Metro and monorail testing underway as Cairo network grows
EGYPT: Test running on Cairo’s East Nile Monorail and on two branches of metro Line 3 started on November 5.
Dallas Fort Worth airport peoplemover modernisation contract
USA: Alstom has been awarded a $72·2m contract to modernise the Skylink automated peoplemover at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Inglewood Transit Connector peoplemover project makes progress
USA: The Federal Transit Administration has given a positive rating to the Inglewood Transit Connector peoplemover project, making it eligible for funding from the Capital Investment Grants programme.
Suspended monorail with glass floor opens in China
CHINA: The Optics Valley Skyrail suspended monorail has opened in Wuhan, with glass-floored vehicles giving passengers a view downwards as well as sideways.
Praha funicular cars ordered
CZECH REPUBLIC: Praha transport operator DPP has awarded Doppelmayr/Garaventa a KC138m contract to supply a pair of replacement cars for the Petřín hill funicular railway.
Santiago de los Caballeros monorail contract awarded
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Public transport development agency SITRAM has selected the SIF consortium of Alstom and Sofratesa to supply railway systems and rolling stock for the elevated monorail under construction in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Shanghai Pujiang Line maintenance contract signed
CHINA: Shanghai metro operator Shanghai Shentong Metro Group has awarded the CRRC Puzhen Alstom Transportation Systems joint venture a contract to maintain the rolling stock and railway systems on the Pujiang Line automated peoplemover.
HS2 Interchange peoplemover procurement begins
UK: HS2 Ltd has begun procurement of an automated peoplemover to link the future High Speed 2 Interchange station in Solihull with the National Exhibition Centre, the existing Birmingham International station and the airport.
Bangkok Yellow Line monorail opens
THAILAND: The opening of the full length of the MRT Yellow Line monorail running 30·4 km from Lat Phrao to Samrong in the east of Bangkok with 23 stations was marked with a visit by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on June 19.
Additional Sengkang-Punggol LRT cars ordered
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a contract to supply a further eight two-car rubber-tyre automated light metro trainsets for the Sengkang and Punggol Light Rapid Transit lines.
Luton Airport DART cable-hauled peoplemover opens
UK: Full services on the Direct Air-Rail Transit automated cable-hauled peoplemover linking Luton Airport Parkway railway station with the airport terminal began running on March 27, following a soft launch with a limited timetable on March 10.
Alstom to operate Newark airport monorail for seven years
USA: Alstom has been awarded a €250m contract to operate and maintain the AirTrain Newark monorail that links Newark Liberty International Airport main line station to the airport terminals and parking facilities.
Studies back Dortmund H-Bahn expansion
GERMANY: There is a favourable economic case for the expansion of Dortmund’s H-Bahn suspension monorail, studies have found.
Sepulveda Transit Corridor programme management contract awarded
USA: Los Angeles Metro Transportation Authority has appointed Anser Advisory to support development of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.
Phoenix airport peoplemover extended and trains lengthened
USA: Passenger services on a 4 km extension to the PHX Sky Train automated peoplemover system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona began on December 20.
Santiago de los Caballeros monorail contract signed
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The Monotel SDC consortium has been awarded a 36-month contract to provide construction supervision and commissioning services for the monorail under construction in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Monorail market small but ‘dynamically growing’
INTERNATIONAL: Monorails are ‘comparatively small, but dynamically growing’ section of the transport market worth more than €2bn/year, according to a study undertaken by consultancy SCI Verkehr for the International Monorail Association and presented at InnoTrans.
Rubber-tyred metro trains with automatically-darkening windows ordered
SOUTH KOREA: Busan Transportation Corp has awarded Woojin Industrial Systems a 34·2bn won contract to supply nine two-car rubber-tyred automated guideway transit vehicles for the Yangsan Line.
Suspended maglev on test in Jiangxi
CHINA: Test running has started on an experimental suspended maglev in southern China, following the formal completion of an 800 m test track on August 9.
Bangkok Pink Line monorail branch agreed
THAILAND: Agreements have been signed for the construction of a branch off the Bangkok MRT Pink Line monorail to serve exhibition, hotel and retail destinations to the north of the city.