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RATP Dev launches Algiers’ first metro line
RATP Dev, a subsidiary of the RATP
Group, largely participated in the development of this major project, long
awaited by Algerians.
Selected by the Entreprise du Métro d’Alger (EMA) in 2007 to assume the operation and maintenance of Algiers’ first metro line, RATP Dev has brought to the project its experience as a multimodal transport services provider, as well as its expertise in training operating staff.
RATP El Djazair, a local subsidiary created in 2009, successfully presided over the pre-operational phase of the project and has now been awarded an 8-year contract to operate and maintain Line 1.
With its 14 trains comprised of 6 air-conditioned passenger cars each, the Algiers Metro will serve 10 stations in 6 communes: Bachdjarah, El Magharia, Hussein Dey, El Hamma, Sidi M’Hamed and Alger Centre.
RATP Dev’s latest reference in operating and maintaining a metro line
RATP El Djazaïr’s 400 employees are welcoming the
first passengers and putting into practice the skills they have acquired and
tested in recent months, including supervision of train operations and
movements, passenger services in stations, ticket sales, verification of
operating procedures, and various manoeuvres.
The metro runs between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. with trains
every 3m20s during peak hours and every 5 minutes during off-peak hours.
Train movements are managed via the centralised
control room (PCC), which is situated on the line itself and is at the heart of
the system for managing train movements, regulating traffic, monitoring
stations and equipment, and controlling power systems.
The Algiers Metro benefits from all the strengths of
the RATP Group in terms of innovation, passenger services and quality.
Roughly a hundred service provider
employees have been mobilised to furnish both cleaning services for trains and
stations and security services for facilities.
After Line 9 of the Seoul Metro (via
the VTRA Joint Venture) and Line 4 of the Sao Paulo Metro, the start-up of the
Algiers Metro once again illustrates RATP Dev’s expertise in operating and
maintaining metro lines.
The Algiers Metro also confirms RATP
Dev’s capacity to manage large-scale projects in varied economic and political
environments.
Preparing the way: RATP Dev’s twofold expertise
The start-up of the Algiers Metro illustrates RATP Dev’s two key areas of specialisation: its technical expertise and its ability to train operating staff.
Through its RATP El Djazaïr subsidiary, RATP Dev developed the line’s operating programme and procedures, regulations and maintenance policy.
It conducted all of the technical tests and was responsible for the reception of fixed installations, power supply equipment, signalling systems and rolling stock.
RATP Dev also confirmed its capacity to draw on the expertise of the RATP Group in order to adapt to the local environment. RATP experts were called on to oversee both the hiring of local staff and their training in regulatory procedures and the tasks involved in operating and maintaining a metro line. As a result, nearly 500 jobs were created in the country.
RATP El Djazaïr was able to put its twofold expertise as technician and training specialist to the test during the dry runs preceding the start-up of metro service. During this trial phase when trains circulated without passengers, a hundred operational exercises were conducted. RATP El Djazaïr was not only able to put the entire system through its paces and prepare the facilities for accommodating passengers, it was also able to further staff training by confronting employees with real-life situations.
The Algerian transport market is booming, creating numerous opportunities for RATP Dev, which is striving to establish itself in Algeria for the long term in order to bring to the country its expertise as a multimodal transport service provider.
Technical specifications for Line 1
- Line 1 (phase 1) = 10 stations
- 9 underground stations with lateral platforms
- Haï el Badr terminal station, located at ground level, has 3 tracks and 2
central platforms
- Line length: 8,500 metres
- Steel wheel rolling stock
- Third rail power system
- Automatic driving system, with on-board driver
- 1 end-of-line train depot (Bach Djerah)
- 1 PCC centralised command post (El Anasser) located mid-line
- Mono-tube tunnel with 2 tracks
Rolling
stock specifications
- 14 trains comprised of 6 passenger cars each
- Total length: 108 metres
- Width: 2.83 metres
- Passengers cars are linked via inter-vehicle gangways
- 8 doors per passenger car (4 on each side)
- Capacity: 1,290 passengers
- 210 seated passengers + 1,080 standing passengers (6 passengers/m²)
- Maximum speed: 70 kph
