Metro news – Page 121
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NewsEl Paso PCC streetcar modernisation contract awarded
USA: Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority has awarded Brookville Equipment Corp an $18·8m contract to overhaul and modernise six PCC streetcars dating from 1937 for use on the future 7·7 km El Paso Streetcar Project in Texas. Brookville said the aim would be to provide ‘a modern transit solution wrapped ...
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NewsCanberra consults on future light rail expansion
AUSTRALIA: With construction of the first light rail line in Canberra scheduled to begin next year, the Australian Capital Territory Government has begun public consultation on a ‘clear, strategic and long-term’ vision for future phases of the network. Stage 1 of the Capital Metro will run for ...
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NewsTokyo welcomes new trams
JAPAN: The first two Series 8900 trams have entered service on the Arakawa Line in Tokyo. Six more are due to be delivered by early 2017, and are intended to replace the Series 7000 trams on the line, the oldest of which were built in 1954. The single section ...
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NewsSeattle selects light rail satellite depot site
USA: The Sound Transit board has selected a site in Bellevue’s Bel-Red corridor between downtown Bellevue and Redmond for a $380m light rail operations and maintenance satellite facility. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2018 for opening in 2020. The depot will be designed to maximise the potential for transit-oriented ...
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NewsSecond City Crossing makes progress
UK: The first section of Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing is now due to open before Christmas, Transport for Greater Manchester has announced. On October 26 overhead electrification equipment carrying current at 750 V DC is due to go live between Victoria and the new stop at Exchange Square. ‘This ...
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NewsSiemens to open Turkish tram factory
TURKEY: Siemens announced on October 20 that it is to build a tram factory in Gebze near Istanbul at a cost of €30m. According to Siemens, ‘by localising manufacturing and the supply chain in Turkey, the company expects even better chances for winning tenders as well as substantial cost ...
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NewsKaohsiung tram begins trial operation
TAIWAN: Trial operations on the Kaohsiung tram line started on October 16, with Mayor Chen Chu riding the inaugural service. Full operation on the first phase is expected to begin next year. Until then, the trams are running a taster service every 30 min between 09.00 and 18.30 through ...
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NewsCuenca tram starts dynamic testing
ECUADOR: Dynamic testing of the Cuenca tramway began on October 19. The first of 14 trams being supplied by Alstom was shipped from the port of Antwerpen in mid-May after leaving Alstom’s La Rochelle factory, and revenue service is due to begin next year. The 10·5 km standard gauge ...
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NewsSeoul starts work on Sillim Line
SOUTH KOREA: Construction of the Sillim Line in southwest Seoul started on October 18. The underground metro line is due to be built in 60 months, with revenue service expected to start in 2021. The 7·8 km line would run south from Yeouido to Seoul National University. It will ...
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NewsManchester Metrolink operations shortlist announced
UK: Transport for Greater Manchester announced on October 16 that it had shortlisted four bidders for the contract to operate and maintain the Metrolink tram network from 2017. The shortlisted bidders are incumbent RATP Dev, KeolisAmey, National Express Group and Transdev. TfGM expects to issue an invitation to ...
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NewsFirst Izmir tram nearing completion
TURKEY: Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu visited Eurotem’s factory in Adapazari to inspect the first tram for Izmir on October 14. The tram is nearing completion and is scheduled to be delivered along with two others in December. In August 2014 the Eurotem joint venture of South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and ...
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NewsRanchi plans monorail
INDIA: The Jharkhand government has backed plans for two monorail lines in the state capital Ranchi following a feasibility study undertaken by Infrastructure Development Finance Company which found that a monorail would be preferable to an elevated or underground metro. IDFC is to submit a detailed project report by December. ...
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NewsUlm breaks ground on second tram route
GERMANY: The official groundbreaking for the second tram route in Ulm took place on October 15, at the site of the future turning loop on Egginger Weg in Kuhberg, the southern terminus of the line. The 10·5 km line will link the science district in the north of the ...
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NewsIsfahan metro opens
IRAN: The first metro line in Isfahan opened on October 15. The first phase of Line 1 runs for 11 km from Qods in the northwest to Shohada via Kaveh long-distance bus terminal. There are 10 stations. Construction started in 2001 but was subject to delays. The ...
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NewsWashington metro seat refurbishment contract awarded
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has awarded First State Manufacturing a five-year contract to refurbish the seats on its fleet of more than 1 100 metro cars. Delaware-based company First State supplies public transport and military aircraft seating and carpets, as well as covers for lorries and missiles. ...
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NewsMelbourne switches on underground 3G coverage
AUSTRALIA: Victoria Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan announced on October 15 that 3G mobile coverage had gone live in the City Loop tunnels under the centre of Melbourne. Victoria rail asset owner VicTrack has undertaken the work in co-operation with telecoms operators Optus, Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia. ...
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NewsNew York MTA agrees capital funding
USA: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast announced on October 10 that they had reached agreement on the remaining funding for the MTA Capital Program. The $26·1bn five-year capital expenditure plan forms the largest ever investment in MTA ...
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NewsStation beacons on test in Boston
USA: Digital media company Intersection is using Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority stations in Boston to test secure closed networks of Gimbal Bluetooth Smart beacons which can trigger location-specific content on apps installed on passengers’ mobile devices. The aim is to test how passengers use wayfinding and other information, whether ...
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NewsInit acquires Webus
FRANCE: Init has acquired LC Consultant, which supplies Webus rostering and dispatching software to a mainly French customer base, including the tram operator in Marseille. The LC Consultant team will remain in Saint-Cloud near Paris and will report to Initi’s Initperdis subsidiary based in Hamburg.
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NewsCasablanca orders 50 more Citadis trams
MOROCCO: Casa Transports has awarded Alstom a €100m contract to supply 50 Citadis trams, power supplies and signalling for Line 2 of the Casablanca tramway. Alstom supplied the initial fleet of 74 Citadis trams for the 31 km Line 1 which opened in 2012. Construction of the 22 km ...