Third metro line opened in Wuxi
CHINA: The first phase of Wuxi’s third metro line opened on October 28, running 28·5 km from Sumiao in the west of the city to Sunan Shuofang International Airport in the southeast.
Istanbul driverless metro line M7 opens
TURKEY: Metro Istanbul launched passenger services on the first stage of line M7 on October 28. This is the first driverless metro line to open on the European side of the city.
Lahore joins the metro club
PAKISTAN: The country’s first modern metro was opened on October 25, when the Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar inaugurated Lahore’s Orange Line.
Nürnberg metro extension opens
GERMANY: ‘The southwestern area of the city is now a little closer to the centre’, said Mayor Marcus König during the opening of a 1·1 km extension of Nürnberg metro line U3 from Gustav-Adolf-Straße to Großreuth bei Schweinau on October 15.
Ningbo Line 3 suburban extension opens
CHINA:·The second phase of the Yinfeng Line elevated suburban route, which forms a southern extension of Ningbo metro Line 3, was opened by the city’s Mayor Qiu Dongyao on September 27.
Jaipur metro Pink Line completed
INDIA: A two-station extension of the Jaipur metro Pink Line was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot via video link on September 23, the day that the metro reopened after a five-month suspension of services because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kunming opens metro Line 4
CHINA: The 43·4 km Kunming metro Line 4 opened on September 23, along with a 7·3 km extension of the existing Line 6.
Denver opens North Metro Rail
USA: Denver’s Regional Transportation District formally inaugurated the first phase of its North Metro Rail commuter service to Thornton on September 21, with a ceremony attended by RTD General Manager & CEO Paul Ballard, Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede and local authority representatives.
Keolis Downer to run Adelaide suburban network
AUSTRALIA: Keolis Downer has been awarded an A$2·1bn contract to operate the 122 km Adelaide Metro suburban rail network for eight years from the end of January 2021, with an optional four-year extension.
Bucuresti opens fifth metro line
ROMANIA: The first section of București metro Line M5 was formally inaugurated on September 15, with a ceremony at Eroilor station attended by President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, and Minister of Transport Lucian Bode.
Seoul inaugurates Suin line connection
SOUTH KOREA: The Suin and Bundang lines in Seoul have been connected with the opening of an 18·8 km link between Hanyang University at Ansan and Suwon.
Transport for London closes Twitter accounts
UK: Transport for London has started to consolidate its Twitter communications at its main account, and close the separate accounts it operates for London’s various transport modes and individual lines.
RATP Dev aims to make Cairo Line 3 ‘a world reference’
EGYPT: The government’s National Authority for Tunnels has awarded RATP Dev a €1·1bn contract to operate and maintain Cairo metro Line 3 for 15 years and commission future extensions.
First phase of Toshkent’s circular metro line opens
UZBEKISTAN: The first stage of a planned orbital metro line and an extension to an existing route have opened in Toshkent.
‘Most beautiful and cheapest’ metro line opens in Sofia
BULGARIA: The first phase of Sofia Metro Line M3 opened on August 26, running 7·8 km east–west from Hadzhi Dimitar on Bulevard Vladimir Vazov to Krasno Selo with eight stations.
Shijiazhuang Metro Line 2 opens
CHINA: Shijiazhuang Metro Line 2 opened on August 26, the last of three lines to be built under the city’s metro development plan for 2012-20.
Moscow ends trolleybus operation
RUSSIA: Moscow’s last six trolleybus services have ended, with five routes switching to diesel operation on August 25 and one route to battery buses.
Shenzhen opens two metro lines in one day
CHINA: A further two metro lines in Shenzhen opened on August 18, expanding the network by 78 km to 373 km and adding 51 stations.
Berlin S-Bahn tenders invited
GERMANY: Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg has launched the competitive tendering process for the remaining two portions of the 331 route-km Berlin S-Bahn network, covering the North-South and east-west Stadtbahn service groups.
Seoul Metro Line 5 extension opens
SOUTH KOREA: An eastern extension of Seoul Metro Line 5 was opened for revenue service on August 8, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day.