The Panama Metro carried out the first tests of Line 2

From La Estrella de Panama

The Panama Metro carried out the first tests of Line 2

The tests were made from the courtyards and workshops from 24 de Diciembre  to Pedregal station.

Since the night of August 16, the Panama Metro is conducting the first tests with the first trains on Line 2. According to statements by President Juan Carlos Varela, last June, these tests were scheduled to take place on December 28.

These tests are carried out late at night from the yards and workshops of the Panama Metro located in Nuevo Tocumen, in the corregimiento December 24 to Pedregal station.

Yesterday, the assembly of the footbridge or pedestrian crossing of the Cincuentenario station, on Avenida Domingo Díaz, was finished, specifically by the Roosevelt roundabout area.

Of the 16 stations of Line 2, this footbridge is the largest, has a length of 68 meters, a weight of 343 tons and for its assembly some 26,567 screws have been used.

Line 2 is 80% complete and must be operational from January 15 for the World Youth Day to be held in Panama from January 22 to 27, 2019. By that date, 5 of the 16 will have to function. 

After the event that will gather thousands of pilgrims, Line 2 will close and then open in April for the entire population.

The section of Line 2 comprises a length of 21 kilometers of elevated road. The 16 stations will go from Nuevo Tocumen to the Gran Estación de San Miguelito to join Line 1.

The stations are located in San Miguelito, Paraíso, junction with Vía Cincuentenario, Villa Lucre, Brisas del Golf, Cerro Viento, San Antonio, El Parador, Don Bosco, the Technological University of Panama (UTP), Las Mañanitas, Hospital Irma de Lourdes Tzanetatos, Altos de Tocumen, December 24 and the Nuevo Tocumen neighborhood.

The mega project will have 21 trains of 5 wagons and is built since October 2015 by the Line 2 Consortium formed by Odebrecht and FCC Construcciones, companies that made Line 1.

The work has an investment of $ 1,857 million and will have an initial capacity to transport 16,000 passengers per hour in each direction, but is designed for a maximum future capacity of 40,000 passengers during peak hours.

The average public travel time for the East area and part of San Miguelito to the city center during peak hours is 90 minutes; reaching more than two hours. With Line 2 in operation, this population can make the same trip in 35 minutes.