Officials from Spanish tram operations company in Cuenca for technical discussions

Representatives of Metro Tenerife, the company selected to manage day-to-day operations of Cuenca’s new tram system, met Tuesday and Wednesday with Mayor Marcelo Cabrera and city tram project staff.

Rolling stock of Cuenca’s tram system, scheduled to be operational in about a year.

Andrés Muñoz de Dios, Iñaqui Díaz and Teresa Benet of Metro Tenerife are reviewing technical and management details of tram operations with city staff. In addition, they are working with the city fiscal office to develop a tram budget.

Although a final contract has yet to be signed with Metro Tenerife, Cabrera says the company has been chosen through a pre-selection process involving several competitors.

“They are a good fit for our needs since they operate the same train system in Tenerife that we are building in Cuenca and they provide management services for other public train systems in Europe and Africa,” the mayor said. He added: “They have a strong record of professionalism and competence and we are very satisfied with our decision.”

In addition to operating the Tenerife tram in the Spanish Canary Islands, Metro Tenerife provides management services for train systems in Cádiz, Zaragoza and Málaga in Spain as well as for systems in Morocco and Israel.

Muñoz  de Dios, managing director of Metro Tenerife, said his company is gathering information from Cuenca officials prior to beginning their work. “We will develop a training program for all tram personnel, prepare the procedures manuals, develop safety standards, and prepare the computer system for operation,” he said. “We will begin dynamic testing in June or July,” he added.