Urban rail – Page 254
-
NewsHyundai Rotem wins train orders for two Istanbul metro projects
TURKEY: Hyundai Rotem announced on December 5 that it had signed a 156·5bn won contract to supply rolling stock for two Istanbul metro lines. Hyundai Rotem is to supply 10 four-car driverless trainsets for Line M8, which is being built between Bostancı and Dudullu on the Asian side of ...
-
NewsInnsbruck tramway extended
AUSTRIA: Passenger services on a 3 km Y-shaped western extension of Innsbruck’s metre-gauge tram network were launched on December 10, following inauguration celebrations five days earlier. The extension runs from the former terminus at Höttinger Au to Peerhofsiedlung, with a branch to Technik West which has been built as the ...
-
Metro Report InternationalRevenue operations begin on first section of Luxembourg tramway
LUXEMBOURG: The first section of the city of Luxembourg’s 16 km tramway opened for public service on December 10, with free travel offered until the end of January. The starter section covers 8 km between Luxexpo and Pafendall-Rout Bréck in the Kirchberg district, serving six intermediate stops. The full route ...
-
NewsDublin’s Cross City tram extension opens
IRELAND: Guests including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attended celebrations on December 9 marking the opening of the Luas Cross City extension of Dublin’s light rail Green Line. The €368m project to build the 5·9 km extension north from St Stephen’s Green to Broombridge with 13 stops was given the go-ahead in ...
-
Metro Report InternationalQingdao metro Line 2 opens
CHINA: The first phase of Qingdao metro Line 2 opened on December 10. The initial 20·4 km section runs underground from Zhiquan Lu to Licun Gongyuan, with 18 stations including two interchanges. The end-to-end journey time is 38 min. Construction of Line 2 was approved in August 2012. Work began ...
-
Metro Report InternationalACTN consortium to complete Cuenca tramway works
ECUADOR: A consortium of Alstom, Compagnie International de Maintenance and the NGE Group joint venture of NGE Contracting and TSO has been selected to complete the civil works on the starter light rail line in Cuenca. Planning for a modern tramway in the mountainous southern city began in 2011 with ...
-
Metro Report InternationalNanjing opens suburban metro Line S3
CHINA: Nanjing’s 36·3 km suburban metro Line S3 opened on December 6. Previously known as metro Line 12 or the Ninghe Intercity line, S3 is designed for a maximum operating speed of 100 km/h. Construction of the 16·3bn yuan project began in December 2012, and trial running began in August ...
-
Metro Report InternationalCircle line opens in Chengdu
CHINA: The 38·6 km circular metro Line 7 in Chengdu opened on December 6. The line has 31 stations, including eight providing interchanges with the city’s five radial metro lines, and serves the three main railway stations. Services are operated using six-car aluminium bodied CRRC Sifang Type A2 trainsets running ...
-
News15 recommendations in Croydon Tramlink derailment report
UK: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch made 15 recommendations to improve safety on December 7 when it published its report into the overturning of a tram at Sandilands in Croydon, south London on November 9 2016. RAIB found that the Bombardier CR4000 tram had been travelling at 73 km/h ...
-
NewsQatar metro and light rail operating contract awarded
QATAR: Public transport authority Qatar Rail has awarded the RKH Qitarat joint venture between a consortium of RATP Dev and Keolis (49%) and local construction, property and trading business Hamad Group (51%) a contract to operate and maintain the Doha metro and Lusail light rail networks. The contract awarded on ...
-
Metro Report InternationalShatin – Central project faces 23% cost increase
CHINA: Following a detailed review of the estimated cost-to-complete of the main construction works for Hong Kong’s Shatin – Central Link project, MTR Corp announced on December 6 that it had increased its estimate by 23% to HK$87·3bn. MTR Corp had previously said that ‘continuing challenges posed by external factors ...
-
NewsBaghdad and Basra urban rail memorandum signed by Alstom
IRAQ: A memorandum of understanding for the development of urban rail projects in Baghdad and Basra has been signed by the Iraqi government and Alstom as part of a Franco-Iraqi inter-governmental meeting. A 20 km elevated light rail line is proposed for Baghdad, which would link Mustansiriyah, ...
-
Metro Report InternationalLondon Underground depot construction contract awarded
UK: A joint venture of Morgan Sindall and BeMo Tunnelling has been awarded a £20m contract to design and build a workshop for London Underground’s Train Modification Unit. The facility at the Acton Works site in west London will undertake rolling stock refurbishment projects, starting with the Central Line fleet ...
-
Metro Report InternationalSmallest tramway gets longer
GERMANY: What claims to be Germany’s smallest tramway grew by 440 m to reach a total of 2·9 km on December 1, with the opening of a one-stop extension from Vogelwiese to Salztor in Naumburg. The extension returns trams to a further section of what was once a circular route ...
-
NewsHelsinki and Bombardier agree Variotram settlement
FINLAND: Helsinki transport authority HKL and Bombardier Transportation have reached an agreement which will see the 40 Variotrams withdrawn from service in the Finnish capital by the end of 2018. The Variotrams were delivered by Adtranz (later Bombardier Transportation) in 1998-2003, but the track profiles and operating conditions on Helsinki’s ...
-
Metro Report InternationalSound Transit orders Tacoma Link extension LRVs
USA: Terms have been agreed for Brookville Equipment Corp to supply Seattle’s Sound Transit with five Liberty light rail vehicles for $26·5m plus tax, the manufacturer announced on December 4. The LRVs are required as part of the project to build a 3·9 km extension of the 2·6 km Tacoma ...
-
NewsLille metro gates to cut fare evasion
FRANCE: The Lille metropolitan authority has begun a €60m programme to install ticket gates at all 60 stations on the city’s metro network. The first gates came into use at Gare Lille Europe on November 30. During the course of 2018 it is planned to commission gates ...
-
Metro Report InternationalLos Angeles light rail extension groundbreaking
USA: The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 2 for the next phase of the light rail route. The 19·8 km eastern extension from APU/Citrus College in Glendora to Montclair will add six stops. Main construction work is due to begin in 2020, with ...
-
NewsUber and Citymapper become UITP members
INTERNATIONAL: App-based services Uber and Citymapper are among the first members to join the International Association of Public Transport’s Digital Platforms category, UITP announced on December 4. UITP has created the new membership category specifically for online platforms that facilitate access to transport services on a business-to-business, business-to-customer or ...
-
NewsSolaris Tram wins Kraków order as Pesa pulls out of tender
POLAND: MPK Kraków announced on November 30 that it is to sign a framework contract for the supply of up to 50 trams with a consortium of Solaris and Stadler, after Pesa withdrew its bid. MPK Kraków selected Pesa as preferred bidder for the contract on August 8. Pesa’s ...
