First Light Rail Vehicle arrives in Mauritius

The Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this statement today at the welcoming ceremony of the LRV at the Port in presence of several Ministers and personalities.

Prime Minister Jugnauth stated that the Metro Express will be a harbinger of the new way of socio-economic transformation along with other major infrastructure projects that will upgrade the country to a high income economy. The project, he said, will endow the country with the most modern and efficient alternative mode of transport that will enrich the transport landscape.

Government, he indicated, has sought the expertise of one of the most reputed and world-acclaimed company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for the implementation of the project and acquisition of the state-of-the-art LRV adding that it is one of the largest and most impactful public sector investment. The Metro Express project, he recalled, is guided by three overarching imperatives namely quality and safety, respect of timeframe and cost effectiveness. He also mentioned that the Operation Command Centre at Riche Lieu will be ready by the end of August.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Government of India for its unflinching faith and support for the Metro Express project as well as other development projects that will contribute to the advancement of the country thereby taking it to new heights.

The Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, who also addressed the audience, reiterated Government’s commitment to modernise and transform the public transport system so as to enable the country to move towards an era of sophistication and technology. The Metro Express project, he said, is one of the most important infrastructure project ever implemented in Mauritius that will provide a cleaner and more reliable mode of mass transit transport as well as enhance the standard of living of the population.

He also expressed his satisfaction regarding the required timeframe within which the works have been carried out in the most effective and efficient manner adding that the Metro express project is well on track and will be completed on time.

Light Rail Vehicles

The Urbos 100 3rd generation LRVs form part of the innovative and high-quality trains, specifically designed by CAF to offer the end user a unique traveling experience. The LRV train is of a width of 2.65 m, length of 45.411 m and 3.25 m in height and comprising of 7 modules with five doors. The train will operate at a speed of 20-25km/h up to a peak of 50 km/h and it will be transferred to the Operation Control Centre at Richelieu prior to testing. The testing will begin on a circuit under the supervision of engineers. By the end of this year, five other LRVs of the Metro Express are expected in Mauritius.