Metro news – Page 201
-
NewsUrban rail news in brief - March 2011
Tendering for operating concessions in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Haag, due to have been completed by January 2012, has been postponed for a year by Transport Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen. The Federation of Netherlands Mobility Companies, comprising Connexxion, Arriva, Syntus and Veolia, believes the deferral ...
-
NewsTren Eléctrico concession awarded
PERU: State agency Proinversión has awarded the Tren Lima, Línea 1 consortium of Graña y Montero SA and Ferrovías a 30-year concession to operate and maintain metro Line 1 in Lima. GYM and Ferrovías have promised to invest US$290m in the network, US$200m of which will be spent on new ...
-
NewsTorino metro reaches Lingotto
ITALY: Torino metro operator GTT inaugurated the 3·6 km section of Line 1 between Porta Nuova and Lingotto on March 6, adding six more stations. Work on the extension started in September 2009. Testing and commissioning began in October last year and the route was handed over to GTT ...
-
NewsSEPTA Silverliners enter service
USA: The first two locally-produced Silverliner V commuter EMU vehicles entered revenue service on February 22, approximately a year behind schedule. They were coupled to three prototype cars produced at Hyundai Rotem’s plant in South Korea. Five additional cars should join the fleet this month.The 120 cars, costing $330m, were ...
-
NewsHouston buys Siemens Avantos
USA: Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority on February 24 allocated up to $83m to purchase an additional 19 Siemens S70 Avanto light rail vehicles, supplementing its existing fleet of 18. The 29 m long 70% low-floor cars will be part of a 180-unit option on a base order of 77 ...
-
NewsMetrolinx orders DMUs to work airport rail link
CANADA: The Metrolinx board of directors has approved the purchase of 12 two-car diesel multiple units for Toronto’s future airport rail link from Sumitomo Corp and its partner Nippon Sharyo Inc for C$53m. The DMUs will be similar to the 18 cars ordered by Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Authority to ...
-
Metro Report InternationalHawaiian blessing marks start of Honolulu light rail project
USA: A 90 min ceremony complete with a hula and a traditional Hawaiian blessing marked the official groundbreaking for the 32 km high-capacity light rail line linking East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center on February 22. State and local officials and supporters from the business community were ...
-
NewsTransport for London to launch contactless payment in 2012
UK: Transport for London is upgrading its smart card reader software to enable passengers to pay for travel using contactless credit and debit cards. Underground, Docklands Light Railway, tram, London Overground and bus services will be covered by the end of 2012, and discussions are underway with train operating companies. ...
-
NewsFirst tram-train arrives in Lyon
FRANCE: The first of 24 Citadis Dualis tram-trains for the TER network west of Lyon arrived at the L'Arbresle maintenance centre on February 18, having left Alstom’s assembly plant in Valenciennes two days earlier.Two more vehicles will be delivered to SNCF in Lyon during the next few weeks. The three ...
-
NewsBucuresti metro expansion tendering
ROMANIA: Bucuresti metro operator Metrorex has announced its intention to call tenders for a 2·26bn lei, 30-month contract to build the first section of metro Line 5 between Eroilor and Statia Piata Iancului. The line will eventually link Drumul Taberei in the southwest to Pantelimon at the eastern end ...
-
NewsPublic asked to name Montréal metro trains
CANADA: Montréal metro operator STM unveiled the design of its future trains on February 18, and is preparing to launch a publicity campaign across stations, local media and Facebook to find a name for the fleet. A consortium of Bombardier and Alstom was awarded the C$1·2bn contract ...
-
NewsTurkish metro project management transferred
TURKEY: The decision taken by the Council of Ministers in June 2010 to transfer responsibility for urban rail projects to the Ministry of Transport has now been enacted. The intention is to relieve the pressure on municipal budgets created by the high cost of metro investments, especially in Istanbul and ...
-
NewsNew Orleans tram project approved
USA: The Regional Transit Authority in New Orleans has approved moving ahead with final design on the French Quarter tram loop from Canal Street to Press Street via North Rampart Street and St Claude Avenue. In addition, a 1·9 km spur would be built on Elysian Fields Avenue to a ...
-
NewsMetro automation gets green light in Brussels
BELGIUM: Presenting its results for 2010 at the beginning of February, Brussels public transport operator STIB unveiled a programme of enhancements to increase network capacity in 2011 and beyond.STIB carried a total of 311·6 million passengers in 2010, up 7% on the previous year, with the metro handling 48% of ...
-
NewsFunding allocated to 78 French urban transport projects
FRANCE: Transport Minister Natahalie Kosciusko-Morizet announced the final tranche of light rail, metro and bus funding allocations under the Grenelle de l’Environnement on February 9. The announcement covers a total of €590m allocated to 78 urban transport projects in 54 conurbations outside Ile-de-France. These include 29 tram projects (152 km), ...
-
NewsLow-floor trams in service as Istanbul extension testing begins
TURKEY: The Mayor of Istanbul attended a ceremony on February 3 marking the entry into service of the first 14 of 37 Citadis trams being supplied by Alstom Transport. The remainder will enter traffic in the coming weeks. The €73m contract for the trams was awarded by operator Istanbul Ulasim ...
-
NewsCSR Zhuzhou to supply Ningbo metro cars
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a contract to provide 22 six-car metro trains for the first metro line in Ningbo on January 27. The 21 km east-west Line 1 with 20 stations is expected to open in 2014, the initial phase of a planned six-line network in the port city in ...
-
NewsGovernment confirms local transport project funding
UK: Following a review which has brought a 14% reduction in the total cost, on February 4 the Department for Transport confirmed the allocation of funding that will enable nine rail and other local transport projects to go ahead. Additional schemes have been invited to bid for funding which is ...
-
NewsMilano metro M5 extension contract signed
ITALY: The city of Milano and the Metro 5 SpA special purpose vehicle signed a concession agreement on February 2 to build and operate the second phase of the automated metro Line M5. Metro 5 SpA began construction of the 6 km first phase of M5 in 2007. Linking ...
-
NewsZhengzhou metro Line 1 train contract awarded
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a 900m yuan contract to supply 25 trains for Zhengzhou metro Line 1 on January 18. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in June 2012 for opening during the first half of 2013. The aluminium-bodied Type B metro cars will be 19 m long ...