Mostaganem Tramway light rail project in Algeria is now at the test run phase. The first test-run has been successfully conducted by Alstom SA, a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer, running 2 km from the secondary storage park T2 section to SNTF station.
Mr. Amar Chouaki, the managing director for Alstom Algeria said that they were pleased to have achieved this significant milestone despite various challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic. “The next steps will be the rigorous dynamic tests to ensure smooth running and guarantee maximum safety for both passengers and the operator” explained the Chouaki.
An overview of the project
The 14.5km Mostaganem Tramway project consists of two lines and 24 stations. The first line (north-south Line T1) will connect Salamander Place in the north to the University of Kharouba in the south, serving 19 stations.
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The second line on the other hand (east-west Line T2) will connect the city’s mainline station in the east, where it will interchange with T1, to Avenue Abane Ramdane bus station in the west, serving five stations.
Commencement of the construction works
Scheduled for completion by May 2015, work on the two-line network began in August 2013 and was initially carried out by a consortium of Alstom and Isolux Corsán, Spain, under a €240m contract awarded by the Algiers Metro Company (EMA), which is managing the project.
The project however missed the set completion date due to flooding, subsidence and Isolux Corsán’s severe financial difficulties, and was subsequently restarted through a consortium of Alstom and the Cosider Group, Algeria.
Start of commercial operations
The Algerian Minister of Transport, Lazhar Hani, during the first test run, affirmed that the Mostaganem tramway will enter commercial operation in the first semester of this year.
The network will be operated using a fleet of 25 Citadis 402 43.9m-long LRVs, which will be manufactured by Cital, a joint venture of Alstom, EMA, and Ferrovial, Spain.
