After some months of trials, an official inauguration ceremony on 3 October and several days of free test rides to the public, Mauritius’ brand new light rail system started revenue service over the first half of the new network on 10 January 2020. It is an standard-gauge light rail system mostly on elevated alignment using low-floor tramway vehicles.
The first 13 km section – phase 1 of the project – runs between Rosehill Central and Port Louis, Victoria with 5 intermediate stops on its way. The second phase of the route (Rose Hill – Curepipe), also 13 km long, should be put into operation in 2021 and there should be 10 stops. The start of construction of the remaining part up to a total network of 37 km has not been decided yet.
The new “Metro Express” is the first rail service on the islands in the Indian Ocean for more than 55 years. It was in 1964 when Mauritius. still under control as a colony of the former British empire – when the last traditional railway service came to an end, 4 years before the islands’ independence.
The vehicles
Spanish CAF group supplies the 18 light rail vehicles on order. These are 100% low-floor and have 7 modules over a total length of 45.4 m. Passenger capacity is 422. The vehicles are in the process of delivery, 10 have arrived to Mauritius already. All are shipped on a RoRo vessel directly from Santander to Port St. Louis by the Norwegian company Höegh Autoliners.
Another map can be found here: http://urbanrail.net/af/mauritius/maurice.htm
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10.01.2020
