[sustran] Santiago Metro FY97

[Christopher Zegras]

Courtesy of ChipNews, Jan. 21  www.chip.cl

--  SANTIAGO METRO HAD 200 MILLION USERS IN 1997.
The Santiago Metro saw a boost in passengers but a dip in profits
last year, company President Daniel Fernandez said Tuesday.
Metro had a total of 200 million passengers in 1997, an 11.9
percent rise over the 178 million passengers in 1996.  The major
cause in this rise was the incorporation of Line 5, which runs
between Plaza Italia and Plaza Vespucio in La Florida, the most
densely populated Santiago neighborhood.
        Profits, however, fell 20 percent to US$2.6 million,
Fernandez said, owing to the increase in depreciation tied to the
investment in Line 5.  Metro earned US$78 million in ticket sales
and spent US$75.4 million on operations.
        The yearly passenger total works out to 779,000 average
daily users, compared to 676,000 average daily users in 1996.
The peak number of passengers reached 902,000 on December 23.
        Metro plans to invest US$200 million this year in
technological innovations and service improvement, including:
operational improvements of US$22 million; the integration of 11
new trains for US$108 million; train maintenance at a cost of
US$4.25 million; communication system enhancements and ticket
booth remodeling for US$18.2 million; and US$3.2 million worth of
turnstiles.  Metro is also currently constructing, with a US$107
million investment, an extension of Line 5, with service into the
heart of Santiago to a new  station in the Plaza de Armas.
 Christopher Zegras       http://www.iiec.org                 /\   /^\
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