Central & South America – Page 27
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Metro Report InternationalDiesel tram-trains for Puebla
MEXICO: Vossloh Rail Vehicles has delivered what it says are the first tram-trains in the Americas, two diesel vehicles ordered last year by the government of the state of Puebla. The new vehicles have been acquired as part of an 800m pesos project to introduce a tourist service over the ...
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NewsCaracas Line 5 opens to Bello Monte
VENEZUELA: The first section of Line 5 of the Caracas metro, running for 1∙3 km from Zona Rental to Bello Monte, was officially opened by President Nicolás Maduro on November 4, accompanied by Metro de Caracas President Luis Sauce. Serving southeastern Caracas, Line 5 will eventually be 16 km in ...
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NewsQuito metro works contract awarded
ECUADOR: A consortium of Acciona and Odebrecht has been awarded a US$1⋅54bn contact to undertake Phase 2 of the Quito metro, the municipality and project organisation Metro de Quito announced on October 27. The contract covers the construction of 22⋅1 km of tunnels from the bus terminal at Quitumbe in ...
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NewsLas Heras line to be revived for freight
ARGENTINA: The isolated 285 km route running from Puerto Deseado to Las Heras in Santa Cruz province is to be reopened for freight traffic at a cost of 90∙1m pesos, the government announced on October 5. Disused since 1978, the route is being upgraded to move materials for state-owned ...
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NewsCuenca tram starts dynamic testing
ECUADOR: Dynamic testing of the Cuenca tramway began on October 19. The first of 14 trams being supplied by Alstom was shipped from the port of Antwerpen in mid-May after leaving Alstom’s La Rochelle factory, and revenue service is due to begin next year. The 10·5 km standard gauge ...
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NewsWagons arrive from China
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo visited the Port of Buenos Aires on October 16 to inspect the first shipment of 150 wagons to arrive from China, financed by a US$2⋅47bn loan that is being used to fund 3 500 new wagons, 100 diesel locomotives and the ...
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NewsEFE unveils US$7∙5bn masterplan
CHILE: Grupo EFE President Jorge Inostroza unveiled a US$7⋅5bn investment masterplan on September 23, which aims to increase traffic on the state railway from 30 million to 100 million passenger-journeys a year by 2022. ‘No predecessor of mine has ever presented a plan like this’, said Inostroza, noting that EFE ...
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NewsUS$4∙8bn for freight renaissance
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced on September 8 that China Machinery Engineering Corp had signed a letter of intent to double the amount of funding it is providing to revive Argentina’s rail freight network. ‘It is a second tranche of US$2⋅4bn which we will entirely ...
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NewsDriving simulator investment
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo opened a suite featuring 11 driving simulators at the national railway training facility, Cenacaf, in Temperley last month. Supplied by Spanish specialist Lander Simulation, the simulators are intended to recreate precisely the conditions that drivers will encounter on the Mitre and ...
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NewsSolar and wireless automated level crossing commissioned
COLOMBIA: Ferrocarril del Pacífico has commissioned the first of 22 level crossings on the 196 km Buenaventura – Palmira route which are being fitted with automated safety systems by US firm Railroad Signal International, using a solar-powered train detection system from Canadian company Argenia Railway Technologies. Completion of the project ...
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NewsLighter tank wagon for oil products
ARGENTINA: Military equipment manufacturer Fabricaciones Militares has unveiled a new 1 676 mm gauge tank wagon designed for the transport of crude oil and other heavy hydrocarbons. The self-supporting tank means that the wagon does not require a frame, offering a saving of up to 3 tonnes in tare weight ...
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NewsSystra acquires Tectran
BRAZIL: French engineering firm Systra has acquired Brazilian consultancy and engineering company Tectran Tectran is headquartered in Belo Horizonte and employs 80 people. The company works in metro, rail and road infrastructure engineering, urban planning and logistics studies. The two companies have worked together since 2013 on passenger ...
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NewsMerMec inspection vehicle delivered
CHILE: MerMec has supplied EFE with a customised Roger 600 self-propelled vehicle incorporating integrated track measurement systems which it says will cut the time required for certain inspection activities from two weeks to 1 h. The 18 m steel-bodied Maquina Registradora de Vía car is equipped to measure track and ...
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NewsTren del Valle launches with domestic DMUs
ARGENTINA: On July 21 President Cristina Fernández inaugurated by video link the Tren del Valle, a new service connecting the city of Neuquén with Cipolletti in Río Negro province. The first passenger services on this route for 22 years are operated with two DMUs purchased from Materfer for 20m pesos. ...
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NewsFunding arrives for Belgrano upgrade
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced on July 10 that state-owned company Belgrano Cargas & Logística had received US$9m to fund work to upgrade infrastructure in the provinces of Santa Fe, San Juan and Jujuy. This was the first tranche of the U$1⋅23bn that is being ...
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NewsBNDES funds locomotive orders
BRAZIL: Federal development bank BNDES has announced that it is to provide R$70⋅5m to finance the purchase of 19 AC44i locomotives from GE Transportation. To be provided via Banco Alfa Investimento SA, the funding will meet 50% of the total cost of 12 locomotives being acquired by freight operator VLI ...
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NewsFirst Belgrano Sur DMUs arrive
ARGENTINA: On July 7 Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo visited the Port of Buenos Aires to inspect the first of 27 three-car DMUs ordered from CNR of China for the Belgrano Sur commuter network. According to Randazzo, the new vehicles would be operating ‘in 45 days’. Alongside ...
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NewsMedellín metro orders more CAF cars
COLOMBIA: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF announced on July 2 that it had signed an €89m contract with Empresa de Transporte Masivo Valle de Aburrá to supply 20 three-car trainsets for the Medellín metro. CAF said that the order has been placed in response to growing passenger numbers, and ...
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NewsMore concessions to boost Brazilian investment
BRAZIL: President Dilma Rousseff announced on June 9 that R$198∙4bn is to be invested in transport infrastructure under a new concessions programme, with the aim of stimulating the economy and boosting the export sector. Total investment is expected to reach R$69∙2bn between 2015 and 2018. This would be followed by ...
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NewsLocomotive delivered for Uruguayan upgrade
URUGUAY: Infrastructure company Corporación Ferroviaria del Uruguay has taken delivery of a refurbished ČKD Class 740 diesel-electric locomotive supplied by rolling stock repair and freight transport company Loko Trans Slovakia. The locomotive was delivered to the Port of Montevideo on May 24, and is to be deployed on works ...