Dominican President gets the go-ahead to ride new subway

Dominicantoday.com, Santo Domingo, February 26th 2008

President Leonel Fernandez received Spain’s Transport minister, Manuel Lamela and Madrid’s Metro director Idelfonso Matías, who gave him the go-ahead to board the Santo Domingo Metro (subway), and keep his promise to ride the train after his annual address to Congress.

"The president can make his test ride with his guests in line one of the Metro, without any risk," said Lamela in a press conference in the National Palace. He said Santo Domingo’s subway will be a reference for Latin America, because it was built in record time, with top quality and the lowest budget. He praised the Dominican engineers, who in his view made an impressive work.

In the test run, the train left from the central Isabela station and six minutes later reached Villa Mella, the northernmost station named "Mamá Tingó." It then returned to the point of departure, made a brief stop and went on to the southernmost station “Centro de los Heroes,” a run which took 15 minutes.

The government Transport Office (OPRET) confirmed the names of the stations: starting in Villa Mella, Mamá Tingó, then Gregorio Urbano Gillbert; Gregorio Luperón; José Francisco Peña Gómez; Hermanas Mirabal; Maximiliano Gómez; Los Taínos; Pedro Livio Cedeño; Peña Batlle; Juan Pablo Duarte; Juan Bosch; Casandra Damirón; Joaquín Balaguer; Amín Abel; Francisco Alberto Caamaño and the last, Centro de los Heroes.