MBTA to roll out Violet Edge across commuter rail fleet
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is to deploy Wi-Tronix’s Violet Edge technology across the fleet of diesel locomotives used on Boston commuter rail services.
Seoul GTX Line A train contract awarded
SOUTH KOREA: The SG Rail special purpose company formed to design, finance and build Line A of the Great Train Express network of commuter lines around Seoul has awarded Hyundai Rotem a 345bn won contract to supply 15 trainsets by 2024.
London Underground, rail and bus services cut by coronavirus
UK: Major cuts to metro, rail and bus services were announced by Transport for London on March 18, with the operator explaining that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had asked it to focus on enabling ‘critical workers to make essential journeys’ during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus pushes switch from cash to card payment
NEW ZEALAND: Cash sales of tickets on the Metlink transport network in Greater Wellington will end on March 23, in a move which Metlink said was designed ‘to stay one step ahead of Covid-19 and give our passengers and staff more peace of mind’.
Baku circular railway completed
AZERBAIJAN: The Abşeron Peninsula circular railway has been completed, with President Ilham Aliyev inaugurating the reopened Pirşağı – Görədil – Novxanı – Sumqayıt section on March 18 to complete a 91 route-km electrified railway ring serving Baku and its suburbs.
Federal funding underpins Californian capacity enhancements
USA: Los Angeles commuter operator Metrolink has been awarded $10·7m from the federal Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements grant programme to support safety and speed improvement projects in the busy Burbank – Anaheim rail corridor.
Takanawa Gateway opens
JAPAN: East Japan Railway opened its Takanawa Gateway suburban station in Tokyo for revenue service on March 14.
RailcarRx develops customised decision support tool for MBTA
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s operations and maintenance department has deployed a customised data analytics and decision support platform developed by RailcarRx to help improve its asset lifecycle management processes.
Warszawa suburban EMU contract awarded
POLAND: Suburban operator SKM Warszawa has awarded Newag a contract to supply 21 electric multiple-units by November 30 2022.
Delhi – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit railway works in full swing
INDIA: The government of Uttar Pradesh has allocated Rs9bn for construction of the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut regional express route in the state budget presented on February 18. This follows an allocation of Rs24·9bn in the national budget.
Philippine National Railways to deploy GMV operations management system
PHILIPPINES: Technology company GMV has won a contract to supply Philippine National Railways with its SAE-r fleet operation, management and planning platform.
Two bids to operate Helsinki commuter services
FINLAND: Greater Helsinki transport authority HSL has received two bids for a contract to operator commuter train services for 10 years from June 27 2021.
São Paulo Metro develops a station navigation system for blind passengers
BRAZIL: Metrô de São Paulo has developed an infrared navigation system to help blind passengers navigate stations.
San Francisco Bay transport integration proposal
USA: Californian Assemblyman David Chiu has put forward a bill which would require all 27 transit agencies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area’s nine counties to create a ‘seamlessly integrated public transport system’.
Ile-de-France seeks to open RER network to competition by 2030
FRANCE: Ile-de-France is seeking to accelerate the opening up of local rail services to competition, regional President Valérie Pécresse announced on February 5.
Moscow suburban EMU order
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Demikhovo plans is to supply a further 10 EP2D 11-car DC electric multiple-units to Moscow operator Central Suburban Passenger Co between February and May this year.
Singapore’s Thomson–East Coast metro line opens
SINGAPORE: The first 3·2 km section of SMRT’s Thomson–East Coast Line opened for passenger service on January 31.
First section of Taipei Circular Line opens
TAIWAN: The first section of Taipei Metro’s fully automated Circular metro line is now in operation, serving the Daipinglin district in the south of the city.
New Zealand government announces investment in commuter capacity and freight
NEW ZEALAND: Rail has been allocated a NZ$1·1bn share of a NZ$6·8bn package of transport infrastructure funding announced by the government on January 29.
Hanoi Metro lets three-year ticketing contract for Line 3
VIETNAM: French company RATP Smart Systems has signed a €12m contract with Hanoi Metro covering design and supply of the future Line 3’s ticketing system.