Revitalizing and connecting Colombia´s second largest city through a safe, sustainable tramway

Expanding mobility in Colombia’s second largest city

The 80th Avenue Tramway is part of a larger effort by the National Government to transform infrastructure throughout Colombia. The new tramway will include 17 stops across the western side of Medellín, and by integrating three existing Metro stations, the streetcar line will connect residents across 32 neighborhoods. To contribute to the expansion of the tramway network, Arup held a three-day workshop for evaluating and optimizing the proposed design. During the workshop, Arup engineers, planners, architects, and consultants from across the globe discussed ideas for both optimizing the project's designs and increasing its functionality. One idea that emerged was a plan for constructing the tramway at ground level, removing the long viaducts included in the previous design. By creating a dedicated lane to separate the streetcar from car traffic along the entire line, and by integrating safe paths for crossing and bike lanes, the 80th Avenue Tramway design ensures safe walkability and bicycle mobility as well as promotes the use of public transport over personal vehicles. 

In addition, to assess how the construction and operation of the 80th Avenue Tramway would impact its surrounding environment, Arup conducted a study to identify, understand, and prevent any potential risks. The main findings from this analysis demonstrated that key concerns would involve air and noise pollution, as well as the logging of nearby trees. Arup implemented environmental programs that incorporated these findings to guide the construction of the new tramway.

Generating cost savings and economic benefits

Through comprehensive cost analyses, Arup provided significant savings for Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), an infrastructure financing corporation that is majority-owned by the government of Colombia. Arup estimated both the capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) for the 80th Avenue Medellín Tramway and contributed ideas to optimize cost savings, such as advising on the removal of design elements for the streetcar line, including viaducts, heavy structures, and multiple depots. By helping FDN envision a fully at-grade transit system, Arup created savings by eliminating the cost of constructing bridges and other structures to elevate the tramway. Arup also recommended the inclusion of a single depot for the streetcars based on our demand forecasting, which resulted in a reduced cost for construction without compromising feasibility. In total, Arup’s recommendations created a CAPEX saving of approximately 30% for the project.  

Becoming a trusted partner

Throughout the value engineering and multidisciplinary studies, Arup provided the highest level of advisory and actively engaged with the project’s clients and stakeholders through recurring meetings to help inform critical project decisions. Together with FDN and Empresa Metro, Arup achieved a highly functional, sustainable, and cost-effective design for the 80th Avenue Tramway, which will serve the city for decades to come.