{"id":642,"date":"2021-11-07T19:24:56","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T18:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/project-phase-2020-2022\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T01:25:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T00:25:04","slug":"project-phase-2020-2022","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/project-phase-2020-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Current project phase"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Cuba<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our firm has undertaken an exhaustive technical study of the compatibility of 8 electric railcars and 4 towed vehicles from the Uetliberg railway in Zurich, prematurely withdrawn from service due to a change in the supply voltage of this network, in order to offer them to the “Hershey” electric railway network in Cuba, mainly linking Havana to Matanzas, whose technical characteristics are similar to those of the Uetliberg.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A simple logic of support for the circular economy has therefore naturally pushed for their reuse and not their demolition. In order to guarantee a long use of this equipment in Cuba, a complete overhaul of the electrical part has been analyzed in detail by the manufacturer of these vehicles, the company Siemens.<\/p>

Our firm has undertaken to organize the complete logistics of transporting these vehicles from Susise to Cuba, by road, river and finally sea, as well as the container transport of numerous spare parts.<\/p>

A plan to train local maintenance teams in the upkeep of this equipment, in order to guarantee its longevity, was also proposed by our firm in collaboration with SIEMENS Portugal.<\/p>

The repercussions of the COVID crisis and then the conflict in Ukraine made it impossible for the Cuban side to provide the funding it was supposed to, and this transfer of vehicles unfortunately proved impossible<\/p>

However, the Cuban Ministry of Transport (MITRANS) is keen to continue working with our firm, in particular on the renovation of the network’s supply substations, the renovation of the contact line and the decarbonization of its power generation. Our firm is therefore likely to be involved in this project for several years to come.<\/p>

At the same time, a project to supply two solar power plants is underway in Cuba. The first project is a 1 MWp plant, with an investment of some CHF 1,000,000. This project has already been formally announced to the Cuban authorities, and the financing arrangements are currently being examined. In the other case, a smaller power plant costing an estimated CHF 300,000 will be used primarily to generate low-cost electricity for low-income families and to supply power to the Hershey railway workshop.<\/p>

To improve vehicle maintenance conditions at Hershey’s central workshop on the Havana-Matanzas line, the first delivery of service and maintenance equipment took place in November 2023. This will rationalize all types of work on rail vehicles.<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>

Following our last visit to Cuba in April 2026, we were able to see the improvements brought about by our supply of maintenance equipment and tools in 2024. We have been able to order additional equipment, which will be delivered in the summer of 2026 and will be used to improve the maintenance of the electric multiple units and the overhead line.<\/p>

This means that the electrified rail line between Hershey and Jaruco will be fully operational again by the end of summer 2026, to the benefit of the local population (80,000 inhabitants), and any disruption to operations can be repaired more quickly in the future thanks to the maintenance equipment supplied.<\/p>

Our local partner, the Union of Cuban Railways (UFC), which is subordinate to the Ministry of Transport (MITRANS), has expressed an urgent need for solar generators to ensure the safety of rail traffic in the event of interruptions to domestic power supplies (110 \/ 220 V), and COMED \/ UrbamoCuba.CH will be working to find ways of supplying three of them, if possible by 2026.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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For several years, the Malagasy government has been trying to upgrade the Malagasy railway lines (MADARAIL) entering the center of the capital Antananarivo, in order to create a real axis of efficient urban railway service.<\/p>

Eight three-element compositions and two two-element compositions of Swiss origin, purchased second-hand and in perfect working order, are now in Antanarivo. These vehicles have been in storage for over two years without being driven, and a series of inspection operations are required before they can be put back into service in Madagascar. COMED has offered its services for this purpose.<\/p>

All of these vehicles are basically compatible with MADARAIL’s lines, but they are not electrified. Moreover, the production of electricity for general use is not always sufficient to cover the country’s needs.<\/p>

Our firm COMED laid the foundations for the electrification of a first line, as well as supplying solar power plants financed by Swiss investors to supply this railway line with traction power, and also provide industrial power for general use.<\/p>

At the same time, as in Cuba, it would be a matter of training local personnel and adapting the workshop to the maintenance of vehicles with electric traction.<\/p>

In addition to this rail project, COMED has proposed to redevelop public transport throughout the Antananarivo conurbation.<\/span><\/p>

An agreement in principle between COMED and the Malagasy public authorities should be initialled in 2026, with a view to starting electrification work in 2027 wherever possible<\/span>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuba Our firm has undertaken an exhaustive technical study of the compatibility of 8 electric railcars and 4 towed vehicles from the Uetliberg railway in Zurich, prematurely withdrawn from service due to a change in the supply voltage of this network, in order to offer them to the “Hershey” electric railway network in Cuba, mainly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-642","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2632,"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/642\/revisions\/2632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assoc-comed.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}