RATP Dev won the tender to operate and maintain the network of the first tramway line in
Tucson, Ariz., through its subsidiary RDMT and is thus continuing to expand in the United States.
The "Sun Link Tucson Streetcar" line, which will enter service at the end of 2013, will be 3.9 miles long and will feature 18 stops. RATP Dev will be in charge of line operation and maintenance, as well as the preparatory phase for operations (technical trials, staff hiring and training, etc.).
The contract is for three years with options to increase it to eight years. RATP Dev is already tasked with managing extensive urban transport networks in the United States, for
example in Austin, Charlotte and Colorado Springs. It has also been selected to operate the future tramway system in Washington, D.C.
“We are delighted to have been selected by the city of Tucson and its transport authority to operate its future tramway network”, stated Mathieu Dunant, RATP Dev director in charge of the Americas/Africa business unit. “The aim is to combine a detailed knowledge of the field and strong local presence of RDMT with the acknowledged expertise of the RATP group to offer our clients the best possible service."
The contract consolidates the RATP Dev strategy for its future in the United States where it intends to continue expanding in transit, paratransit, regular inter-urban lines and charter fields as well as tramways and light rail systems.
“Winning this contract enables RATP Dev to continue expanding in tramways, a transport mode in which RATP group is now a global reference with lines operated in Paris and the Paris region,
Manchester, Algiers, Florence, Hong Kong, Casablanca and soon Washington,” stated RATP Dev Chief Executive Officer François-Xavier Perin.
