GdE Consortium successfully operated the partial operation of the Panama Metro Line 2
GdE Consortium successfully operated the partial operation of the Panama Metro Line 2
Panama, January 31, 2019 – The consortium Grupo de Empresas (GdE), led by Alstom with Thales, Sofratesa, CIM and TSO, delivered the integral railway system for the partial service of the Panama Metro Line 2 in a record time of 40 months, in time for the World Youth Day.
Line 2, which is more than 90% complete, operated successfully to help people transportation to the event, held in the Panamanian capital from January 22 to 27. The temporary and partial opening provided service in 5 of the line´s 16 stations: Corredor Sur, Pedregal, San Antonio, Cincuentenario and San Miguelito.
The GdE consortium worked in collaboration with Metro de Panama authorities to provide users with an excellent service, with 24 hours monitoring during the World Youth Day celebrations to address any contingency.
In 2014, Metro de Panama awarded the Line 2 project to the Odebrecht-FCC consortium (CL2), which subcontracted the design and construction of the integral railway system to GdE consortium, including the supply of 21 Metropolis trains, as well as traction substations, which incorporate Hesop, reversible substations and Urbalis signaling system (Alstom's CBTC solution, which controls the trains movement and allows higher frequencies and operation speeds with total safety). The integral railway system also includes track systems, 44 km of concrete slab track, 50 km of mainly rigid catenary as well as workshop equipment, plus telecommunications and centralized control systems.
It is estimated that the commercial operation of Panama Metro Line 2 will begin in early May, after the conclusion of the last works. With a length of 21km long and 16 stations, Line 2 will interconnect with Line 1 and will be able to transport up to 40,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
The GdE Consortium has been present in Panama since the beginning of Panama Metro Line 1 project in 2010 and has played a key role in the development of urban transport infrastructure in the country.