what can you say?

You can say the country is developing.

Not developing going backwards.
The only thing developing with the metro is the corruption of tax dollars.

Yet another colossal boondoggle for Dominican taxpayers to shoulder .. the money could have been used to fight international drug cartels .. somebody .. stop the madness.

I'm speechless

tejada, if the press release was one which informed us that the government decided to make an effort to improve education, then you could say that the country is developing.we live in what is known as The Information Age. we are no longer living in the agrarian epoch, so knowledge is the most important aspect of development, not underground locomotives.

'Everything is on papers, the process needs to be carried out,"Leonel Carrasco (assistant director) can explain,” said Opret technical director Vladimir Reyes, who together with other officials have affirmed the work will start when the first line concludes.


So nothing here to even comment on.

they are asking private sector to to file proposals to acquire two tunneling machines which means that is not the goverment who is going to construct the project. So why all the fire, can you or can't you not read that part of the news?

bernies, what the heck are you talking about? does the term "contractor" have any meaning to you? tell me one major construction project which is undertaken with government equipment? do you think that when the government decides to build a highway they trot out equipment they have in storage?

Dreadlock, thank you for clarifying the term "contractor" that was a good one government having equipment in storage. I never seen a project progress without having the first one running and serving the public. May God have mercy on the dominican republic and its people that are suffering everyday while towers and infinite project which won't improve their life and will be force to take more yolas.

be careful, Jabao. remember that there are guys out there who believe that these artifacts of metropolitan life are the things which propel us ahead in the race to be the big dog of the caribbean. who cares if the first one works? build another, i say. the jury is still out on what the first line will do, but we are already contemplating the second . with all the disagreement and debate that the first segment germinated, one would have thought that a more cautionary approach would be applied. it just goes to indicate the contempt that the government has for opposing opinions and concerns, forging ahead with ideas which have not yet been proven to be workable!

You guys are funny. You use funny words:

developing
education
informed
proposals
cautionary
workable

& boondoggle (just because it sounds funny)

boondoggle was coined in 1929 by American scoutmaster Robert H. Link
1 : a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide, hatband, or ornament
2 : a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft
I could have used "White Elephant" = a valuable possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) exceeds its usefulness .. but we have to wait an see how the two METRO projects turn out before rendering definitive judgement.

Metro is necessity, but is not priority. There are many street in the DR that need major work; there are schools unfinished and the education is diminishing. The Metro is just a monument to Leonel himself. Huge investment in education does not provide immediate results and that is the reason are politicians are not investing not even enough to cover its cost.

"white elephant"....also funny but not as funny as "pink elephant"

Where are the plans?

E pa lante que va el pais carajo!!! Que viva Leonel!!! :-)

mejor que se gasten el dinero en un metro que lo gasten personalmente... que hagan las 6 lines si quieren, mientras mas gente este conectada mas se usa y entonces termina siendo algo que en el futuro podremos apreciar

Here we go again, just as all the whining from the first line was dying down, they start up again. Enough is enough already, the Metro is going forward, the DR is going forward and no matter how much you guys want to see it fail God willing it will be a success.

Ha ha HAHA ha ha hee HEEE ...; Basta I thought for a minute there that you were maybe the funniest person here bu then Danny spoke....

the 2nd line is the longest one... lets built the second line fast to get it out of the way... the remaining lines are small and should be easier to built....

on the contrary, Carlos, lets build it slowly so it will be well built, and not cause derailments every week.

This is enougghh, we need a revolution!!!! or Mona Passage going to gulps down all Dominicans!!!!!!!...... GOD HELPS US ALL.

The bigger the better! "No Importa lo que te Robes pero que Sea Mucho"

Carlos...I thought Diandino was a freak but you are already on line 5, 6, and 7! You have got to be F$#@ing kidding me!?! Do you really believe that the Metro is a good idea or are you just trying to get me all riled up?!?

I can't even F%#$@ing believe we are still talking about this bullshit!

You people who are defending the Metro as an infrastructure project have obviously never actually spoken to any of the people involved yourselves personally have you!?! That's pretty obvious!

You sit down and chat with these guys (I mean when they are drinking in some private bar with a hot little not-prostitute "girlfriend" on their lap) and you will hear what they really think.

Amongst them there is not confusion about what all this is about. It is about rob big, rob often, and rob quickly in case you are shuffled out in the 16th. If you are robbing good however you probably don't need to worry about your post on the 16th.

You think I am talking BS...just watch who is left where on the 16th and tell me if it isn't true that the biggest thieves get rewarded by moving to positions where they can better apply their "talents"

Why is that people!?!? Not because it is Reganomics...this is pure "trickle up" and if you think that your Lion is above all that then think again. He is all ABOUT that!

MalditoGringo... You're living in Stone AGE

Nothing is stopping El Metro... Get over it

I can't believe you all are still trying to get rid of it.

lol, find something else to argue about, in a few years ill be able to ride from Los Rios to Hainamosa all in the air conditioned comfort and speed of the Metro. Thank god, no more carros publicos and tapones. E pa Lante que Vamos

It's hard to lol, Danny, when I am crying...

you might be right, DannyVC, as long as it is not powered by electricity!

Its funny to see some people bitching and moaning about the METRO. This are same people that are the first ones to speak about the ills and evils of the "Owners of the Country" when they have their boycotts and the whole nation is at a stand still and going deeper into a whole with each passing day. Of course education is important, but that cannot by any means be corrected in a short amount of time. Our transportation and infratructure are matters that can be solved in the short run, where as education as well as other issues take much longer time to begin to correct. Yet there still people that are complaining about these same ills and shortcomings that have plagued the Dominican Rep since its conception and do not see the bigger picture. But yet those same individuals will be very first ones to be pushing people out of the way to hop on board those climate controlled, comfortable and very modern trains. Be it on line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. If not take the voladoras or conchos.

snoopyy3k, since education takes such a long time to correct, don't you think that it should get started sooner rather than later?

Snoopy; all joking aside, you are way off.

Have you noticed how the transportation unions don't seem to give a flying fig about the Metro? and education!?! If you are talking about things like respecting traffic laws then yes you are taling about generational change but if you are talking about professional technical training of the type that foreign investors need to bring millions into the country and for the economy to produce you are talking 2 and 4 year programs and VOILA!

That is precisely what is so sad about the Metro. In four years this country has invested US$1+ billion (officially but much more than that really) and so far has not saved one barrel of oil with that damb Metro but if they had invested one quarter of that in 2004 on professional technical training like they said they were going to do in campaign then this very day the country would have hundreds of engineers, tecnitians etc working in new foreign investment manufacturing products for export under CAFTA !

Out to lunch Snoop!

brilliant observations, Maldito. 1 billion spent, no savings realised in 4 years. that kind of investment strategy is insane! and the jury is still out as to whether or not the metro will end up saving fossil fuels. let me remind all who will listen that no GIS (GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION STUDY) was done to establish a projected useage of the service.and please, people, do not ask me how i know it was not done. studies like those take years to complete. that is why bombardier of canada explained to the DR government that it could not do the project in 4 years!!