CENTRAL AMERICA (Metro Rail News): Wabtec Corporation has made its first entry into the Central American railway sector with an order for platform screen doors for the Panama Metro. The global conglomerate is also one of the major suppliers of railroad equipments for a number of metro and railway projects in India.
The L3 monorail stations for Metro de Panama are being constructed by Hitachi Rail as part of the Grupo de Empresas Sunrise Monorail, and the order is for 300 half-height platform screen doors to be installed there.
The order is a part of a project to construct a new 25 km long monorail line to be served by 28 six-car trains (168 cars), together with the related signaling, telecommunications and power systems. Wabtec will provide training and assistance for the platform screen doors’ installation, testing and commissioning in addition to providing the doors also.
The platform screen doors increase security by serving as a physical barrier to stop individuals or items from trespassing or falling into tracks. Half-height screen doors are a great way to increase safety on technically challenging outdoor rail lines.
Wabtec installed the first platform screen doors in the world in Hong Kong in 2002. Since then, the company has installed them in Sydney, Australia and metro lines in Paris, France, Brussels and Belgium. Most recently, the company was awarded a contract to supply platform screen doors for the Marseille metro as part of plans to modernize and automate its local transportation network.
Lilian Leroux, Wabtec Transit President, stated that “As a pioneer in platform screen doors with multiple successful projects to our name, Wabtec is the natural choice for half-height gates for metro applications.” “Having worked with Wabtec on a successful project to install half-height platform screen doors on the Copenhagen Metro, Denmark, the team at Hitachi knew our proven capabilities in this area. We are proud to play a leading role in ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers on the Panama Metrolink, and in creating more reliable, secure and robust metro networks the world over.”
Director of Signaling and Turnkey Procurement for Hitachi Rail‘s Americas Region, Chris Singer, stated, “The gates enable passengers to board and exit trains in an orderly and safe manner, thereby, reducing wait times and also contribute to making rail services more punctual and reliable.”
