This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
Pune IT City Metro Rail Ltd has unveiled the first of 22 three-car Alstom Metropolis trainsets for the 23 km Line 3 which will connect the IT hub at Hinjawadi with the central business district in Shivajinagar. It said the trains ‘sport a modern, vibrant livery; a design that’s not just eye-catching but truly reflects the spirit of a future-ready Pune.’
A 19·9 km, 16-station isolated section of metro Line 4 in Tianjin has opened between between Xizhan in the centre and Xiaojie in the northwest. A four-station central section to link the extension to the existing eastern section at Dongnanjiao is under construction. The line was developed in a public-private partnership involving China Railway Group Ltd and government investor Tianjin Rail Transit Group in the financing, construction and operation.
Construction has started on the 3·6 km, two-station extension of Brasília metro’s Orange Line from Samambaia west to Avenida Sul. Works are being undertaken by the consortium of CG Construções and JFJ Tecnologia em Instalações Elétricas.
A groundbreaking ceremony has been hold for the 7·5 km southeastern extension of the Ankaray light metro line in Ankara, which will run from Dikimevi to Natoyolu.
Teleste is to supply a complete onboard passenger information system including displays, CCTV, Ethernet connectivity and an automatic passenger counting system for 16 battery-equipped trams that Hitachi Rail is to build for Firenze; there is an option for up to 14 more trams.
Göteborgs Spårvägar reports that it saved 100 000 kWh in 45 days by shutting down trams while they are stabled in Rantorget depot overnight. If rolled across all depots it estimates that it could reduce its energy consumption by 4%, in support of a target of saving 5%.
Syrian Transport Minister Yarub Badr and Governor Maher Marwan met a UAE-based investment company on August 4 to discuss reviving long-standing plans to develop a metro in Damascus. The proposed Green Line would run 16·5 km from Al-Maadamiya in the southwest to Al-Qaboun in the northeast.
Paris transport authority Ile-de-France-Mobilités has agreed an operating contract with RATP for 2025-29 which will see €10·5bn invested in the modernisation of the network.
The Sound Transit board has identified its preferred route for the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, which would extend light rail services about 16 km from Federal Way to Tacoma with four new stops. The board will take a definitive decision after publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2027. Construction is envisaged to start in 2028 for opening in 2035. ’The Tacoma Dome extension will seamlessly connect Pierce County to SeaTac, Seattle, the Eastside, Lynnwood and, ultimately, Everett’, said Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine. ‘It will transform regional travel so fundamentally that we’ll wonder how we ever did without it.’
Metrobus has been appointed to manage advertising at 45 stations on Grand Paris Express lines 14 Sud, 15 Sud, 16, 17 and 18.
Frontline staff at Vancouver‘s TransLink are now wearing badges saying ’hello’ in more than 40 languages to let customers know which languages they speak in addition to English.
Oslo operator Sporveien has awarded Siemens Mobility Norway a contract to provide signalling and train control systems for the future Diakonhjemmet station between the current Steinerud and Frøen stations on the Holmenkollbanen line. Commissioning is scheduled for late December 2027, replacing the two existing stations.
Reed Lanham has been named Chief Operating Officer at Fort Worth’s Trinity Metro. He was previously Vice-President of Rail at the transit operator.