LANDER moves into the African continent alongside SETRAM

Most of Algeria, the largest country on the African continent, is taken up by the Sahara desert, and it is divided from east to west by a double barrier of mountains.

It has a population of over 40 million and a surface area of 2.3 million kilometres (almost 5 times the size of Spain). Despite its size, it is possibly one of Africa's least known countries, particularly compared to its neighbours Morocco and Tunisia, both of which have enormous visibility beyond their borders.

Algeria, however, has a host of peculiarities such as, for example, the fact that it is one of the countries with the most young people in the world, it has Africa's largest mosque, and Algiers is dubbed "the white capital" because almost all its buildings are painted in this colour. In terms of passenger transit, modern Algeria may be one of the few countries with a tram system operating in 7 different cities (Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Sidi Bel Abbes, Ouargla, Mostaganem and Sétif). The en masse reinstatement of trams in Algeria was similar to the phenomena that have occurred in France over the last 30 years. In the 21st century, the problems that traffic congestion has caused in large cities with particularly dynamic demographics have created the need for new approaches to mobility.

The main entity responsible for this major contribution to the improvement of infrastructures is SETRAM, a body which was created from an agreement between the Algiers Metro Company (EMA) and French group RATP Dev, and is in fact still tasked with operating Algeria's trams today. The group has proved itself able to open up a new era of modernity, positive standards of living and economic development in the country in record time.

Now, 8 years on after implementation of its first tram system, SETRAM has opened its innovative simulation unit for the training of tram drivers. This was developed alongside LANDER, and one of its peculiarities is that it includes software to support all 7 networks and their respective signalling systems and tram cars.

This major milestone was welcomed last week by Setram's Chairman and CEO, Mr. Pierrick Poirier, alongside Mr. Mustapha KOURABA, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr. Abdelkhalek Sayouda, Governor of ALGIERS, and Mr. Ali AREZKI, Chairman and CEO of EMA, during the official reception of the training simulators at the training institute. The purchase is part of the effort that RATP Dev has been making in recent years to make a contribution to local development, hiring and capacitating over 2,000 people, transferring its technical knowledge and, in 2017, opening the Rail Capacitation Institute in Algiers, now also home to the simulator capacitation centre.

LANDER wishes to congratulate SETRAM for constantly striving to improve the country's mobility, and also to thank it for working alongside LANDER as technology partner in a bid to achieve its ambitious goal.

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