casablanca lrt – line 1

Project Manager
LRT
casablanca lrt – line 1
marocco
alignment and track
civil engineering
signaling
traction power
telecommunication and ticketing
rolling stock
workshops
works supervision
Casablanca’s first tramway will help bring environmental, social and
financial sustainability to Morocco’s cosmopolitan capital. SYSTRA,
which created the conceptual design for the line as part of a wider
plan for a public transport network, also led the consortium which
provided program management for the € 550 million project.
The challenge
The first Casablanca tramway is a record-breaking project in terms
of the length of the line (31 km of double track), the length of the
trains (double-unit tram with 65 m long tram sets) and the tight
construction timetable, which is a genuine technical feat.
Inaugurated on the 12 December 2012, the line was built in response
to a major need for public transport. It will be able to transport
250,000 passengers per day, providing a quiet and CO2 emission-free
solution that complements the existing overcrowded bus transport
network.
www.systra.com
By providing a service to the town’s outlying districts, the line also
has a strong social influence. It will open up certain heavily populated
areas in addition to providing high quality developments along its
length that will generally upgrade the urban environment.
Casablanca Transport en Site Aménagé SA, was created in March
2009 to manage and oversee the construction of the first tramway
line in Casablanca with a view to commissioning in December 2012.
casablanca lrt – line 1
marocco
A consortium of engineering firms put together by SYSTRA was
awarded the general programme management contract in 2009 following an international tender.
SYSTRA and its partners have carried out design studies, produced
tender documents and helped the Commissioning Authority to
award over 50 construction and supply contracts.
Since the end of 2010, SYSTRA has been responsible for supervising
engineering work for the entire line and its Maintenance Centre,
including acceptance testing of the engineering structures that have
been built.
www.systra.com
in detail
The new tramway line reshapes and adds value to public areas.
In practical terms this has involved redeveloping the entire frontage along the route to install the technical infrastructure (tracks,
platforms, passenger shelters, catenaries, luminous signals) and redesigning all the roads and pavement areas that are in the public
domain.
The route is 31 km long, and passes through Casablanca’s old town
centre, which has the world’s highest concentration of Art Déco archi-
casablanca lrt – line 1
marocco
tecture. The terminuses are located in the south east of the town in
the Sidi Moumen district, in the colleges’ district on the El Jadida road
(south-west branch), and in Ain Diab near the coast (west branch).
The line has 48 stations with an average distance of 600 m between
each station and serves two railway stations: ONCF de Casa Voyageurs and Oasis. The stations are around 75 m long and are equipped
with access controls at each end.
The route has been designed to share public areas equally between
pedestrians and other types of transport. Its central position includes
extensive landscaping with 2,000 palm trees planted around the
platforms.
It provides easy access for people with reduced mobility thanks to
the wide passenger walkways and special fittings on platforms and
in trains.
This tramway uses a classic rail system with energy provided via an
overhead contact system. The rolling stock is designed to carry the
maximum number of passengers – carriages are 2.65 m wide and
63 m long.
Tram set testing started in January 2012 on a section of the main
track next to the Maintenance Centre. Operations will be managed
by a Group supervised by the French company RATP Développement,
which is responsible for exporting the RAPT’s expertise worldwide.
The Maintenance Centre has also set new records: this 7-hectare
site can accommodate 55 double tram sets (65 m in length) for
parking or maintenance purposes. It is also home to the Central
Command Centre used to supervise and control operations.
The Maintenance Centre comprises two areas:
an operations area that provides access to the line for tram sets
and premises for the operator’s administrative and operations personnel;
amaintenance area that comprises seven covered tracks designed
for various types of tram set maintenance activities equipped with
special gauges for checking for signs of damage to equipment
(fatigue, wear & tear).
A white city and a port, a museum and above all cosmopolitan,
Casablanca is composed of all the different periods of its history.
Morocco’s economic capital is now opening a new chapter in that
story with the development of sustainable mobility that puts the
emphasis on public transport.
www.systra.com
SYSTRA’s Role
Casablanca’s tramway Line 1 is the first component of the town’s
future dedicated-lane public transport network. It is part of the urban
development plan produced following a study of the town’s transport plan. In 2007 Systra carried out the conceptual design work
for the construction, over time, of five tramway lines, a metro line
casablanca lrt – line 1
marocco
and an underground rapid transit system between the town’s two
railway stations.
In 2007 and 2008, SYSTRA produced conceptual designs for the
future Casablanca network, followed by preliminary designs for two
tramway lines and basic designs for Line 1.
SYSTRA managed the consortium responsible for general programme
management on the Tramway Line 1 project from 2009. We were
therefore responsible for managing the project and providing key
experts:
project director
work’s director
director responsible for key infrastructures and transport systems
issues
director responsible for construction schedule supervision and
coordination
testing Managers
SYSTRA was directly responsible for alignment, platform and track
work as well as the engineering structures (underpasses) along the
tramway route. We also supplied engineers and technicians specialising in the following transport system fields:
rolling stock
telecoms
railway signalling
operating systems (Operating Assistance System / Centralised
Technical Management)
ticketing
energy
overhead contact systems
SYSTRA was also responsible for Maintenance Centre alignment and
for its railway equipment.
at a glance
31 km of double track
6-hectare Maintenance and Storage
Centre capable of accommodating
48 double tram sets
48 stations
Average distance between stations:
600 m
Frontage development along
the entire route
4 tramway–bus interchange hubs
Commercial operating speed:
around 20 km / hour
Service schedule: from 5.30 am
to 10.00 pm weekdays and until
11.30 pm at weekends
Trains running at 4 minute intervals
at peak times in the long term
Passenger capacity: 250,000
people per day
organisations involved
www.systra.com
Commissioning Authority:
Casablanca Transport en Site
Aménagé SA is a limited company.
Its Board is comprised
of Government ministers
(Interior and Finance Ministries),
local authorities (regional
authorities plus the Commune
and Prefecture of Casablanca)
and several institutions (HASSAN II
Fund, CDG, BCP and ONCF).
Assistance to the Commissioning
Authority:
A consortium of engineering firms:
Transurb (Belgium) and Ingensa
(Spain)
Programme Management:
A consortium of engineering
companies comprised of SYSTRA
(leader), SYSTRA Morocco and CID
financing
The global cost of the project
is estimated at € 550 million
(6 billion Moroccan Dirhams)
The project is financed as follows:
2/3 by the company, 1/3 by loan.
The Moroccan finance bodies
are: the Local Authorities Division
(DGCL), the Government (Ministry
of Finance) the Hassan II Fund
and the Commune of Casablanca.
key dates
June 2009: award of contract for
assistance to the Commissioning
Authority
July 2009: launch of the design
phases
November 2010: start
of construction work
January 2012: tram set testing
October 2012: shadow service
testing
December 2012: commissioning
february 2013
facts and figures