This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
On February 14 revenue services started on the 5·4 km 10-stop east-to-north extension of Lyon tram Line T6, linking Hôpitaux Est – Pinel to La Doua-Gaston Berger, closing the circle. T6 is expected to serve 55 000 passengers a day by 2030.
Halle operator HAVAG has taken delivery of the first of 39 Stadler MGT-M ‘short TINA’ trams. The 30·4 m long vehicle is specifically adapted to the city’s requirements including rapid passenger flows at frequent stops. It has 64 seats, space for 103 standees and driver assistance systems including collision protection.
The International Association of Public Transport has selected Hong Kong’s MTR Corp as the host of the 2028 UITP Summit, the first time in over a century that the annual summit will be held in the Asia-Pacific region. Around 10 000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected at the three-day event. ‘MTR looks forward to showcasing the city’s highly efficient and sustainable public transport model, developed through the joint efforts of the government, industry and society’, said the transport operator’s CEO Jeny Yeung.
The Finnish city of Turku has begun consultation ahead of the procurement of 14 trams for the proposed 12 km tramway which would link the port with Varissuo. A vote on whether to proceed with the project is expected this summer, with opening envisaged for autumn 2033.
On March 4 Rostock council backed the planned 3·8 km Tram West extension from the zoo to Reutershagen. This is intended to provide faster journeys with fewer transfers, and make the tram network more resilient to disruption. Planning and design work will now be progressed and funding secured, with construction scheduled for 2028-31.
Alstom has signed a €23m four-year contract to provide preventive and corrective maintenance of the Cityflo 350 signalling system it supplied for Quito metro Line 1, as well as obsolescence management and potential upgrades. The project will involve Ecuadorian technical teams, as part of a commitment to generating qualified jobs, promoting knowledge transfer, professional training and the development of local talent.
On March 2 Pesa Bydgoszcz delivered the first of 14 three-car Elf 3.0 electric multiple-units it is supplying to Łódź regional operator Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna under contracts signed in 2023 and 2024 valued at a total of 455m złoty.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has awarded Woh Hup Engineering a S$285m contract for the design and construction of underground station DE1 on the Downtown Line 2 Extension, and a joint venture of Samwoh Corp and China Communications Construction Co a S$450m contract for the design and construction of the NS6/DE2 interchange station, including underground station DE2 on the DTL and a connected above ground station NS6 between Yew Tee and Kranji on the North-South Line.
Arup has appointed Tony Gee & Partners to lead the design of the 800 m next phase of Coventry City Council’s Very Light Rail demonstrator scheme.
Talanx Group subsidiary Ampega Asset Management has arranged several debt tranches with various disbursement dates to facilitate 100m of investment by Köln transport operator KVB including a new light rail depot, the installation of charging infrastructure and an emission-free bus fleet. Participants include life insurance companies of HDI and Neue Leben, among other institutional investors. ‘With this financing, we are promoting the mobility transition in a growing city with an increasing demand for sustainable transport ’, said Talanx CFO Dr Jan Wicke. ‘In doing so, we are contributing to the ecological transformation and the achievement of climate protection and digitalisation progress — a prime example of successful co-operation between the public sector and private investors.’
In the light of the conflict in Iran, UITP has cancelled its 2026 summit which was scheduled to take place in Dubai from April 21–23. It said it is exploring alternative opportunities to facilitate networking and maintain engagement ahead of the Hamburg summit in 2027.