Urban transport industry news round-up
On July 10 the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was conducting an investigation after cracks were found on a total of four wheels on three Ottawa O-Train Line 1 LRVs during maintenance. The operator said supplier and maintenance contractor Alstom and the line’s PPP concessionaire RTM were inspecting ...
Next generation of Type B metro train design unveiled
CHINA: The next generation of Type B metro trainset was unveiled by CRRC Tangshan at the fourth World Intelligence Congress in Tianjin, where the driverless train arrived at a platform and opened and closed its doors autonomously.
First M7 metro trainset arrives in Brussels
BELGIUM: The first of 43 six-car Type M7 trainsets for the Brussels metro has arrived at the Haren depot for commissioning, operator STIB announced on July 13.
Škoda Transportation buys tram and bus maintenance business
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Transportation has agreed to purchase Ostrava public transport operator Dopravní Podnik Ostrava’s tram and bus maintenance business Ekova Electric.
€600m settlement ends legal action over Köln tunnel collapse
GERMANY: The city of Köln, transport operator KVB and construction consortium Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn Köln Los Süd have reached an out-of-court agreement to settle legal claims arising from the collapse of the city archive building during construction of the north-south Stadtbahn tunnel.
Foothill Gold Line extension construction begins
USA: Major construction work on the 14·6 km Foothill Gold Line extension of Los Angeles’ L Line light rail route was launched on July 10.
‘Look, book and pay’ integration
TICKETING: Fare payment technology company Cubic Transportation Systems and Intel’s journey planner development business Moovit are to co-operate to develop ‘look, book and pay’ technology for multi-modal journeys.
Taipei Metro Line 7 extension railway systems contract signed
TAIWAN: A consortium of Alstom and local engineering company CTCI has reached contractual close on the contract to supply rolling stock and railway systems for the second phase of Taipei’s Wanda Zhonghe Shulin Line.
Madrid metro Line 8 to be extended to Valdebebas
SPAIN: An extension of Madrid metro Line 8 is to be included in the future transport plan for the northeastern suburbs of the capital, Comunidad de Madrid Vice-President Ignacio Aguado announced on July 7.
Dubai Route 2020 metro extension inaugurated
UAE: Dubai’s 15 km Route 2020 metro line was formally inaugurated by the emirate’s Ruler and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on July 8, although revenue services are not expected to begin until September.
Calgary Transit deploys Masabi mobile ticketing
CANADA: Calgary Transit has rolled out Masabi’s My Fare contactless mobile ticketing platform across its network, following a pilot project on four routes.
Emergency support for Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams
UK: The Scottish Government is to provide up to £9m of emergency funding for the Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams to help mitigate the financial impact of the drop in ridership as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Urban transport industry news round-up
Kiepe Electric, IFTEC and Siemens have completed a project to modernise 14 three-section GT6N trams for Nürnberg operator VAG, which carried out refurbishment of the bogies, motors and brakes itself. Work is now underway on 26 four-section trams as part of a €24m life-extension project.
Wuppertal Schwebebahn services suspended amid tyre trouble
GERMANY: Weekday services on the Wuppertal Schwebebahn suspended monorail are to be withdrawn for up to a year to enable urgent guideway repairs, the operator has confirmed.
Road traffic expected to fall as Athens metro extension opens
GREECE: A 4 km extension of Athens metro Line 3 was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis on July 6, with revenue services starting the following day.
Trams return to Gorzów Wielkopolski
POLAND: Tram operations in Gorzów Wielkopolski have resumed following a three-year suspension while a major renewal programme was undertaken. Services restarted on July 2, as part of a celebrations marking the city’s 763th anniversary.
Berlin U-Bahn station to be renamed over racism concerns
GERMANY: Berlin city transport operator BVG intends to rename Mohrenstrasse station on U-Bahn Line U2 ‘out of understanding and respect’ for the ‘sometimes controversial’ debate about the name of the eponymous road, which uses an archaic term for people from North Africa.
Blackpool trams to resume as UK light rail operators reflect government guidance
UK: Blackpool’s trams are to begin operating once more from July 19, having been suspended since March 29 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Fare collection inclusivity with payment at shops
USA: Customers of transport operators which use Cubic Transportation Systems’ TouchPass digital ‘fare collection as a service’ platform will be able to add stored value to their ticketing accounts at local shops under a partnership agreement with payments technology company InComm.
Agra and Kanpur combined metro train and CBTC contract awarded
INDIA: State project promoter Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corp has awarded Bombardier Transport India a €245m contract to supply 67 three-car trainsets as well as Cityflo 650 communications-based train control for the metro projects in the cities of Kanpur and Agra.