Alstom consortium selected to deliver the Caribbean’s first monorail system
HS2 proposals are trimmed back across the north of England
THE contract, worth approximately €370 million, was awarded by the Fideicomiso para el Desarrollo del Sistema de Transporte Masivo (FITRAM) of the Dominican Republic. It will be the first-of-its-kind in the Caribbean once completed.
The monorail system will be built in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic. It will be a 13-kilometer, 14-station system that is designed to carry up to 20,000 passengers per hour per direction.
Alstom will supply the 13 four-car Innovia Monorail 300 trains for the system, as well as the Cityflo 650 GOA4 driverless signalling system. The GOA4 system is currently the highest grade of automation in the world, which will mean that the trains will be fully automated and driverless, offering bi-directional operations and equipped with the latest safety features.
To further increase the energy efficiency of the system, Alstom will install reversible power stations, which translates into not only building fewer substations along the alignment but also recovering and reinjecting up to 99% braking energy from the trains back into the network.
The monorail system is expected to be completed in 2027. It will provide a much-needed boost to public transportation in Santiago de los Caballeros, a city in the north of the country which has a population of 1.3 million people with the monorail expecting to help the worsening traffic in the city.
“This is a historic milestone in the development of sustainable mobility in the Dominican Republic, and we are proud to have been selected by FITRAM to deliver the country’s first monorail,” said Iván Moncayo, Alstom’s managing director for the Dominican Republic.
“The Dominican Republic is increasingly committed to developing and expanding urban mobility in the country and this investment for Santiago de los Caballeros will offer a modern, safe, comfortable, and reliable transportation option for the Santiaguense and visitors alike.”
“In a rail world where Britain is currently plagued with rail strikes and our HS2 proposals are trimmed back across the north of England, it is good to see a Caribbean Island is now moving forward with plans to bring a monorail system into their future transport plans,” said David Hooper, External Affairs and Membership Director of Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce.
The Innovia systems are currently integrated in over 40 cities across the world, including Cairo, Bangkok and Los Angeles.
