Madrid to Invest €49.5 Million in New Transport Information Center (CITRAM)
Madrid, February 23 – The Regional Transport Consortium of Madrid has initiated a public tender for a significant project to overhaul its transport network’s technological core. The project, valued at €49.5 million (excluding VAT), seeks to establish a new Information Center for the Transport of Madrid (CITRAM), intended to become the central technological brain for all regional mobility. Interested companies have until April 20 to submit their proposals.
Centralizing and Modernizing Madrid’s Transport System
The Community of Madrid aims to develop a platform that will centralize information from various transport modes, including metro, urban and interurban buses, Cercanías trains, and trams. This integration is crucial for real-time, coordinated management of a system that handles over six million daily journeys. Industry experts anticipate participation from several companies that previously vied for the new ticketing system contract, such as Indra, GMV, Inetum, Hitachi, Kentkart, and Eysa.
Addressing Current Limitations with Advanced Technology
The primary objective is to select the most innovative designs for an advanced technological and operational platform capable of comprehensive supervision, management, and coordination of the public transport system. The regional administration acknowledges that the current CITRAM faces technical and architectural limitations, primarily due to its reactive supervision approach and limited data integration capabilities. Currently, the system heavily relies on information from operators and lacks an advanced analytical platform for intensive real-time data exploitation.
Key Requirements: AI, Data Lake, and Predictive Analytics
The new center is mandated to support an intelligent management model with an open and scalable architecture. This will include a Data Lake and advanced analytics capabilities. Specific requirements involve monitoring thousands of mobile assets and sensor points, integrating at least five types of heterogeneous data sources-ranging from operational systems and public APIs to IoT networks and unstructured data-and implementing AI-based predictive modules to anticipate demand and incidents.
Project Tender Structure and Investment Details
The tender process is structured as a project competition, a method previously used for the ticketing contract (ABP). This approach allows for the evaluation of technical proposals before the final contract award. Following the selection of the winning design, the administration plans to engage in a negotiated procedure without publication with the selected entity to formalize the subsequent service contract. This contract will span ten years, encompassing initial investment phases, operation, and programmed reinvestments.
The initial investment is estimated at €19.5 million over the first two years. This amount, combined with operational costs, technological reinvestments, and platform evolution throughout the decade-long contract, brings the total value to the aforementioned €49.5 million. The tender document requires companies to demonstrate experience in at least three major projects currently in operation, one of which must be in public transport, advanced logistics, or large-scale fleet management. They must also prove their capacity to manage systems serving over one million users or those classified as critical infrastructure.
The initiative underscores Madrid’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and user experience of its extensive public transport network, ensuring it remains at the forefront of urban mobility solutions.
