RATP Dev through its RDMT subsidiary has inaugurated the Sun Link Tucson Streetcar as the first tramway line in Tucson on July 25. The inauguration marks the first RATP Dev tramway service to begin operation in the United States and the biggest initial streetcar operation in the US.
Sun Link, Tucson’s first tramway line, is 3.9 miles long with 18 stops. The line connects the University of Arizona campus to the Mercado District, Arizona Health Sciences Center, 4th Avenue (the city’s main shopping artery), downtown Tucson and the Convention Center. The tramway offers connecting services with the Tucson bus station and Tucson’s extensive bus network. Sun Link will ultimately become a structural focus for Arizona’s second largest city.
RATP Dev is tasked with operating and maintaining the line with a three-year contract from the city of Tucson Department of Transportation with options for up to eight years. RDMT also ensured the entire preparatory phase prior to operations ranging from technical trials to hiring and training staff. Nearly 40 people work in operations and maintenance for this line.
“Our goal is to combine our detailed field knowledge thanks to the strong local presence of RDMT with the acknowledged expertise of RATP Group to offer customers the best possible service”, Steve Bethel, general manager of the Sun Link Tucson, RDMT-Tucson.
“This launch is particularly important and symbolic for RATP Dev because it is the first streetcar that we put into service in the United States, welcomed Mathieu Dunant, CEO of RATP Dev America. The inauguration, which comes just few weeks after the launch of our sightseeing activity in New York, confirms the dynamism of our development on the U.S. market.”
