Urban rail – Page 279
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NewsTransport for West Midlands to take Midland Metro in-house
UK: Transport for West Midlands is to take over the day-to-day operations of the Midland Metro light rail line when the current contract held by National Express ends in October 2018. ‘Metro is embarking on an unprecedented period of expansion and we believe bringing services in-house will provide the extra ...
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Metro Report InternationalBoston Orange Line metro car mock-up receives official visit
USA: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker visited a mock-up of the metro car design that CRRC is supplying for Boston’s Orange Line at MBTA’s Wellington Yard on March 21, accompanied by Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack, Acting MBTA General Manager Brian Shortsleeve and MBTA Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gonneville. CRRC ...
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Metro Report InternationalSantiago – Nos suburban line opens
CHILE: President Michelle Bachelet attended the inauguration of a new suburban rail service in Santiago on March 17. The 21 km route runs south from the city’s main station at Alameda to Nos, serving 10 stations on an upgraded section of the main line to Rancagua. Services ...
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Metro Report InternationalGuadalajara takes delivery of first TEG-15 trainset
MEXICO: The first of 12 trainsets that Bombardier is supplying for Guadalajara light metro Line 1 arrived in the city on March 18. It was shipped from Bombardier’s Sahagún factory on March 16, two months ahead of schedule. Bombardier announced at the start of 2016 that the Jalisco state government ...
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NewsStadler selected for high-capacity EMU contract
HUNGARY: Sole bidder Stadler Bussnang has been selected for a framework contract to supply high-capacity electric multiple-units, national passenger operator MÁV-Start announced on March 17. Further negotiations will now take place before a firm order is signed. MÁV-Start called tenders in December for the supply of up to 40 ...
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NewsPisa Mover inaugurated
ITALY: An automated peoplemover linking Galileo Galilei Airport with Pisa Centro railway station was inaugurated on March 18. Travel is free until March 26. Pisa Mover services take 4 min to complete the 1·8 km route, which includes an intermediate station at San Giusto/Aurelia, where there is a 1 ...
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NewsFirst refurbished Budapest Line M3 trainset enters passenger service
HUNGARY: The first modernised metro train entered service on Budapest metro Line M3 on March 20. The six-car set was modernised by Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash, the original supplier. Two more are due to enter service in the next two weeks. Metrowagonmash beat six other bidders to be selected in ...
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Metro Report InternationalStadler awards Merseyrail depot construction contract
UK: Stadler Rail Services UK has awarded BAM Nuttall a contract worth around £20m to build the depot in Kirkdale where it will maintain the fleet of 52 electric multiple-units which Stadler Bussnang is to supply for Merseyrail services, and also to refurbish the existing Birkenhead North depot. ‘We have ...
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Metro Report InternationalTrump budget proposes cuts to urban transport grants
USA: In a blueprint for its proposed Financial Year 2018 budget, the Trump administration is planning to cut funding for the Department of Transportation to $16bn, a 13% reduction on that available for FY2017. Under the proposals, swingeing cuts would be made both to passenger train and municipal transport ...
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NewsTrump proposes dramatic cuts to Amtrak operations and capital project grants
USA: In a blueprint for its proposed Financial Year 2018 budget, the Trump administration is planning to cut funding for the Department of Transportation to $16bn, a 13% reduction on that available for FY2017. Under the proposals, swinging cuts would be made both to passenger train and municipal transport operations ...
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Metro Report InternationalFreiburg offers electric cargo bike hire
GERMANY: Freiburg public transport operator VAG and the Südbaden branch of motoring association ADAC have added two electric cargo bikes to the city’s existing cargo bike hire offering. The city’s free LastenVelo Freiburg cargo bike hire service already has three three-wheel and two two-wheel conventional cargo cycles. ...
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Metro Report InternationalValley Metro renews operating contract
USA: Valley Metro has approved a five-year extension to Alternate Concepts Inc’s contract to operate the 42 km light rail network centred on Phoenix. ACI has operated the line for Valley Metro since before the opening in December 2008. In fiscal year 2016 the network carried 15·6 million passengers ...
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NewsVityaz-M trams enter service in Moscow
RUSSIA: Two prototype Vityaz-M trams entered revenue service in Moscow on March 17. They had arrived at arrived at the Bauman depot on January 27. Moscow tram operator Mosgortrans ordered 300 three-section trams from a consortium of Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash and PK Transportnye Systemy last year. Deliveries from TMH’s ...
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Metro Report InternationalCRRC begins construction of Chicago factory
USA: CRRC Sifang America held a groundbreaking ceremony for its rolling stock assembly plant in Chicago on March 16. CRRC intends the 35 390 m2 factory in the Hegewisch district of southeast Chicago to become its North American assembly hub. Chicago Transit Authority awarded CRRC Sifang a framework contract ...
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Metro Report InternationalTaking a regional approach to journey planning
FRANCE: The Syndicat Mixte Intermodal Régional de Transports grouping of transport authorities in northern France has become the first organisation to deploy Conduent’s Mobility Companion Platform. The journey planner aims to simplify and encourage the use of public transport across the region. The passpass.fr website enables door-to-door ...
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NewsMoscow metro Line 8 extension opens
RUSSIA: Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin opened an extension of the western section of metro Line 8 on March 16. The 7·3 km southwestern extension from Park Pobedy to Ramenki adds three stations. Construction of the extension started in April 2013, and test runs commenced on December 30 2016. Already ...
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NewsHelsinki tests mock-up longer tram
FINLAND: Helsinki transport operator HKL is using a full-scale tram mock-up to identify what infrastructure changes would have to be made to enable longer trams to run on its network. Night testing started on March 14 using a steel frame covered with a tarpaulin, towed by a tram. The ...
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Metro Report InternationalBoston’s PCC streetcars to be overhauled
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to overhaul its fleet of PCC streetcars. The $7·9m overhaul and aims to extend the life of the vehicles, which have been in service since the mid-1940s. The work is expected to take two years and will include fitting new traction equipment, brakes ...
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Metro Report InternationalSofia metro Line 3 TBM launched
BULGARIA: The tunnel boring machine for the first phase of Sofia metro Line 3 has been launched. The 9·4 m diameter TBM has been supplied by Herrenknecht. The 7·8 km, eight-station first phase of the east-west line is due to open in 2019. It includes 7 km of bored ...
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Metro Report InternationalBART analyses results of crowd-reduction trial
USA: BART and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority have released preliminary results of the BART Perks pilot, which rewarded passengers who travel outside the morning peak with cash rewards. The six-month trial ran from August 30 to February 28. Inspired by a similar project launched in ...
