The
Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, Mr. Nandcoomar Bodha,
reassures the population that the Metro express Project comprising of 32
construction sites is well on track and will be completed within the set
timeframe by September 2019.
He was
speaking at a press conference held, yesterday, in Port Louis on the status of
progress regarding the project whereby he announced that the first train, Light
Rail Vehicle (LRV), Urbos 100 3rd generation LRVs, to be acquired by Metro Express
Ltd, is currently being manufactured in Spain and will be delivered by August
2019.
The
Infrastructure Minister emphasised that he personally conducted, during his
recent mission in Spain, a visit on the site of the manufacture of the first
LRV Urbos for Mauritius to be named Maurisso. According to him, Mauritius has
opted for the more sophisticated, innovative and high-quality trains,
specifically designed by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) so as
to offer the end user a unique traveling experience with a built-in modern
security system.
He further
pointed out that CAF will supply a fleet of 18 Urbos light rail vehicles to
operate the Metro Express light rail line. The LRV train will be of a width of
2.65 kms, length of 50 m and 3.2 kms in height and comprising of 5 wagons and 7
compartments. The train will operate at a speed of 20-25km/h up to a peak of 50
km/h and the first LRV is expected in Mauritius in mid July 2019 for tests, he
added.
The
Minister underlined that Metro Express Limited will initially be assisted by
the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise/Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SCE/SMRT),
for the provision of Operation Readiness Services, namely in the recruitment
and training of local staff and in setting up the operation and maintenance
procedure for the Light Rail System.
As for the
recruitment of staff, Minister Bodha pointed out that some 50 persons will be
recruited to operate the trains namely: 30 train captains, 12 stewards, 6
ticketing inspectors and 2 ticketing officers. He further gave his
assurance that priority will be given to those employees operating in the
public transport industry.
He
concluded by stating that the Metro Express remains one of the major components
under the National Transport Network project which will integrate the road
transport system while bringing major transformation to the public
transport system, involving reengineering of bus routes and schedules along
with urban development through the modernisation of bus terminals.