Plzeň tram delivered
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Transportation has delivered the first of two ForCity Smart X34 (40T) trams ordered by Plzeň operator PMDP, and test running is planned to get underway in August.
First tram delivered for Taganrog network modernisation
RUSSIA: UKVZ has delivered the first of 60 Type 71-628 trams which it is to supply for the modernisation of the Taganrog tramway.
Calypso host card emulation goes live in Strasbourg
TICKTING: The Calypso Networks Association has announced the completion of the first deployment of the HCE Calypso Interoperable Application. This enables transport authorities to provide Calypso ticketing using host card emulation software on Android smartphones, greatly expanding the range of devices which passengers can use to tap and pay or ...
Light rail safety strategy published
UK: Research into light rail safety, expanding the range of guidance documents and the continued development of a new risk model and a robust accident reporting system are amongst the projects detailed in the Light Rail Safety & Standards Board’s business plan.
Praha awards first Line D construction contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: Construction of Praha metro Line D is expected to get underway next year, following the award of the civil works contract for the most challenging section of the 10·6 km route.
Training academy to support tram network expansion
UK: West Midlands Metro has opened a training academy at its Wednesbury depot, as the tram operator plans to create more than 160 driving, maintenance, ticket inspection and support jobs as part of a £1∙3bn network expansion programme.
English light rail networks get final tranche of Covid-19 funding
UK: The government has announced £56m of funding to support the operation of Manchester Metrolink, Tyne & Wear Metro, Sheffield Supertram, Nottingham Express Transit, West Midlands Metro and Blackpool Tramway services from July 20 to April 2022.
LIOS light rail extensions proposed in Lisboa
PORTUGAL: The municipalities of Lisboa, Oeiras and Loures have finalised a co-operation agreement to proceed with development of 24 km of new light rail lines around the capital.
Clean air funding for Magnitogorsk tram order
RUSSIA: UKVZ is to supply 10 single-section Type 71-623-02.01 partly low-floor trams to the city of Magnitogorsk.
Wi-fi used to estimate station usage
UK: Transport for London is using aggregated and depersonalised data from its wi-fi network to provide real-time information on how busy London Underground stations are at any particular time of the day.
Athens metro Line 4 main works to begin
GREECE: Major construction works for Athens metro Line 4 are to start this summer, after the contract for final design work, construction and commissioning was signed by Attiko Metro and a consortium of Alstom, local construction company Avax and Italian tunnelling company Ghella.
Paris orders more MP14 trainsets for Line 11
FRANCE: Île-de-France Mobilités has exercised an option to order a further 19 MP14 rubber-tyred trainsets from Alstom for the Paris Metro.
Made-to-measure accommodation bogies for tram refurbishment
UK: West Midlands Metro commissioned depot equipment specialist Mechan to produce three bespoke accommodation bogies to enable its trams to be stored outdoors while their bogies are refurbished.
London Underground detrainment equipment contract awarded
UK: Siemens Mobility has selected Huntingdon-based composites specialist TRB Lightweight Structures to supply emergency evacuation equipment for the 94 Inspiro trainsets which it is to build to replace London Underground’s Piccadilly Line fleet from 2025.
Tyne & Wear Metro train interior design revealed
UK: The interiors of the new Tyne & Wear Metro fleet will provide an ‘open-plan and linear’ seating layout, with design changes made following feedback from passengers, staff and user groups.
Call for 2022 to be the European Year of Rail & Public Transport
EUROPE: With plans to celebrate 2021 as the Year of Rail having been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, five European transport associations have jointly called on the European Union to extend and expand the concept and make 2022 the European Year of Rail & Public Transport.
De Lijn orders Antwerpen trams
BELGIUM: Vlaanderen transport operator De Lijn has placed a firm order for CAF to supply a further 18 Urbos 100 trams for use in Antwerpen.
Praha tram extension parallels urban development
CZECH REPUBLIC: Praha city transport operator DPP has begun construction of Phase 1 of an extension of the Hlubočepy – Sídliště Barrandov tram line to Slivenec in the southwest of the capital. The extension is mainly outside the existing conurbation, and is being built in co-ordination with development projects.
Football stadium graphics installed at London Underground stations
UK: Transport for London’s commercial team worked with signage and large-format printing company Links Signs to install decorative graphics at five London Underground stations to mark the Euro 2020 football tournament.
Barcelona’s Tibidabo funicular becomes Firefly
SPAIN: The funicular which has linked Barcelona’s Plaça del Doctor Andreu with the amusement park on Monte Tibidabo since 1901 has reopened following a €18·3m modernisation. It is hoped that the project will help to reduce private car movements on the roads to Monte Tibidabo by 5%.