The Metro as afforded by Tallman, is indeed operating in a limited capacity.
The actual commercial operations (read open for biz) will be as soon as the supervisory heads give the "Good to Go" for the system to enter operations.
You have to keep in mind that people are being "educated" on the trial runs, so they become acquainted with a never before used form of transportation in the country.
A stress test is also being done with all systems and peripheral structures of support and containment. For example, some tempered glass shields on one of the escalators in a station gave way under the pressure of the people trying to rush up the stair as the sound of the incoming train announced that it was entering the station. As you may well know, it's a quite common thing for straphangers in equal systems to do such thing elsewhere as trains approach the stations.
The glass shields were too tensed and didn't allow for much pressure before failure. The trials allows the authorities to make final adjustments as needed before the system becomes commercially operational, while being put under normal stress of usage it's expected to be under during the trials and later normal usage.
Other systems that were found to be in need of adjustments were the PA systems in some stations and halls. Camera positions, security personnel placement, emergency communicators for users in several spots before not taken under consideration, etc...
So far the trials are a resounding success, given that the OMSA and syndicated bus services were running empty the whole time the trains were on limited operations.
As for the cost of operations, as afforded to the press by OPRET, a yearly 25 million dollar figure is the estimated balance.
The Metro once operational is expected to have a daily ridership of 200,000. If we peg this to the 20 or 25 pesos cost of the trips, it translates in between 1.4 and 1.5 billion pesos yearly correspondingly to each associated rate. If we translate the 25 million US of the estimated cost to run the Metro into Pesos, we obtain a figure of about 900 million pesos...
It's clear that the Metro is capable of generating income to pay its operational costs and then some. That's even without taking under account revenues from commercial spots rental inside the station as you could see in the first video posted, an Orange store already placed there in one of them. Without ads revenue produced via flat panels inside the trains and placed as they will be in the stations. Without the revenues from commercial ads over the PA systems within the train, and stations all around. The revenues from ads printed on the fare card themselves and collocation of shared ad campaigns by commerce along with the Metro as many cities do in other parts of the world.
Side by side, the SD Metro is one of the most energy efficient systems in the world today and that's a fact documented...
The SD Metro can be operated via an integrated computer system from the control room, if by any given occurrence; the train operators are not present or willing to perform their duties. Quite simply, a system capable of out running a worker strike while maintaining 100% safety in operations.
The SD Metro is expected to become self sufficient once a projected ridership is reached. That could take as short as a few months or as long as two years.
Hence the need for the gov to provide a subsidy in the initial operational phases.
Line 2 is ready to go as soon as Line 1 enters commercial operations, but this time the gov will have private investors joining the funding process for good.
The Santiago - SD train is going ahead as well!!! All the studies have been completed and once the gov enacts all the regulations needed for such project, the line will go full speed ahead on construction. The Santiago - SD train is estimated to be done in half the time it took to build Line 1 of the SD Metro and with one third the budget.
There're several big (and I mean huge) projects that will be announced and commenced in the DR before Q2 of 2009. The DR will have the first supertall of the Caribbean!!!!
HDTV will be the norm for all TV stations being broadcasted in the country and HD Radio too. Two new heavy weight players in the world will enter the DR's energy sector and will have full control of the power grid in the country for good...
The SD Metro is just the tip of the iceberg emerging in the DR...
Take a ride and then form your own opinion about it and post it here!!!
If like me, you have taken the NYC Subway, Boston, Paris Metro, Spain, Japan and others in LA and the world, please judge for yourselves the quality and value of the system compared to those in the world, built with a gross amount times over ours and yet much less efficient in many terms and operational costs.
You be the judge! ~