This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
The five three-car electric multiple-units ordered for US$35m from CRRC Qingdao Sifang by Chilean national operator EFE to increase capacity on the Limache – Puerto suburban service in the Valparaíso area have been shipped from Qingdao, with scheduled arrival in Q4 of this year.
On July 25 GPP Osijek awarded Končar KEV a €18·5m contract to supply 10 additional trams. An initial 10 were ordered in September 2023.
On August 2 the US Senate confirmed Marcus J Molinaro as the 16th Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. Molinaro was US Representative for New York’s 19th Congressional District, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Small Business. The FTA said ’he brings decades of executive and legislative experience to the challenge of modernising America’s transit systems and ensuring they are safe, accessible, accountable, and responsive to the needs of all Americans.’ Acting Administrator Tariq Bokhari becomes Deputy Administrator.
Fairtiq’s location-based swipe-in swipe-out ticking functionality is now available within the München Navigator S-Bahn app. The app recognises the distance travelled based on swipes at the beginning and end of the journey and automatically calculates the cheapest fare, with capping at the price of a day ticket. The first 2 000 passengers who used the new function received a starting credit of €10.
Hyundai Rotem has completed the first training sessions for domestic manufacturer National Egyptian Railway Industries Company’s engineers and managers on July 25. The local company is the Korean group’s local assembly partner responsible for the delivery of 40 eight-car trainsets being supplied for Cairo metro lines 2 and 3.
Databout has been awarded a 9m złoty contract to design a 3·6 km long tramway extension to the Gocław district in the west of Warszawa.
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s Security Department has received the US Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration Gold Standard Award. This follows a Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement, which looks at 17 categories including security programme management and accountability, security and emergency response training, drills and exercises, public awareness, protective measures for the National Terrorism Advisory System threat levels, physical and cyber security strategies, personnel security and information sharing and security.
Tyne & Wear Metro operator Nexus has begun a £2·1m project to install Scheidt & Bachmann ticket gates at Regent Centre station, and is studying which other stations would be suitable as part of efforts to enhance security and improve revenue protection on the light rail network serving Newcastle-upon-Tyne. ‘Everyone should feel safe when using public transport but sadly I know that too often this isn’t the reality, particularly for women and girls I speak to’, said Mayor of the North East Combined Authority Kim McGuinness. ‘I promised to put ticket barriers and staff at more Metro stations and now we have committed the money to do that.’ At present 13 of the 60 stations are gated, and 75% of customers pass through a gate at the start or end of their journey.