URBAN RAIL
03 Jul 2008 | Tramlink transferred to Transport for London
UK: Ownership of the Tramlink light rail system in Croydon was transferred to Transport for London on June 27. Tramtrack Croydon Ltd held a 99-year private finance initiative concession to build and operate the 28 km network, but on March 17 the shareholders accepted TfL's offer to purchase the busi More...
27 Jun 2008 | Edmonton light rail vehicle unveiled
CANADA: The first of 37 Siemens SD160 cars ordered to double the fleet size in advance of the opening of Edmonton's South Line light rail extension was publicly unveiled on June 23. The €77m contract was awarded to Siemens in October 2005, partly funded through fuel taxes. The first vehicle was sh More...
19 Jun 2008 | GE to resignal Rotterdam metro
NETHERLANDS: Rotterdam transport operator RET has selected GE Transportation to undertake the resignalling of the city's 55 km two line metro network. GE said the €62m contract is the company's largest-ever rail signalling order and its first full-scale metro project in Europe. Work will begin in More...
19 Jun 2008 | Line 12 contract awarded
MEXICO: A US$1·7bn contract to build metro Line 12 in Mexico City has been awarded to a consortium led by construction firm Empresas ICA and including Alstom and Carso Infraestructura y Construccion. Running entirely underground, the 24 km Line 12 will have 22 stations serving the southern portio More...
19 Jun 2008 | Refurbished tram back in Sofia
BULGARIA: The first of 18 Sofia trams to be modernised under a €13·6m contract with Inekon has returned to service in the Bulgarian capital. The 1 009 mm gauge three-section T8-700IT tram has been rebuilt from a twin-section T6M-700 with the insertion of a 360 mm entrance height centre section More...
18 Jun 2008 | Cádiz tram-train contract
SPAIN: The Andalucía regional government has awarded Sacyr and Prinur a contract worth €52·8m to undertake civil and track work on the 5·8 km San Fernando - Caño Zurraque section of the tram-train route linking Cádiz with Chiclana de la Frontera. Work on this section with eight stops is due for comp More...
17 Jun 2008 | Melbourne to re-let franchises
AUSTRALIA: The Victorian state government has called for expressions of interest to operate its urban rail services from 2009. The suburban trains are presently run by Connex Melbourne, and the Yarra Trams network is operated by the Metrolink joint venture of Transdev and Transfield Services Ltd. B More...
16 Jun 2008 | Urban rail news in brief
Madrid Metro has unveiled the first of 36 Series 9000 trainsets that are to be introduced on Line 6 by 2011, part of an order for 52 units placed with AnsaldoBreda for €450m. The upgrade of Line 6 has included the construction of new traction substations and a new station at Arganzuela-Planetario. T More...
14 Jun 2008 | Santiago trackwork
CHILE: Balfour Beatty plc announced on May 14 that its Chilean subsidiary had been awarded contracts worth a total of £37m to undertake tracklaying on two extensions to the Santiago metro. Under a contact worth £10·2m, work on the 3·8 km section of Line 1 from Escuela Militar to Los Dominicos is sch More...
13 Jun 2008 | Dallas assembles kit cars
USA: Dallas Area Rapid Transit has begun adding low-floor sections to its 115 KinkiSharyo light rail vehicles under a programme to be completed in 2010. The number of seats is increased from 75 to 100 on the 'Super Light Rail Vehicles', the first of which will begin carrying passengers shortly. Sup More...
