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Algiers’ metro train network to begin operation By agencies ALGIERS, Algeria - The first metro line will open this year in the Algerian capital, decades after work first started. Specially trained security forces will ensure the trains' security. The metro is becoming a reality, twenty-seven years after work first began. The Algerians who have followed the project's ups and downs were recently treated to a look at the blue trains. Starting this summer, Algiers residents will be able to use ten stations along Line 1, which will serve the centre of the capital, relieving pressure on aboveground transport. The metro has 14 trains, each with 6 carriages. Each train, 108 metres in length, will be able to carry up to 1,216 passengers, with 208 in seats. The Algiers metro will be able to carry 41,000 travellers every hour, which works out to 150 million travellers per year, and trains will run less than 2 minutes apart. Trains will run from 5 am to 11 pm. The announcement of the opening of the metro had a great impact among those who live in the capital. Many think back nostalgically to when the work started in 1983. One such person is Mahmoud, a shopkeeper near the main post office, where the work first began. "I saw the birth of the metro, and I've been desperate to see it come into service. I still remember when the heavy equipment arrived in this trading district." "We were really worried that the work would disrupt our businesses," he added, "but the idea that we could catch the metro here like they do in the world's major cities was more important than our fears. I was really upset when the work was halted, but today they're saying it will soon be running. That's something we can really be proud of." Fadéla, who teaches in a secondary school in the capital and used to live in the area near the main post office, shared her feelings of pride. "Even though we had to move away because of the work, it's still been worthwhile," she said. "All the major capitals have a metro system. Why shouldn't we?" She did express concerns about public safety, however. "I wonder if the authorities have really thought about the problem of security at the metro stations." The authorities say they are taking the issue of security very seriously. |
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