Medellín Metro has started commercial operations on the 4.3km-long Ayacucho tramway line in Colombia that connects the city’s metro lines A and B and two new metrocable lines.
The nine-station line has been partially open since 15 October and is scheduled to be fully operational from 30 November.
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Delivered by Alstom and NTL, the new line is expected to reach 85,000 passengers a day.
The line will be served by a fleet of 12 Translohr STE5 trams, which were ordered from the NTL consortium comprising Alstom (51%) and BPI France (49%) in a €42.3m contract signed in 2012.
The 39m-long NTL trams, which feature a clearance gauge of 5.18m and a turning radius of 10.5m, can easily run on gradients of up to 13%, particularly relevant for the Ayacucho line, which includes slopes with gradients of 12%.
The company noted that this allows cost-optimisation of the whole system, which means less civilworks, reduced infrastructure costs and smaller maintenance facilities.
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By GlobalDataAlstom has also provided power supply for the entire project as part of the UT Alstom-Sytecsa consortium.
The company was also responsible for project management, engineering, procurement, testing and commissioning of the medium-voltage network and substations.
It is reported that approximately 7,000t of CO2 annually will be reduced in Medellin with the new public transport service and following the Alstom’s principles of environmental care.
Additionally, an important socioeconomic impact will take place in the surrounding areas of the project, improving mobility costs and time.
In August, Alstom and NTL have tested the first tram on the tracks of the Ayacucho tramway line.
Image: Colombia president Juan Manuel Santos at the inauguration of the Ayacucho tramway line. Photo: courtesy of Alstom.
