International projects

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona travelled to Santo Domingo in September 2022 to supervise the extension of the L1 metro line in the Dominican Republic’s capital city. This collaboration with engineering company Ayesa consisted in performing a contract awarded by the Transport Revenue Office (OPRET), which is responsible for Santo Domingo’s metro system.

The project involved supervising construction work on the electromechanical facilities, quality assurance and control, and coordination with contractors.

Santo Domingo’s L1 metro line, which started operating in 2009, crosses the city from north to south on a 15-kilometre route. With an investment of around €178 million, the extension seeks to further this transport service. Platform areas at elevated stations will therefore be extended and the length of trains running will be increased.

Every day, around 240,000 passengers use this system, which has two lines spanning 48.5 kilometres and 30 stations.

In December 2021, TMB and SYSTRA engineering won a ten-year competitive contract to advise on operational and maintenance aspects of the future ring lines in the Paris region: lines 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the French metro.

Société du Grand Paris (SGP) is piloting the Grand Paris Express project, which will involve the construction and commissioning of four metro lines (spanning 200 new kilometres) and 68 stations in the Paris region, all fully automated. The aim is for the new lines to connect with existing metro lines to bring the suburbs and city centre closer together and improve overall mobility.

TMB will assist SGP in the transfer and commercial commissioning of the four lines by coordinating relations with future operators and maintenance operators and, drawing on its experience, will support the operation and maintenance engineering tasks.

In consortium with other companies, TMB is participating in a project promoted by the World Bank in Brazil. The aim is to identify and propose the application of new technologies in the mobility system of the city of São Paulo, an important challenge due to the complexity of mobility in this city and an opportunity to acquire new experiences and knowledge related to new technologies. and the concept of mobility as a service. 

The main function is to provide knowledge as a bus operator, as well as in other aspects of global mobility, such as the integrated fare.

• Identification of new  technologies related to big data and mobility as a service.
• Analysis of the new bus control centre which is being designed.
• Application of the new technologies identified in the previous phases in the bus control centre. 
• Proposal of a global mobility model for the city of São Paulo applying all these data and experiences.

Consortium made up of Ayesa, Inelecra and FMB.

In 2008, the Panamanian government Panama created the Secretariat for the Metro System of Panama as an official ministry, with the aim of exploring the construction of the first metro line in Panama City.

After the official rounds of bidding, the construction work on metro line 1 was awarded to a Brazilian and Spanish consortium (Oderbreig and FCC) while, at the same time, the construction of rolling stock (trains) was awarded to the company Alstom.

In October 2010, the consortium made up of AYESA - INELECTRA - FMB was awarded the contract for “project management” (control and monitoring of subway construction work) and technical assistance on the first Panama City metro line. The initial period of the contract was three years, extendable by two additional years.

The consortium's responsibilities include:

• AYESA being responsible for supervising civil works.
• Inelecta being responsible for supervising the integration of signalling and communication systems.
• TMB being responsible for supervising and preparing the operation of the new line and rolling stock:
  • Supervision, from the operator's point of view, of construction work projects.
  • Guaranteeing the quality of the rolling stock delivered to the Panama Metro system.
  • Preparing and organizing facilities, processes and people.

Supervision of the works included a second technical assistance phase in which a team of three people from TMB carry out ongoing monitoring, advising the Panama Metro on operational matters.

Consortium made up of AYESA, Louis Berger Group and FMB.

On 10 July, 2014, the contract for the provision of the “Project management, interface coordination and technical assistance services for the Panama Metro Line 2 project” was awarded to the consortium made up of AYESA, Louis Berger Group and FMB. The purpose and scope of the contract are similar to line 1: comprehensive “project management” and operational assistance.

The expected contract period, which came into effect on 1 August 2014, is 58 months (until the end of March 2019), extendable by two years.

Participation of FMB:

• Rolling stock.
• “Pool” of experts to oversee different specialties.
• Yards and workshop specialists.
• General services.
• Operation.

The public transport network of this urban area in southern France consists of 60 vehicles, providing service to 125,000 people. The 10-year contract is planned to come into force on 1 January, 2019.

During the bidding process, which included the participation of major European companies, the proposal by the tandem formed by Vectalia and TMB was notable for its presentation of a new public transport offer:

• Commitment to energy transition. This includes the purchase of 33 natural gas buses, based on TMB's experience in operating in a large city with more than 400 vehicles that use this type of fuel.
• Creation of a new commercial image that includes a visual identity change and implementation of new information and customer service systems such as: a new commercial office in the centre of the city, a new information point for travellers, a new website, an online store and a mobile application that allows passengers to validate their tickets using their telephones.
• Proposal of an economic strategy consisting of a new range of prices to strengthen customer loyalty: review of rates that seeks to increase customer loyalty and give special consideration to disadvantaged social groups through adjusted rates.

This new mobile and integrated service offer is expected to result in a significant increase in passengers of 25% over the period of the contract.

Since 2011, the activities of Vectalia France have been carried out within the framework of a collaboration agreement between the Spanish Vectalia Group and TMB, both leading operators in the Spanish passenger transport market.

TMB was chosen as Metro Operation Advisor in March 2017 by TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) to give advice on the construction and extension of the Dublin metro (MetroLink).

The MetroLink project is the development of a north-south urban rail service that will operate along the busy Swords to Sandyford corridor, linking points of interest such as the City Centre and Dublin Airport over a route length of 26 km. The current Luas Green Line tram will be adapted to include standard metro features as there are already some underground stations and subterranean sections on the route. There will be a total of 25 stations, 15 of them new, as well as 3,000 additional Park & Ride spaces. The anticipated end-to-end journey time will be 50 minutes and there will be 30 trains per hour running in each direction.

As an Advisor, TMB provides TII with their knowledge and experience in operational and maintenance matters by taking part in regular technical meetings and by reporting directly to the TII project manager.

The line is scheduled to open in 2026.

More information at MetroLink website.

The company made up of TMB and Vectalia (group of transport and service companies based in Alicante) won the tender to operate the urban and school bus transport system within the urban area of Antibes. The network consists of 30 urban lines and 58 school transport lines, in addition to the Icilà on-demand transport system.

TMB and Vectalia, owner of the current operator CFT (Corporation Française de Transport), will operate the urban transport system in the Perpignan metropolitan area for eight years.

TMB's contribution to the successful group of bidders is essentially its experience as an operator of a large intermodal transport network, knowledge which it will share with the operator CFT, especially in the following areas:

• Analysis and definition of necessary infrastructure (stops, traffic light priority, accessibility) for operating a transport network.
• Analysis and definition of rolling stock needs and the workshops to maintain it.
• Definition of basic operating elements, high-level service lines, content of operating staff training, recruitment.
• Definition and development of marketing, passenger information and communication policy, surveys at origin/destination, data analysis and development, etc.

This is the first time that TMB has participated in the operation of a public transport network outside Spain. Until now, the company's international activity has focused on consulting.

SBASE is a company belonging to the State Government of the City of Buenos Aires, owner of the entire underground network of Buenos Aires and responsible for operating it. It is the control body for any concessions granted and also plans an executes any extension work on the network.

SBAE contracted TMB in 2017 for technical assistance in setting up a public bidding process on a national and international level for the concession to operate and maintain the metro system.

TMB took part in defining the strategy of the tender and proposed, specified and agreed the parameters of how the offers were to be assessed. It promoted participation in the bid and put forward clauses to guarantee the safety of the operation as well as supervising the economic implications of each of the decisions.

The tender was launched in February 2018. TMB’s part in the project was to analyse the offers submitted and advise the promoter SBASE on the final adjudication decision, on both a technical and economic level.

For the first tram line in Oran, TMB, as part of the consortium ENSITRAS (consisting of the Lisbon Metro, TMB, Sener and Fernoconsult), is providing assistance to EMA, the owner's of the tram line, in reviewing the rolling stock project and supervising the manufacturing of 30 tram cars for the city's first tramway.

The trams are Alstom, model Citadis 302. TMB will oversee factory production, reception in Oran of the trams and empty test runs. TMB will also handle the certification for taking delivery of rolling stock for entry into service and the warranty period.

TMB provided consulting services to ALG for technical assistance in implementing the BRT between Gazipur and Dhaka Airport in the areas of design of terminals and stations, vehicle technology, control centre technology and fleet management. The project also consisted in updating the details of the bus routes that operate, wholly or partially, in the thoroughfare that crosses the corridor between Gazipur and the airport train terminal.

TMB is providing specialised consulting regarding the Metrobús system in the Panama metropolitan area, including a review and analysis of the concession to operate the Metrobús system. As part of this specialised consulting service, three aspects are being developed:

• Assessment of how the current system is operating.
• Development of operating rules, sets of indicators, service inspection plan and remuneration plan.
• A service improvement plan.

On 10 October, 2015, the Santiago Metro awarded TMB a specialist consultancy contract in relation to the design and detailed development of how to organize and operate automated lines 3 and 5 of this city's metro service. These lines are now being built and should go into service some time between 2017 and 2019.

The project includes an in-depth, assessed and justified proposal of the management organisation model for Santiago Metro lines 3 and 6.

TMB, along with Ayesa and Sering, oversees the contract between the joint venture between the Sociedad de Economía Mixta Los Tranvías de Zaragoza and the government, which entails the following tasks:

• Analysis, review and proposals for the improvement of different aspects foreseen in the operating project for the joint venture of the Sociedad de Economía Mixta Los Tranvías de Zaragoza.
• Assisting the government in overseeing the implementation of the operating project.
• Support in payment settlement processes and calculating payment adjustments per user and availability.
• Calculating and monitoring quality of service indicators.
• Assisting in and supervising protocol tests (without passengers).

TMB won the contract to supervise the pre-feasibility study of Ecuador's electric freight train.

This supervision will help determine, in relation to pre-feasibility, the existence of supply and demand conditions, technical solutions and economic and financial plans for the implementation of an electric train network for transporting freight, integrating current and future production centres in Ecuador with Pacific ports and cross-border connections with Peru and Colombia.

Additionally, two railway alternatives complementing the proposed study will also be assessed:

• The passenger train between Quito and Guayaquil given the high population density of these two cities and its intense level of intermobility.
• The miner freight train that will transport mining production from the provinces of Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe to Puerto Bolivar (to the province of El Oro).

TMB provided technical assistance to the engineering firm TIPSA in the design of a depot to accommodate 120 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in the city of Astana. The depot formed part of the infrastructure of a BRT designed to connect the city centre with the Expo held there in 2017, terminating at Astana International Airport.

Consulting tasks focused on defining the different areas needed to operate a bus depot, the movement flow of vehicles and requirements for the workshop and vehicle parking.

ENSITRANS, a consortium of which TMB is a part, won the tender for the “project management”; (supervision) of the subway expansion project in the Algerian capital. The Algiers Metro expansion programme will involve the construction of an additional seven kilometres of track, with a total of six new stations, an initiative entailing an investment of 3,500 billion euros. The project will focus on tasks involving the control and construction of the Algiers Metro facilities.

TMB, in cooperation with ATJ Consultores, conducted a technical audit of the Buenos Aires underground transport network. Specialised technical assistance was provided for conducting a technical audit of the facilities and rolling stock of the A, B, C, D, E and Premetro lines of the city's underground transport network, in order to determine the existing security conditions, maintenance levels and operating safety.

TMB was part of the group that won the tender to design and conduct the preliminary study for the first metro line in Bogota.

The Spanish consortium of companies, of which TMB forms a part, was chosen to design the first metro line in the Colombian capital, a project representing an investment of more than 6.5 million euros.

The consortium, made up of TMB and the companies SENER, Advanced Logistics Group (ALG), Incoplan Colombia, Santander Investment, Valores Colombia and Garrigues Abogados y Asesores Tributarios, competed with 56 other consortiums made up of 220 national and foreign companies to develop the conceptual and operational design of the service. It will require an integrated public transport system, as it will have to complement the commuter train service and the Transmilenio, an articulated bus service in operation since 2000. Likewise, TMB and the other members of the consortium prepared the legal and financial structuring, providing consulting services for the city's first metro line.

TMB provided technical assistance to the regional government of Andalusia for overseeing the operation of the city's first metro line. Line 1 is a metropolitan railway with light rail characteristics. Around 60% of its 18 kilometre-long route is underground, with some sections above ground, using an exclusive or separate platform, with a total of 22 stations. The construction work consisted of two phases: the first entailed compiling and analysing data for re-designing the operating project while the second consisted of project control and supervision.