RATP Dev, with the support of its subsidiary McDonald Transit Associates, won a tender
launched by the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) for the operation
and maintenance of the first tramway line in Washington, D.C. RATP Dev already has a bus
operation presence in 15 U.S. states, and with this contract win will strengthen its market
position while diversifying its U.S. activities.
The first tramway line in Washington will be 2.2 miles long and have 7 stations. It will serve the northeast part of the city. It should be operational by the end of 2013. The line will be open Monday through to Thursday from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m., Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is the first line of a network that is set to grow strongly over the coming years and become a vital part of urban transportation in Washington DC, according to plans of the DDOT.
"We are very pleased to have been selected by the DDOT to operate the first tramway line in
Washington. This is one of the first times an American authority has decided to entrust a private
operator with the running of its tram”, Mathieu Dunant, CEO of RATP Dev America welcomed the
decision. “This is a very strong endorsement for RATP Dev. The goal is to combine the experience of our local subsidiaries in the United States, with the internationally recognized expertise of the RATP Group for the benefit of customers. Through the daily running of US networks we were able to demonstrate our expertise and our understanding of the local context and respective needs."
The operation and maintenance of the line will be provided by a specially created subsidiary, RDMT (RATP Dev McDonald Transit), led by Lou Bersati. RDMT will also be in charge of the preparatory phase before the commissioning in 2013 (staff training, technical tests etc.).
After the recent success of winning the contract to run the bus network in Austin, Texas, this new success for RATP Dev reinforces its strategy in the U.S. where it will continue to grow in areas of tramways, transit, paratransit, trunk lines and regular charters.
"The RATP Group aims to become a world leader in tramway transport. As we already operate the tram lines in Paris, Manchester, Algiers, Florence and in Hong Kong, often as part of multimodal networks, we have a proven expertise in this transport mode" said Jean-Marc Janaillac, CEO of RATP Dev.
