Metro news – Page 196
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NewsJena places first Tramino export order
GERMANY: Polish bus and tram manufacturer Solaris announced its first tram export order on July 12, a €13·7m contract to supply five Tramino cars to Jena transport operator Jenaer Nahverkehr. Delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2013. The 100% low-floor cars will be custom-designed for Jena's metre gauge ...
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NewsChicago orders 300 more 5000-series metro cars
USA: Chicago Transit Authority has placed a $331m firm order for 300 more 5000-series metro cars, Bombardier Transportation announced on July 20. The order is an option under a July 2006 contract and brings the total number of 5000-series cars ordered by CTA to 706, worth a total of ...
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NewsQueues to see first Vamos in Bielefeld
GERMANY: Queues of up to an hour developed when Bielefeld transport operator MoBiel opened its first Vamos light rail vehicle for public viewing during a depot open day on July 3 which attracted 20 000 visitors. MoBiel placed a €47m order for 16 LRVs with a consortium of HeiterBlick and ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
A 1·5 km extension of Istanbul metro line M2 from Darüssafaka to Haciosman opened on May 23, taking the line length to 18 km. The southern extension of M2 from Sishane to Yenikapi over the new Golden Horn Bridge is expected to open in 2014. Waterloo Regional Council approved ...
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NewsThales wins Edmonton LRT signalling contract
CANADA: Thales announced on July 9 that it had been awarded a contract to provide signalling and train control technology for an extension of Edmonton's North LRT to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology which is due to open in April 2014. Under a C$45m package which includes upgrading work, Thales ...
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NewsPrime Minister launches MY Rapid Transit project
MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Najib Razak officially launched the MY Rapid Transit project on July 8, granting approval for the Sungai Buloh - Kajang Line. The 51 km metro line is the first of three totalling 156 km planned under the Greater Kuala Lumpur initiative which aims to put the ...
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NewsShenzhen metro keeps expanding
CHINA: Shenzhen metro continues to grow with four extensions planned and a new line inaugurated in June. Five more lines - 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 - have been approved and construction will start this year, with openings envisaged from late 2015 to mid-2018. A 19·7 km 12-station extension ...
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NewsMetro projects underway in Changsha, Xi'an, Wuhan and Xiamen
CHINA: Work on the first phase of Changsha metro lines 3 and 4 is expected to get underway by the end of the year. The southwest-northeast Line 3 would be 33·4 km long with 24 stations and Line 4 would run northwest-southeast for 29·1 km with 21 ...
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NewsSanto Domingo puts Line 2 financing in place
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The national Congress has approved an international financing package covering the railway systems elements for the 11·5 km first phase of Santo Domingo's east-west metro Line 2. Civil works are already underway on the initial stage of Line 2, between Los Alcarrizos and J P Duarte; this will ...
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NewsKøbenhavn councils agree Ring 3 tram project
DENMARK: A framework agreement for the development of a tram line paralleling the busy Ring 3 ring road in western København was signed by the Transport Ministry, capital region and 11 local councils on June 29. Planned for opening in 2020, the 28 km line would run from Lundtofte in ...
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NewsAthens metro line reopens
GREECE: Attiko Metro reopened the underground section of Line 1 between Attiki and Monastiraki on June 7 following completion of track renewal work (MR 3.11 p48). However, the discovery of archaeological remains has halted work on the section between Omonia and Thissio, which is currently limited to single-track operation. As ...
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NewsFirst line opens under £1·4bn Manchester tram expansion
UK: Revenue service on the 2·7 km Metrolink branch from Trafford Bar to St Werburgh’s Road in Chorlton began on July 7.‘It is both an historic occasion and a sign of the exciting future in store for the network, as we continue our £1·4 billion expansion — the single biggest ...
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NewsSun helps to cool burning Phoenix
USA: Push-button operated on-demand cooling has been installed in the seating area of Phoenix Metro's 3rd Street/Washington light rail stop. Developed and funded by NRG Thermal, the system uses solar power to operate overhead cool air blowers linked to the district cooling network. It was launched on July 6, when ...
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NewsEdinburgh votes to save tram project
UK: By a single vote, City of Edinburgh Council resolved to go ahead with completion of a truncated initial phase of the tram project on June 30. The 13·4 km of Line 1 from the airport to St Andrew Square will be completed, however the eastern section to Leith ...
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NewsOlsztyn tramway construction contract
POLAND: Olsztyn city council has awarded Spanish construction company FCC a €62·5m contract to build an 11·5 km tram line with 19 stops in the city. The route comprises a central 7·3 km double-track section running from the main PKP station in the northeast to Osiedle Jaroty in the south, ...
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NewsMilano metro Line 4 turnkey contract awarded
ITALY: A consortium of Impregilo, Astaldi, Ansaldo STS, AnsaldoBreda, Sirti and ATM has been selected for a turnkey contract to build and operate Milano metro Line 4. Line 4 will be 15·2 km long with 21 stations, connecting Linate airport to San Cristoforo with interchanges to Line ...
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NewsLithium-ion wayside energy storage trials at SEPTA
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is working with Viridity Energy, Saft and Envitech Energy Inc to test an energy storage system at Letterly substation on the Market-Frankford metro line in Philadelphia. Viridity Energy has selected Saft's Intensium Max20 lithium-ion storage batteries to capture and store excess power produced by Septa ...
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NewsSantiago metro expansion next year
CHILE: Following an announcement by President Sebastián Piñera that construction of Santiago metro lines 3 and 6 would start in 2012, Metro Santiago issued a tender for project management and technical assistance on June 13. Submissions are due by July 28. Line 3 would be 21·2 km long with 18 ...
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NewsFirst Waratah EMU enters service at last
AUSTRALIA: The first Waratah double-deck EMU being supplied for Sydney’s CityRail suburban network by Reliance Rail finally entered revenue service on July 1, around 18 months behind schedule. The inaugural unit was dispatched from Redfern by the Chief Executive of RailCorp Rob Mason, who said he was 'very excited' to ...
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NewsPresident launches construction of Astana light rail line
KAZAKHSTAN: President Nursultan Nazarbayev laid a foundation stone at Nazarbayev University to launch construction of Astana's planned 41·8 km light rail network on July 4. Scheduled to open from 2014, the line will run from the international airport to the Abu Dhabi Plaza development, where it will split into ...