Metro news – Page 149
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NewsSalvador metro begins trial operation
BRAZIL: President Dilma Rousseff inaugurated the first phase of the Salvador metro on June 11, two days before the city is due to host its first FIFA World Cup match. The 7·3 km section of Line 1 between Lapa and Retiro is running in trial mode until mid-September. Until ...
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NewsSydney Rapid Transit to serve cross-Harbour tunnel
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian announced plans for the Sydney Rapid Transit project on June 11. The scheme would extend the North West Rail Link now under construction through the city centre to Bankstown in the southern suburbs. It is one of ...
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NewsExpress trams in STIF budget
FRANCE: Paris regional transport authority STIF has authorised an order for the first tranche of rolling stock for the Tram-Express Nord project, previously known as Tangentielle Nord. One of four key items in the budget agreed by the STIF board on June 5, the €88m procurement decision covers 15 Alstom ...
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NewsMumbai metro opens
INDIA: The first phase of Mumbai metro Line 1 was officially opened on June 8, when Maharastra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan flagged off the first service from Versova. The 11·4 km east-west line runs on an elevated alignment between Ghatkopar and Versova with 12 stations. Interchanges with suburban lines ...
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NewsBNDES funds São Paulo Line 6
BRAZIL: On June 4 national development bank BNDES announced that it had agreed to provide R$4∙47bn to the São Paulo state government, 39∙2% of the cost of building metro Line 6 in the city of São Paulo. The state government is providing 13∙9% from its own resources, with the remaining ...
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NewsHefei and Hangzhou order metro trains
CHINA: Hefei Urban Rail Transit Co has awarded rolling stock supplier Nanjing SR Puzhen Rail Transport Co a 0·9bn yuan contract to deliver trainsets for Phases 1 and 2 of its Line 1 project in 2015-16. Hangzhou Metro Group has awarded NPRT a 1·1bn yuan contract to supply trainsets for ...
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NewsStockholm's first Lidingö light rail vehicle on test
SWEDEN: The first of seven Urbos Axle low-floor light rail vehicles which CAF is supplying to Stockholm's SL is now being tested at the Petite-Forêt test centre near Valenciennes in France. Designated A36 by SL, the 1 435 mm gauge cars are similar to 15 A35 cars which CAF has ...
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NewsNingbo’s first metro line opens
CHINA: The initial section of Ningbo Rail Transit Line 1 opened to passengers at 10.00 on May 30. Line 1 is the first of five totalling 248 km which the port city in northeast Zhejiang province plans to open by 2020. Phase 1 of Line 1 runs 20·9 km west ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - June 2014
A public enquiry in June will consider plans to build the 10·3 km light rail route T9 between Porte de Choisy on Paris metro Line 7 and Orly Ville. Construction would begin in 2016 for opening in 2020. The line is estimated to cost €359m plus €71·5m for 22 trams. ...
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NewsDoha Gold Line design and construction awarded
QATAR: Qatar Rail has awarded a €3·2bn contract for the design and construction of the Doha metro Gold Line to a consortium of Larsen & Toubro, Aktor, Yapi Merkezi, STFA Group and Al Jaber Engineering. The east-west Gold Line is to be completed by 2019 as part of Phase 1 ...
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NewsWuxi metro begins trial operation
CHINA: The first metro line in Wuxi started trial operation on May 26, ahead of an official opening in late June. The 29 km Line 1 runs from Yanqiao to Changguangxi with 22 intermediate stations, including the main line station. Most of the route is underground, with ...
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NewsSingapore orders driverless trains for combined line
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has ordered 91 four-car driverless trainsets from a consortium of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Qingdao Sifang for S$749m. The trainsets are to be used on the Thomson and Eastern Region lines, which will be operated as one line when both have been completed. Kawasaki ...
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NewsLOROL to operate TfL’s West Anglia routes
UK: Transport for London has selected London Overground Rail Operations Ltd as interim operator of the West Anglia routes in northeast London that are to be transferred to TfL from next year. LOROL will operate services currently run by Abellio Greater Anglia from Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt ...
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NewsMelbourne awards depot development contract
AUSTRALIA: Melbourne tram operator Yarra Trams announced on May 28 the go-ahead for ‘the biggest tram depot redevelopment’ in the city’s history. Under the A$190m project, part of the historic Preston Workshops will be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility to provide stabling, operational and maintenance facilities for the E-Class trams ...
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NewsCharlotte track contract
USA: The City of Charlotte has selected Balfour Beatty Infrastructure to undertake track and systems work for the Charlotte Area Transit System LYNX Blue Line extension and the Blue Line Capacity Expansion Project. The $131m contract covers construction of ballasted track, overhead catenary and 11 traction substations, as well as ...
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NewsSiemens to renew signalling on Wien metro Line U4
AUSTRIA: Wiener Linien has awarded Siemens a €40m contract to modernise signalling on Wien metro Line U4 as part of the city’s NEU4 project to improve service and reliability of the line. The scope of the work includes installation of LZB513 automatic train control, and replacement of five SpDrS-60U ...
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NewsCrossrail flyover launched
UK: On May 27 Crossrail Ltd announced that work had been completed to launch a 120 m long bridge weighing 1 000 tonnes into position over the Great Western Main Line at Stockley in west London. The bridge forms part of an additional flyover that is being built to avoid ...
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NewsDB International to open Indian office
INDIA: DB International is to open an office in Bangalore following its appointment as quality and safety consultant for the Kochi metro. ‘This initiative has strategic significance in light of the continuing process of globalisation and the rising prominence of the Indian market’, said DB International Chairman Niko Warbanoff, ...
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NewsAvenio takes a bow
NETHERLANDS: The first of 60 Avenio low-floor LRVs being supplied to Den Haag’s urban transport operator HTM by Siemens was demonstrated to the customer’s senior management at the Wildenrath test centre on May 22. The visitors were able to ride car 5001 while it was being put through its paces ...
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NewsFeature articles in the June 2014 issue of Metro Report International
Articles in the June 2014 issue of Metro Report International. Comment Phil Young explains Transport for London's open data approach to app development News Review Round-up of world metro, light rail and tram news City digest Turkish urban rail expansion, Chinese progress, Mexico City interurban line, Makkah shorlists bidders, Addis ...