THE state-owned company that manages the Buenos Aires Subte metro, Sbase, has launched a tender for the supply of 96 new air-conditioned cars to operate on Line B which runs from Leandro N Alem to Juan Manuel de Rosas.
The new fleet will replace Mitsubishi trains that are now on average 60 years old, and will increase the proportion of air-conditioned trains on Line B from 45% to 100%. As well as the Mitsubishi fleet, Line B is operated with more modern series 6000 trains supplied by CAF.
Line B is the busiest on the Buenos Aires metro network, carrying an average of 216,796 passengers on a working day. It is 11.8km long and serves a total of 17 stations, including interchanges with lines C, D, E and H.
Sbase says that the new fleet must be built of stainless steel or aluminium, and will be equipped with onboard CCTV, an audio-visual passenger information system, vandal-resistant LED lighting and seating in a longitudinal configuration.
In addition, the new trains must be equipped with ATP and be capable of operating under CBTC at Grade of Automation 2 (GoA 2), already in operation on Line H in Buenos Aires and currently being installed on Line D.
The new Line B cars must be 3.1m wide and 17m long. Each car must have four doors per side.
Bids will be opened on December 20. The first train must be delivered within 20 months of signing the contract with the winning bidder.
For detailed data on rolling stock orders around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
