o line nears completion
million and SMP has drawn up a transport master plan which calls for the investment of more than $US 10bn up to 2035. Under the plan, the construction of two more metro lines is envisaged, along with a commuter rail line running from the city centre to Arraiján and Chorrera on the western side of the Panama Canal, and a tram line from Cinta Constera near May 5 metro station south to Casco Antiguo. A proposed fourth bridge spanning the Panama Canal could include light rail tracks.
Alstom is supplying 19 three-car trains and an additional train for the extension to San Isidro.
the main contractors would normally expect to call upon for a project of this nature. “We had to import everything we needed and plan what we needed up to six months in advance to have all the materials in time,” explained Mr Santiago Erans, construction manager of elevated works with FCC. “Sometimes we had to plan what we needed even before the design had been completed. This meant we had to plan, design, and build everything with great care.” The consortium had to hire between 600 and 700 people to work on the project. While 90% of the staff taken on are local, the remainder come from Spain, Colombia, France and Brazil. The total workforce for the project including sub-contractors numbers around 5000 people.
On November 25 President Martinelli sanctioned the Metro Act passed by the National Assembly to create a new state-owned but financially- autonomous company called Metro Panama to not only operate and maintain the first line but also take over responsibility for planning and executing infrastructure works. Staff training started well before
Metro Panama became a legal entity. In January a group of Panamanians were given theoretical training in metro
IRJ January 2014 Fitting out is underway at one of the underground stations. 29
operation by a team from Barcelona metro, and in March a group of 19 Panamanian trainees was dispatched to Santo Domingo Metro, which is operationally similar to the Panama metro, to gain practical experience. In October, 91 metro recruits started a six- month training course to become drivers or station staff.
Panama City has a population of 1.7
The first concrete steps to implement the master plan occurred in October with the award of a contract to conduct a feasibility study for metro
Line 2. This 24km elevated line could cost around $US 2bn to construct and the government is looking for ways to fund it.
Whatever the outcome is of these studies, the opening of the first metro line will give Panamanians their first experience of how a modern metro can transform travel and life in a modern- day city. IRJ
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