Diandino Pena, former public works minister and mastermind behind Santo Domingo’s overpasses, presented the locations of the proposed Santo Domingo metro lines to the Fernandez government cabinet yesterday. The first line, running from northern Santo Domingo at the bridge over La Isabela River down to the Centro de los Heroes would be 9.94 kilometers long, at a cost of US$326 million, or approximately US$32.6 million per kilometer or nearly RD$1 billion. It would run under Maximo Gomez Avenue with stations at Av. Nicolas de Ovando, the cemetery, Av. Pena Batlle, Av. Kennedy, Av. 27 de Febrero, National Theater, Ministry of Education, UASD (University), Av. Abraham Lincoln and Centro de los Heroes (La Feria). The route could be covered in 13 minutes. Eleven trains traveling every three minutes would serve the route. This particular route was chosen because research has found that 55% of public transport users are concentrated between Av. Kennedy and the Centro de los Heroes.
Second and third west-east lines would be built across the John F. Kennedy Avenue and 27 de Febrero.
Pena estimated the metro fare could be RD$5-RD$10. He also predicted that the metro would represent savings of US$376.8 million.