Medellin - Metro

The Medellin Metro system is something both the city and its inhabitants are proud of. Even though it has no more than two lines, it is something not to be seen in South America too often. Here you can see the basic scheme of this infrastructure:(map photographed at the station - click to enlarge)
Metro (i.e. metropolitan railway) does not suggest that its corridors are under the ground. On contrary, the lines are tracted either on the surface, or on elevated estacades (in the city centre). (station near city center)
The line A follows historic route of "Ferrocaril de Antioquia" in between center area nad both end terminals. Thus, it is located on the edge of the Medellin river.
As you can see on the map, the B-line (orange) is terminated in the city center (San
The whole system was built relatively recently and is in a very good condition, it looks like new. There is one type of train serving the system.Antonio station). Furthermore, the tracks are on the elevated estacades above busy street - so it looks like a good location for some action movie (batman, you have got to stop the train!)
I have noted just one Depo, near Niquia, and technically it is possible to house all the trains there.
The infrastrucutre was built relatively recently abnd is in an excellent condition, almost like new. Ststions are modern, spatious, semi-open, built from steel and concrete. Nothing like the claustrophobic N.Y.C. underground (sorry, N.Y.C.)....and their design is quite uniform including the acessories...
The whole infrastructure is served by one type of train.(below)
which is quite spationus and light inside (below)
But perhaps the most significant feature is how METRO is identified with host of other social and cultural services and with improved quality of life as a whole. Therefore, slogans "La Cultura Metro" and "Metro Calidad de Vida" are widely promoted in uniform style by multiple chanels, including airport-like announcements and brochures like these: (below) And really - its not just about rhetorics. Besides providing safeguarded, organized and clean environment (a bit contrasting with the "barrios populares"), Metor succeeds in facilitating other then transport function, the most notable perhaps being project "Biblio Metro" where small libraries are placed at some terminal stations. There, passengers can order and later pickup books or use internet conveniently within their daily errands.(Biblio Metro ad)(small library at Niquia terminal)(and its interior with computers)
If you want more information, visit: http://www.metrodemedellin.gov.co/

Medellin v noci

A takhle to v Medellinu vypada v noci...(Parque Botero z hotelu Nutibara - NATCO - s Muzeem Antiochie)(totez namesti, je videt stanici metra Berrio)(pohled z Nutibary opacnym smerem, svisti si to tam metro)(detail vecerniho poulicniho zivota v centru)(poulicni prodavaci zeleniny tesne nez sklidili kram... kafar je tam az do ctyr rano)(naopak takto to vypadalo blizko Trainee Housu v jedne z takovych prumernych ctvrti)(a tady vidime Metro na stanici Berrio)

Bogota - transportation system TRANSMILENIO

Bogota has an integrated public transportation system Transmilenio (http://www.transmilenio.gov.co/WebSite/English_Default.aspx), which forms a backbone of transportation there.

It was launched around the turn of the milenium and its specific is that it uses combination of buses as vehicles with secluded corridors and metro-like stations and varied station coverage by different lines on the same route.

The whole system is divided into various sections which have different code letter (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,J) and a different color. This makes orientation easier. The stations in a particular section have the ascribed color, where as buses announce their destination by combination of letter and number. The letter informs passanger as to the destination sector of the vehicle, where as the number denotes the station coverage. The bus maz be for instance D70.

---- What is intriquing about this is that bus changes its code at the terminal. Sometimes they just turn around and go back to a different sector, meanwhile changing the code letter (he D70 maz become J70 etc.). Good thing is that usually the number describing station coverage remains the same and its onlz the terminal destination denotation that changes.----

The varied station coverage is one of the intriquing aspects of the system. There are many different services going to one destination, and therefor many different numbers followind one letter in the bus identification. The advantage of this is that besides one service, that stops on every station of the route, there are other "express" services that stop only at some stations, thus arriving in much shorter time. There are timetables and served station diagrams at all stations so that passenger can choose the appropriate service.

---Sometimes the best results are achieved by going with express service first and than transfering to a regular service near to our destination. But how is this possible without paying extra? Well the answer is simple. As I have said, the system makes use of a metro-like stations. That means, that passengers enter throughh a checkpoint to an enclosed, secluded and elevated platform. This platform is raised some 70 cm above the ground, and is divided from the bus corridor by a glass wall with sliding doors that only open when the bus arrives at the station. (Buses therefor do not have stairs but we enter directly at the floor level which makes them accessible for disabled people, too. They also have "emergency" exits with stairs.) We onlz paz when passing the checkpoint to enter the system... as long as we keep on its premises (i.e. onboard of the buses or within the platforms) we can use the service without paying again. Onlz after we leave the system we then have to pay again upon re-entry. ----

Tlačenka v metru A

Tento týden mne okolnosti dvakrát donutily jet v poledne metrem "A". A to sice mezi Staroměstskou a buď Muzeem nebo Flórou.

K mému značnému a nemilému překvapení bylo pokaždé metro tak narvané, že se mi podařilo nastoupit jen s největšími obtížemi a díky zkušenostem, které jsem v mládí nasbíral v kotlích punkových koncertů. Ostatní cestující tvořili takovou standardní populační směs s hojným zastoupením osob v produktivním věku.

WTF? Není to snad tak, že většina produktivních osob je v tuto dobu v práci? Kolik lidí i když odchází z práce na oběd, jí někde, kam musí dojet metrem? Ranní špičku pochopím, odpolední taky, ale toto?

A nyní se ptám, vrátil se snad zvyk jezdit si na oběd domů, nebo co? Z toho titulu vznikla také anketa v zápatí stránky. Prosím, přispějte k objasnění této otravné záhady!

Přeju vám jen málo dalších kilometrů v nedobrovolném intimním objetí spolucestujících...