Siemens and Thales to Equip DR Metro Line

Siemens and Thales will supply the electromechanical equipment for the first metro line in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. State transportation authorities placed an order with the Siemens-Thales consortium that is worth 99 million euros -- with €72 million going to Siemens and €27 million to Thales. The contract was signed with the Dominican Republic’s Oficina para la Reorganización del Transporte (OPRET). The new line, with its 16 stations, will be about 14 kilometers long and link the north and the south parts of the city. It is the first stage in a major upgrade of the island’s transportation systems, designed to meet the growing needs of the capital’s three million residents for mass transit infrastructure. Work on the metro began 10 months ago; the line is due to open in 2008. Siemens and Thales will supply the fixed trackside equipment for the new line. Siemens will be involved in project management, signaling and safety systems, automatic train protection, the operations control system and the power supply. The latter includes traction substations and the 1500 V DC overhead contact line. Thales will supply the supervision systems comprising station control and the operations control center, telecommunications and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), access control and contactless fare collection.