the 1500V DC overhead contact line.