Bogota’s first metro line to be FAO
© Metro de Bogotà
Bogota’s first metro line, announced in November 2017, will be designed for fully automated operations (FAO).
On 6 August, Metro de Bogotá launched the process to select the company or companies to build the infrastructure, procure trains, operate and maintain the line. This process is expected to take one year.
Due to start operations in 2024, phase 1 of the line will be 24km long and will connect Portal Américas to Avenida Caracas. It will have 16 stations, including 10 interchanges with the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system.
The project is set to cost a total of $4.4bn (approx. €3.9bn), to be jointly financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction & Development) and the European Investment Bank.
The new line will be elevated. The proposal for an underground metro was abandoned due to cost and extra time need for the construction works. The fleet for phase 1 is to be composed of 23 trains.
Designs for phase 2, if they are approved and financed, would take the line further to 127th Street (Calle 127e).
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