Inauguration of the Medellín Tramway, Latin America´s first modern tramway system, executed by OHL

The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and the Mayor of Medellín, Aníbal Gaviria, along with the Governor of Antioquia, Sergio Fajardo, inaugurated the Medellín Tramway today.

The works, executed by G&O (Agrupación Guinovart Obras y Servicios Hispania), an OHL Group subsidiary specializing in railway infrastructures, is the first modern tramway system in Latin America, 4.3 km long and with a slope of up to 12.5%, and the world’s largest. 

The project includes nine stops above ground -San Antonio, San José, Pabellón del Agua, Bicentenario, Buenos Aires, Miraflores, Loyola, Molino, Estación Oriente-, two of which -Miraflores and Estación Oriente- are linked to new Metrocable lines.

The new system will consist of 12 tramway cars, travelling at 30 km/h, with capacity for 300 passengers and able to transport 90,000 users/day.

The tramway platform consists of a granular base over which two 45-cm thick concrete slabs are placed: a central RG28 track is then laid down, guiding the TRANSLOHR tramway system -with rubber tires and a track-, the first system to begin operating in Latin America and one of the first in the world.

The project, involving close to 450 workers and involving construction of the rail infrastructure and superstructure, as well as the tramway patios and workshops, mostly runs through city areas. As a result, adjustment work has been necessary in urban surroundings and public areas.

The OHL Group in Colombia

The OHL Group has been present in Colombia since 2008 with valuable construction contracts, totaling close to 1.8 billion Colombian Pesos (660 million Euros). Colombia, along with its three Pacific Alliance partners -Mexico, Peru and Chile- is a priority country in OHL’s strategy for growth in Latin America, as explained in the company’s Strategic Plan.

Since 2010, the Group is taking part in construction of the 400 MW El Quimbo hydroelectrical plant. In turn, in December 2014, a contract was signed for the country’s first concession, the Magdalena River Toll Road, 144 km long.

With respect to the 2015 financial year, the first stage in the Medellín River Parks project was awarded last March; this initiative was launched to convert Medellín into a sustainable city in environmental and mobility matters. The activities foreseen in the project include burying the South Toll Road along a 426 m section, increasing the number of existing lanes from four to seven, and constructing two pedestrian bridges over the Medellín River. Subsequently, in July, a section of the Metroplus Itagüí line was awarded. This new road corridor, 1.7 km long, has been constructed to alleviate traffic in the central roads of Itagüí, offering a massive citizen transportation system.

Medellín Tramway. Colombia.