Thales to set up control centre for new Chile metro line
Victoria Rees
Share this content
Thales has announced that it has signed two contracts with the operator of the Santiago metro in Chile for the supply and maintenance of the Operation Control Centre (OCC) of Line 7, due to enter service at the beginning of 2027.
According to the company, the ten-year maintenance contract will come into effect at the beginning of the services.
The OCC will command and supervise energy equipment and auxiliary systems, including elevators, escalators, lighting and ventilation equipment, at the new line’s 19 stations. Other key functions include energising the line through the traction logic subsystem and managing the access and intrusion control subsystems, which monitor the flow of authorised personnel in the line’s stations and workshops to improve operations safety and security.
A back-up centre in the Chile capital will ensure line supervision in the event of a failure or emergency to guarantee continuity of service.
The new Line 7 of the Santiago metro will connect the city from west to east, serving residents of the districts of Renca, Cerro Navia, Quinta Normal, Santiago, Providencia, Las Condes and Vitacura. Thales says that the project will improve the travel experience and reduce travel times by half for the capital’s 1.569 million inhabitants. With the incorporation of Line 7, the operational metro network will reach a total length of 174 kilometres with 162 stations.
“We are very pleased to continue working with Santiago metro, as decades of experience have positioned us as a strategic supplier providing the command and supervision systems for all the lines currently available. We are very confident we will be deploying a high-level system,” said Jean Phillipe Le Nagard, Thales Country Director Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay).
“We are proud to have been selected to help expand the metro system in Santiago de Chile. Line 7 will significantly improve passenger mobility in one of Chile’s the most densely populated regions. Thales is already the supplier of the command and supervision centres on all existing lines of the Santiago metro (L1, L2, L3, L4, L4A, L5 and L6),” said Benoît Couture, Vice-President for Integrated Communications and Supervision activities, Thales.
“The contract for the new line consolidates an enduring relationship with the Santiago metro that dates back for 50 years and confirms the customer’s trust in the commitment, professionalism and resilience of Thales’s teams. We are delighted to bring our latest-generation OCC to Santiago. It is a major recognition of Thales capability to capture and deliver complex projects based on integrated solutions. This large-scale, strategic project further strengthens our leadership in the region.”
