NewsWhore
12-04-2009, 01:20 PM
Numbers being crunched by supporters of a cargo and passenger train linking San Cristobal to Santiago via Santo Domingo say that the train will have capacity to transport the same passenger and cargo volumes currently handled by buses and trucks.
Transport specialist Mario Berges says the intangible benefit will be putting an end to the "the monopoly and the mafia" the government has allowed the transport unions. "The train will lower the costs, because it is more efficient, faster and these groups will have to adapt, because if they are allowed to boycott the train we will be in the same situation and there will be no progress", stated Berges.
The Transport Reorganization Office (Opret) is behind the initiative. OPRET is responsible for the Santo Domingo Metro and also has begun construction of the system's second line.
The Santiago train would have capacity to transport 143,000 tons of cargo and 46,000 passengers each day, numbers that are quite close to the flows that are now moved by the transport groups working in the Cibao region.
According to OPRET, the combined system of passengers and freight will cover 126 kilometers from Santo Domingo to Santiago de los Caballeros. It will travel at 220kph with a maximum speed of 250kph. The route will link the two major cities, providing services to Moca, Constanza, San Francisco de Macoris, Villa Altagracia and San Cristobal. Although the bidding process has not been completed, recent announcements by the President about possible investors in the project bring its realization all the closer to fulfillment.
Bus Owners Unit president Freddy Mendez said that his group's 19 members, including Caribe Tours, Grupo Metro, Transporte Espinal and Transporte del Cibao, move 70,000 passengers a day in the Cibao region, plus the cargo service. The so-called "flying mini-buses" haul a significant number of passengers who have to be added to this total.
Meanwhile, Rafael (Blas) Peralta, the head of the National Federation of Dominican Transport (Fenatrado) told reporters that his group moves more than 500 trucks to and from the Cibao on a daily basis. These vehicles move around 200 containers of merchandise that go in and out of the ports of Haina and Caucedo.
Well aware that the train, which passengers are likely to prefer, will affect them, Mendez pressed for a meeting with the government to ensure they are given a role in the train project. He said that just the private passenger service companies have fleets of around 200 buses valued at between RD$8 million to RD$10 million each. "They will claim that this is development and that the country will benefit, but the investments that we have will be heavily affected and I believe that this merits a conversation with a sector that has billions invested in the business of moving people," says Mendez.
Blas Peralta is more radical, warning that there will be chaos if the government doesn't talk to them and inform them about their role in the project.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
Transport specialist Mario Berges says the intangible benefit will be putting an end to the "the monopoly and the mafia" the government has allowed the transport unions. "The train will lower the costs, because it is more efficient, faster and these groups will have to adapt, because if they are allowed to boycott the train we will be in the same situation and there will be no progress", stated Berges.
The Transport Reorganization Office (Opret) is behind the initiative. OPRET is responsible for the Santo Domingo Metro and also has begun construction of the system's second line.
The Santiago train would have capacity to transport 143,000 tons of cargo and 46,000 passengers each day, numbers that are quite close to the flows that are now moved by the transport groups working in the Cibao region.
According to OPRET, the combined system of passengers and freight will cover 126 kilometers from Santo Domingo to Santiago de los Caballeros. It will travel at 220kph with a maximum speed of 250kph. The route will link the two major cities, providing services to Moca, Constanza, San Francisco de Macoris, Villa Altagracia and San Cristobal. Although the bidding process has not been completed, recent announcements by the President about possible investors in the project bring its realization all the closer to fulfillment.
Bus Owners Unit president Freddy Mendez said that his group's 19 members, including Caribe Tours, Grupo Metro, Transporte Espinal and Transporte del Cibao, move 70,000 passengers a day in the Cibao region, plus the cargo service. The so-called "flying mini-buses" haul a significant number of passengers who have to be added to this total.
Meanwhile, Rafael (Blas) Peralta, the head of the National Federation of Dominican Transport (Fenatrado) told reporters that his group moves more than 500 trucks to and from the Cibao on a daily basis. These vehicles move around 200 containers of merchandise that go in and out of the ports of Haina and Caucedo.
Well aware that the train, which passengers are likely to prefer, will affect them, Mendez pressed for a meeting with the government to ensure they are given a role in the train project. He said that just the private passenger service companies have fleets of around 200 buses valued at between RD$8 million to RD$10 million each. "They will claim that this is development and that the country will benefit, but the investments that we have will be heavily affected and I believe that this merits a conversation with a sector that has billions invested in the business of moving people," says Mendez.
Blas Peralta is more radical, warning that there will be chaos if the government doesn't talk to them and inform them about their role in the project.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)