Stadler’s Bussnang factory is assembling the first of three light rail vehicles and bicycle carrying trailers ordered by Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen to renew the fleet on Stuttgart’s 2 km rack tramway. The first of the line’s fifth generation of cars is scheduled to be delivered later this year, with all three in service in 2022. Around 2 800 passengers per day use the metre gauge line which dates from 1884.
Buckingham Group Contracting has won a contract to build stabling sidings at the Docklands Light Railway’s Beckton depot in east London to accommodate the longer trains ordered from CAF. Subcontractors include Iconsys (signalling), EMEG Electrical (M&E engineering), Sonic Rail Services (track installation) and RT Infrastructure Solutions (skilled workers).
Moscow Metro is fitting ticket offices with equipment to assist passengers who use hearing aids.
Valencia‘s FGV has awarded Construcciones Ferroviarias de Madrid a €11·3 m four-year contract for the supply of spare parts for the bogies of 30 four-car Vossloh España Class 4300 EMUs supplied in 2006-11 and used on metro lines 1 and 2. These have now covered around 3 million km in service, and heavy overhauls will involve complete dismantling, and the checking of running gear and suspension.
Teleste and JCDecaux are to supply passenger information systems for the Tampere tramway in a deal which covers 90 double-sided TFT LCD displays at the stops and seven years of maintenance. Teleste said the long-term deal would provide increased flexibility to accommodate technology changes while lowering the threshold for new deployments. ‘Teleste’s ambition is to be a lifetime partner for our customers’, said Jörn Grasse, Vice-President of Rail Information Solutions. ‘Passenger information system as-a-service supports this goal.’
The Tyne & Wear Metro has fitted ultraviolet lights to sanitisers on all 36 escalators on its network. ‘The handrails are some of the most high-touch surfaces on our network’, said Customer Services Director Huw Lewis. ‘We already have a rigorous cleaning regime across all of our stations and trains, but are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that the transport network is clean and Covid-secure.’