nice to hear from you, Mr Rancier. as you well know, we will always be plagued by those who have very little to say, but demand to be heard, so they make up for their lack of insight by insulting other posters. the knowledgeable posters still operate within a framework of civility. PeRod, i think that the expected ridership will be more like 11, 000 per day, not per year. if the train operates at 16 hours per day, it simply means that the fare box receipts will be less, although , i guess, it will be closed during the hours of minimum ridership. the jury is still out on this venture, but i vote that it was ill-conceived, and is a losing proposition, whether it runs or not.

Dreadlocks, you are right. Thanks.

I made the correction.

Hey, look at these numbers:

- Economists, like Miguel Ceara Hatton and Bernardo Vega, asked on the final costs of the majestic work and their implications on the state treasury in the long term. Many mentioned the final cost of the Metro between $40 and $55 billions of pesos, near US$100 million dollars by constructed kilometer, and considered a subsidy that would go up to around $8 billions of annual pesos.

yes, PeRod, the government is not giving the true figures for the cost of this project. no engineering firm which has looked at it figures it to be less than a 1 billion dollar project. with the cost of electricity being what it is, the subsidies to run it are going to be astronomical. i hate to think about what will happen when it needs maintenance. if so many cars and trucks belonging to the government are in mothballs because they cannot be repaired, i hate to think what is the fate of this device.

actually, PeRod, the original projections for ridership included one for 1 million passengers per day in 10 years! yes, 9 miles of rail, 1 million people. that is almost twice as much as Boston carries, and Boston has 107 miles of rail. that is the same as Washington, DC, which has 230 miles of rail, and 74 stations. these guys believe that everyone is dumb enough to believe this crap!

Dread, Are there plans to expand the system thereby being able to accommodate 1 million?

there are plans, i think, for 5 more lines, of similar dimensions. maybe, in all 60 stations. that still does not give sufficient catchment area for a million per day. the dynamics just do not point to the ability to carry a million per day..that would suggest that the DR metro carries 5 times as much load as the San Juan urban tren, and i refuse to accept that it will.

Oh wow I didn't know that! I'm going to have to confirm and see!

Well honey, whether you like it or not, accept it!

BTW, are you Dominican?

Eriliza, I think you are mis-understanding what Dread is saying " i refuse to accept that it will."
if you put it in context he has clearly lay the case about the flawed projected forecast, it's another way to say it does not agree with it, NOT the concept of the metro per se in general, if you go back, and read his previous posting you will realize that. We may not be all Dominicans from birth, but we are all west indians, and we all share a common bond and history, this does not take away or negate him from being able to participate, I am sure you do not mean it that way.

Just to let you know Dread, Ciby, Lautaro among many ..are outstanding members, and have contributed greatly on this forum.