Light rail expansion for Quito

The trolley-busway in Quito (Ecuador), El Trole, is being converted to a light rail system by the year 2009.

El Trole has reached traffic capacity, carrying 240,000 passengers per day.  The 113 vehicles have been providing a maximum peak service frequency of every 90 seconds.  

The new Mass Passenger Transport System, TRAQ, will operate on the longitudinal axis of Quito, with the possibility of integration with transport systems serving the Tumbaco and Los Chillos Valleys.

The average capacity of the current El Trole route is about 10,800 passengers per hour, at a commercial speed of approximately 15km/hour.  The TRAQ system is planned as an orderly evolution from the trolley-bus system to a more efficient transport system.  The planned initial capacity is 11,000 passengers per hour, and the planned commercial speed is not less than 40km/hour, in order to serve the travel demand by long-term population growth.

The length of the TRAQ line from Caupichu terminal in the south of the city to Carcelen in the north of Quito is 29.2 kilometres.  The line will include 22 stations, of which four will be intermediate transfer stations and two will be terminals, in addition to a vehicle storage and maintenance facility.

Private and commercial vehicles are a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.  Reducing vehicle use and using alternative forms of transportation and alternative fuels are some approaches to reducing these vehicular emissions.  For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/ccp.

Quito is one of 24 local governments in Latin America and the Caribbean that are currently Members of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.  For more information on ICLEI and its activities in the Latin America and Caribbean Region, please go to www.iclei.org/lacs.

Source:  “Quito Update:  LRT Conversion Plans Advance, Stir Controversy”, web report at www.publictransit.us.

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