Cities in Latin America are rethinking their mobility systems, and mass urban rail transit systems are being heavily looked at as part of the solution. Several large metro networks are currently in feasibility study, under construction or in operations, primarily in the most densely populated cities. Panama City, Bogota and Quito are examples of cities that are in different stages of implementing new metro projects.
Colombia`s transportation infrastructure segment will see robust growth over the coming years, driven by a number of new projects, one of them is the 4.4b USD Bogota metro project that is scheduled to begin in November 2018. In Santiago, Lima, Buenos Aires, Mexico and a large number of Brazilian cities, work is currently under way to expand existing networks that are already in operation; while Monterrey, Santo Domingo and Medellin for example are studying feasibility of extending their networks.
To answer the needs of better urban mobility and cope with challenges such as security and operations costs, not only infrastructure extensions are being planned, but also investments in technology and engineering for security, sustainability, intermodality and access management. At the 3rd Latin American Urban Rail Expansion summit, rail operators, government officials, consultants, rolling stock manufacturers, investors and technology providers will discuss pressing themes such as financing, security, access systems, engineering upgrades, digitalization and sustainability.