Hitachi Rail awarded Philadelphia metro train contract
USA: The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority board has approved a $724·3m contract for Hitachi Rail to supply 200 metro cars to replace the current fleet on Philadelphia’s Market-Frankford Line.
New trains and CBTC to increase Bilbao metro capacity
SPAIN: Metro de Bilbao has announced a €736m plan to increase capacity by 12% by upgrading its metre-gauge network and replacing its oldest vehicles.
Driverless tram operation demonstrated in depot
FINLAND: The driverless movement of a tram around the Tampere tramway’s depot has been demonstrated, with Škoda Group saying its ’marks a significant step towards full autonomy’.
First light rail vehicle delivered to Maryland’s Purple Line
USA: The first of 28 five-section light rail vehicles for the Purple Line in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC has been delivered from CAF’s factory at Elmira in New York state.
Driverless tram scheduled to carry first passengers in September
RUSSIA: Moskva’s first driverless tram is to begin carrying passengers in September, the city’s Department of Transport has announced.
Carbon fibre metro trainset to enter service
CHINA: CRRC Qingdao Sifang has unveiled its six-car Cetrovo 1.0 Carbon Star Express metro trainset, which features carbon fibre composite bodyshells, bogies and other load-bearing structures.
São Paulo Line 17 monorail delivery
BRAZIL: The first of 14 SkyRail monorail trainsets which Chinese manufacturer BYD is supplying for the future São Paulo metro Line 17 arrived at the port of Santos on June 29.
Pre-series Ruhrbahn high-floor light rail vehicle deliveries begin
GERMANY: Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr transport operator Ruhrbahn has taken delivery of the first of 51 Type HF1 high-floor light vehicles ordered from CAF.
Bozankaya wins Beograd tram tender
SERBIA: On July 11 Beograd city transport operator GSP named Turkish supplier Bozankaya as the winner of a 7·8bn dinar contract to supply 25 trams.
Longer tram is ‘an advertisement for leaving your car at home’
GERMANY: The first of the longest trams ever ordered for Berlin has been unveiled by operator BVG. The nine-section trams will be used to increase capacity on Route M4 from Hackescher Markt to Falkenberg and Zingster Strasse, which carries up to 18 trams/direction/h and around 100 000 passengers/day.
Hamburger Hochbahn signs €2·8bn deal for CBTC and trains offering a ‘completely new experience’
GERMANY: Hamburg city transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn has signed a €2·8bn framework agreement for Alstom to supply up to 374 metro trainsets and communications-based train control equipment.
Mazyr to take delivery of first trams since 1988
BELARUS: The Mazyr tramway which is owned and operated by the oil refinery which it serves is about to take delivery of its first new trams since the 20 km line opened in 1988.
Rebodied tram unveiled
RUSSIA: The BKM-Siberia joint venture of Belarussian manufacturer Belkommunmash and the city of Novosibirsk unveiled its first rebodied partially low-floor Type T701 tram at the Siberian Transport Forum trade fair which was held in the city during June.
Omaha Streetcar project selects CAF trams
USA: The Omaha Streetcar Authority has selected CAF to supply trams for the line which is scheduled to open in 2027.
Toruń tram framework contract awarded
POLAND: Pesa Bydgoszcz has beaten Turkish company Bozankaya to win a framework contract to supply MZK Toruń with up to 20 low-floor unidirectional trams.
São Paulo metro Line 6 train design revealed
BRAZIL: Alstom and São Paulo Metro Line 6 (Orange) PPP construction and operating concessionaire Linha Universidade have unveiled the design for the 22 six-car trainsets to be supplied for the future 15·3 km route.
CAF sole bidder to supply Bologna trams
ITALY: CAF is the sole bidder for the tram tender in Bologna, the city council announced on June 25. The municipality is currently evaluating the offer and it still hopes to sign a contract by the end of the summer.
Detroit to acquire peoplemover cars from Toronto
USA: Municipal officials in Detroit have approved funding for Detroit Transportation Corp to replace its fleet of automated peoplemover cars with vehicles from Toronto.
PCC trolley cars return to service in Philadelphia
USA: Presidents’ Conference Committee trams dating back to 1947 have re-entered service on Philadelphia’s Route 15 following refurbishment.
‘Extremely exacting’ Madrid metro train order signed
SPAIN: Metro de Madrid has signed a contract for sole bidder CAF to supply 40 six-car trainsets to operate on large-profile lines 6 and 8.