Santo Domingo Metro

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{{Infobox Public transit|name = Santo Domingo Metro|locale = Santo Domingo, [2008

The Santo Domingo Metro is a rapid transit system under construction in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The system was planned to relieve the congestion of traffic in the Máximo Gómez and Hermanas Mirabal Avenues in the center of the city. The Santo Domingo Metro is part of a major "National Master Plan" to improve transportation and expand infrastructure.

Approval and Construction In mid-2004, a Metro was proposed by Brazilian president Lula da Silva to then-president Hipólito Mejía, but it was the current president Leonel Fernández who started the construction of the first subway system in the Dominican Republic and second in the Caribbean, although he had affirmed he would not construct it. The project has been prompted by the need to reduce the continually rising heavy road traffic congestion and air pollution which severely affects productive time and health of the citizens of the city. The system will complement other forms of public transportation such as “Carros Públicos” Share taxi.

This mass-transit system will have one line and sixteen stations; 6 elevated, 10 underground and a total track length of 14.5 km (9.6 miles), will connect Villa Mella (north of the city) with La Feria (south of the city), which will hopefully bring relief to the current public transport system of Santo Domingo.

The French consortium Alstom will supply a total of 19 Alstom Metropolis Cars trainsets (57 cars) from its factories in Belgium, France and Spain, they'll start each with 3 cars for a total of 17 trainsets to be in service and 2 will be used as spares. The trains are limited with sets of 3 cars to begin their operations, but all stations are being built to accommodate 6 cars each in anticipation of expected future ridership demands. Daily ridership is expected to be about 200,000 passengers. According to the official version, the Santo Domingo Metro is scheduled to open on February 27, 2008.

Pros and Cons of a Santo Domingo Metro Pros

Accelerate transport
Less road congestion
Infrastructure improvements along the line
Less costly in the long run than building, expanding and maintaining roads
Reduce emissions, save money on fuel and maintenance
Reduce noise pollution
Reduce dependence on imported oil
Promote business and economic growth
Encourage greater development density within walking distance of stations
Complement other forms of public transportation such as “Carros Públicos” and Taxis
Promote tourism
Create a more livable city

Cons

Initial high cost
Disruption of traffic patterns during construction, especially on Máximo Gómez Ave. and around the University of Santo Domingo (UASD).
High cost for upkeep if partial and/or poorly used

Criticism The Dominican Republic is a nation with stable economical growth but lacks many basic services. It has limited resources and inadequate infrastructure. There are precarious electrical, water, sewage, health and public education issues that should be addressed, as well as employment generation and rapid rural to urban migration.

Citizens are debating whether the Santo Domingo's Metro mega investment is a good idea, if the metro will still be working six months after its introduction, and its affordability. Despite the criticism, President Leonel Fernandez has said it will work and will help the Dominican population 100%.

Accolades The Metro will be run as an independent institution from the debt-ridden Dominican government; as such it'll be run as a self-sufficient vs State-funded capitalistic enterprise.If anything up to this point the cost per km constructed is a remarkable achievement to comparable international projects already built or under-construction.

The recent signing of the modification to the Law 125-01, making it a felony to steal electrical services, without a doubt, will allow the energy providers to meet the continuous electrical demands of the users without the disruption all too normal nowadays. The DR produces more energy than it consumes and part of the problem has been addressed with that modification to the existing Law. The addressing of the second problem of loss in transit is currently underway via the construction of an electrical superhighway from the north of the country where most of the production goes to the Santo Domingo metro area and upgrades to the system.

Proposed Station Locations (Line 1) Note: Station names are speculative, they may change as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available.

In September 23rd, 2007 incumbent President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez while in his Trip around the East coast of USA announced that the Santo Domingo Metro Station names will no be named by streets but instead have a name of important historical people of the Dominican Republic. Even thougth this has been announced, it still not official which are the names and as of now the only information known is the location of each station as shown below.

Elevated Section:

Charles de Gaulle at Hermanas Mirabal Ave., Villa Mella
La Paz at Hermanas Mirabal Ave., Sol de Luz
Los Cerros at Hermanas Mirabal Ave., Buena Vista II
Los Guaricanos at Hermanas Mirabal Ave.
Parque Mirador Norte at Hermanas Mirabal Ave.

At Ground Station:

Isabela (Cementera Dominicana) (The operations control centre is located on this station)

Underground Section:

Nicolas de Ovando at Máximo Gómez Ave.
National Cemetery at Máximo Gómez Ave.
Peña Batlle at Máximo Gómez Ave. (Café Induban)
John F. Kennedy at Máximo Gómez Ave. ( planned cross east-west connection to 'Line 2 )

Centro Olimpico at Máximo Gómez Ave.( planned cross east-west connection to Line 3 )

Teatro Nacional (Santo Domingo) (National Theatre) at Máximo Gómez Ave.

Educación (Secretaria de Educación of Education) near Máximo Gómez Ave.

Alma Máter (Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo – UASD)

Abraham Lincoln (Instituto Dominico Americano)

La Feria (Centro de los Héroes)

Public Art The Station At Teatro Nacional (Santo Domingo) is said to be larger and will have works of art representing the Dominican culture and modern art. Others stations are expected to follow suit.

Proposed extensions There is a subsequent construction phase to extend the rail system service within Santo Domingo by adding two more lines after Line 1 is finished and tested. The lines already planned are:

Line 2 – Will run east-west under John F. Kennedy Avenue, from the farthest metropolitan stretch of the city to the eastern part of the city, Santo Domingo Este and outskirts Los Alcarrizos.

Line 3 – Will pass by the city Center and under “27 de Febrero” Avenue (which is considered the main business thoroughfare in the city) and reach across the Ozama River to Santo Domingo Este. It may also stay within the D.N. boundaries.

National Master Plan:On these same notes the Santo Domingo Metro project is not a local or otherwise single phase plan. As allowed by the head of the administration in charge of the project under construction in the national district of Santo Domingo, the Metro is a "National Master Plan" to be done in phases accordingly extending from the initial first line to link the entire National territory with a Mass-Transit system. The "Master Plan" as it was referred to by Diandino Peña (Head Administrator of OPRET) is an ambitious and economically feasible phase by phase plan to be continued for the next 50 years or more to advance the country's transit networks.

Gallery: Current updates

Image:Isabela Sept.jpg|Ground level Isabela station, Sept 2007Image:Alma Sept.jpg| Alma Mater station, Sept 2007Image:Mirador Sept.jpg| Viaduct Mirador del Norte station, Sept 2007‎Image:Parking and Train Mantainance Sept.jpg|Terminal for parking, Sept 2007Image:JFK sept.jpg| John F. Kennedy Avenue station seen from above, Sept 2007‎Image:Sec Under Sept.jpg|Underground Secretaria de Educacion station, Sept 2007Image:Sec Sept.jpg| Scene from above Secretaria de Educacion station, Sept 2007

References

Alstom Press Release
www.railway-technology.com
Secretary of State in Public Construction and Communication of the Dominican Republic