• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Bolivia

Bolivia’s First Metropolitan Train Inauguration Confirmed

  • Bolivia’s First Metropolitan Train Inauguration Confirmed
Published 8 September 2022
Opinion

The Railway Technical Unit (UTF) said today on its Facebook account that the president, Luis Arce, will inaugurate on September 13 the red and green lines of the Cochabamba Metropolitan Train.

"President Luis Arce, the Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing and the Technical Unit of Railways invite you to be part of the grand opening of the historic mega work of the Metropolitan Train," states the message published on that social network.

RELATED:
 Brazil: Lula Da Silva Supports Bolivia's Entry Into MERCOSUR

According to the UTF, the head of state will deliver the "mega work" in a special ceremony at the San Antonio Central Station, located on 6 de Agosto Avenue, corner Barrientos, at 10.30 local time.

With this inauguration, the source said that Cochabamba would become the first department of the Altiplano country to have a modern, safe, efficient, inclusive and environmentally friendly railway transportation system, providing quality service to users.

The project will benefit the municipalities of Sacaba, Cercado, Quillacollo, Colcapirhua, Vinto and Sipe Sipe, it was informed.

With a capacity of 376 passengers (66 seated), the train will have surveillance cameras, internal radiotelephones, information screens at stops, air conditioning, heating and Wi-Fi connection.

At the beginning of August this year, the Minister of Public Works, Edgar Montaño, informed us that the national government would inaugurate the Red and Green lines this month as a gift to Cochabamba's independence anniversary (September 14).

The Red line integrates the San Antonio and Agronomía stations along a 5.5-kilometer route, while the Green line connects San Antonio and Suticollo stations along a 27-kilometer route.

This work began on August 16, 2017, and should have been completed in 2020. Still, the de facto administration of Jeanine Áñez paralyzed its construction in February of that year under the pretext of "a general audit."

After the rescue of democracy with Arce's electoral triumph, the President ordered the resumption of disbursements, with the first injection of 185 million Bolivianos (about US$26 million) allocated to the payment of outstanding payroll.

However, the Metropolitan Train consists of the construction of the two lines above and the Amarilla line.

Regarding the latter, the general coordinator of the UTF, Augusto Chassagnez, expressed in June the hope that the Autonomous Municipal Government of Cochabamba would grant the use of land for the processing of the environmental license and the start of construction.

The day before, Arce assured in a tweet that using Supreme Decree 4792, the Cabinet of Ministers created the Cochabamba Metropolitan Train Operator.

This investment costs more than three thousand 112 million bolivianos (almost 445 million dollars).

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.