Asia – Page 74
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Metro Report InternationalBeijing metro lines 6 and 8 extended
CHINA: The Beijing metro network grew by more than 20 km on December 30 with the opening of extensions to lines 6 and 8. The southern section of Line 8 connects Zhushikou, where interchange is provided with Line 7, with Yinghai. The 10·3 km north-south route is not yet ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst metro line opens in Jinan
CHINA: The first metro line in Jinan was inaugurated on January 1. Line R1 connects Fangte and Gongyanyuan. Of the 26·3 km route, a 16·2 km section with seven stations is elevated and 10·1 km with four stations runs underground. Services are operated with four-car trainsets, which are stabled ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway tests driverless operation
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing automatic train operation on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, with a view to assessing the feasibility of converting routes to driverless operation. The 34·5 km circular route was selected for testing because it does not share tracks with other lines. JR East envisages that ...
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Metro Report InternationalEast Japan Railway tests driverless operation
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing automatic train operation on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, with a view to assessing the feasibility of converting routes to driverless operation. The 34·5 km circular route was selected for testing because it does not share tracks with other lines. JR East envisages that ...
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Metro Report InternationalChengdu tramway in service
CHINA: The initial section of the Chengdu tram network opened on December 26. The 13·6 km Line T2 between Chenguang and Hexin Road is the first phase of a planned 39·3 km Y-shaped network in the northwest of the city that would provide interchange with metro Line ...
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NewsSeventh Delhi metro extension of 2018 opens
INDIA: The next phase of Delhi metro’s driverless Line 7, also known as the Pink Line, was opened for passenger service on December 31. The 9·7 km section between Lajpat Nagar and Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 with three underground and two elevated stations is the fourth section of Line ...
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NewsGreen Mountain tram line opens in Taipei
TAIWAN: The Green Mountain tram line in the Tamsui District of New Taipei City opened on December 23, with a month of free travel. The 7·4 km route runs north from Hongshulin station on the Tamsui metro line to Kanding, where the depot is located. Services operate every 15 ...
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Metro Report InternationalSongjiang tramway opens in Shanghai
CHINA: The first section of the Songjiang tram network in Shanghai opened on December 26. The 13·9 km route serving 20 stops connects Zhongchen Road in the east with Canghua Road in the west via Songjiang University Town, where interchange is provided with metro Line 9. Services operate ...
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NewsChengde – Shenyang heads next tranche of PDL openings
CHINA: National operator China Railway Corp has launched passenger services on four more new lines, following on from the five routes that opened on December 25-26 and taking the total length of new line inaugurated this month to more than 2 500 route-km. December 29 saw the start of operation ...
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NewsSeoul starts work on regional express network
SOUTH KOREA: Groundbreaking ceremonies for the northwestern arm of Seoul’s planned three-line Great Train Express network were held at the Kintex exhibition centre in Goyang on December 27. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Transport, the GTX network is intended to link outlying suburbs in the north and ...
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NewsXi’an opens second north-south metro line
CHINA: The new Line 4 of the Xi’an metro was formally opened at 10.00 on December 26. Running entirely underground for 35·2 km, the north-south line connects the city’s high speed rail hub at Xi’an Bei (North Square) with Hangtian Xincheng via the main station close to the old city ...
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NewsVisakhapatnam metro ready to start
INDIA: Groundbreaking ceremonies for the planned 42·5 km Visakhapatnam Metro Rail network in Andhra Pradesh are expected to take place in February, following a decision to accelerate the project. Speaking at a meeting with the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Regional Development Authority on December 26, the Principal Secretary from the Ministry of ...
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Metro Report InternationalQingdao opens coastal metro Line 13
CHINA: An isolated regional metro line was opened in the eastern port city of Qingdao on December 26. Designated Line 13, but originally known as R3, the Jiaonan line is currently not connected to the rest of the city’s metro network. Starting from Jinggangshan Lu in the Huangdao port district ...
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NewsFive new lines open in two days
CHINA: Revenue services began on two more high speed lines on December 25, with another inaugurated the following day, along with two new mixed-traffic railways. First to open on December 25 was the 293 km Harbin – Mudanjiang Intercity Railway, running southeast from the capital of Heilongjiang province to a ...
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Metro Report InternationalChongqing opens Line 5 extension
CHINA: A 2·5 km extension of Chongqing metro line 5 from Dalongshan to Dashiba was opened for revenue service on December 24, adding a single station to the route. The extension comes just under a year after the inauguration of the first section of Line 5 between Expo Garden Centre ...
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NewsChinese coaches to re-equip Yangon – Mandalay expresses
MYANMAR: The national parliament in Naypyitaw has approved government plans to purchase new rolling stock for Myanma Railways’ principal Yangon – Mandalay services using funding from China. The Ministry of Transport & Communications intends to procure 14 standard and 14 first class vehicles for the route, which carries more than ...
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NewsModi lays metro foundation stones in Mumbai and Pune
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stones for three metro projects in the state of Maharashtra on December 18. Two of the projects are in Mumbai. Line 5 will run in the northeast of the city, linking Thane with Kalyan via Bdiwandi. Line 9 will serve the north ...
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NewsHeavy freight locomotive delivered
AZERBAIJAN: National railway ADY has taken delivery of the first of 40 Prima T8 AZ8A twin-section 25 kV AC heavy freight locomotives ordered for use on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars corridor. The EKZ joint venture of Alstom (75%) and Transmashholding (25%), which is based at Astana in Kazakhstan, ...
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Metro Report InternationalTunnel failure delays Perth airport rail link
AUSTRALIA: Opening of the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth is now expected in the second half of 2021, Western Australia’s Minister of Transport & Planning Rita Saffioti announced on December 18. Being built at a cost of A$1·86bn, the 8·5 km suburban railway to the airport and Forrestfield will diverge from ...
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NewsMayor attends Makati Subway groundbreaking ceremony
PHILIPPINES: A groundbreaking ceremony on December 12 attended by Makati Mayor Abby Binay marked the start of preparatory works for the Makati Subway project being developed in the city southeast of central Manila. Due to open in 2023, the 10 km underground metro line will serve 10 stations including ...