Following completion of the first phase of testing, Praha urban transport operator DPP launched trial revenue operation on June 20 with the first of its ForCity Plus 52T trams being supplied by Škoda Group. The three-month trial is taking place on Route 12 between Sídliště Barrandov and Lehovec.
Angers Loire Métropole has renewed RATP Dev’s contract to operate the Irigo tram and bus network from January 1 2026 until 2031. ‘RATP Dev has been operating Angers’ multimodal network since 2019 and in 2023 supported the successful launch of two new tram lines’, said RATP Dev CEO Hiba Farès on July 8. ’With passenger numbers up 26% and more than 43 million trips per year, the figures speak for themselves. We will continue this trajectory to boost ridership even further across the different transport modes whilst enhancing the environmental exemplarity of the network.’
Chicago Transit Authority is to undertake a pilot deployment of Sensonic’s distributed acoustic sensing technology to use existing optic fibre cables to automatically detect intrusions and fallen objects on its tracks. Sensonic says a single sensing device has the capacity to cover up to a 75 km range.
The 18 km Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah metro line in Makkah, which only operates during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, completed 2 154 trips and transported 1·87 million passengers over seven days in June. Operator CRRC said ‘challenged by high temperatures and extremely high passenger volumes, CRRC’s operation and maintenance team again delivered a pleasant passenger experience for pilgrims through professional service and unwavering dedication’. Each 12-car CRRC Changchun train is able to transport more than 5 000 passengers per trip, with a throughput of 72 000 passengers/direction/h.
Lead contractor Gamuda has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to supply its SelTrac communications-based train control and Alvea SCADA systems for the Xidong and Keelung line projects in New Taipei.
In June Škoda announced that it had completed delivery of 22 Type 40T trams to Plzeň operator PMDP.
An independent specialist is to assess the operational worthiness of Blackpool Transport’s heritage trams, with a view to having them back in operation for the October school holiday. The inspections ‘will give us a clear idea of how many trams we can bring back into service’, said Heritage Operations Manager Martin Gurr on July 7. ‘We will then carry out the additional work, including fitting them with the latest speed restriction technology and a programme of intensive driver and conductor training’. The trams will be stored and maintained alongside the modern Bombardier Transportation fleet at Starr Gate depot.