Urban rail – Page 379
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NewsTesting underway on first section of Salvador metro
BRAZIL: Test running on the first 6∙5 km section of Salvador metro Line 1 between Lapa and Acesso Norte began on December 22. Testing is scheduled to continue until April, when a free passenger service will be introduced until the start of commercial services in June. The line will serve ...
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NewsHo Chi Minh City metro design and supervision contract
VIETNAM: Ho Chi Minh City's Management Authority for Urban Railways has awarded the design, tender documentation and site supervision services contract for metro Line 2 to a consortium of Pöyry, ILF Beratende Ingenieure, Obermeyer Planen + Beraten and local partner Tedi South. The design and documentation phase is scheduled to ...
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NewsFirst C Stock trains enter service in Hong Kong
CHINA: Hong Kong MTR put its first C Stock trains into passenger services on the Kwun Tong Line on December 7. MTR awarded CNR Changchun a HK$1·1bn contract to supply 10 eight-car trainsets in December 2008, the first time it had ordered metro trains from a manufacturer on the Chinese ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - January 2012
Metro Bilbao has completed a programme to add a fifth trailer car to 13 Series 500 and all nine Series 600 trainsets, using vehicles ordered at a cost of €32m. Infrastructure work costing €26m included depot lifting equipment and changes to signalling software. The first of 60 MI09 double-deck ...
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NewsMoscow metro expansion plans announced
RUSSIA: The Moscow city government has announced plans to build a further 98 km of metro over the next nine years, taking the total network to 400 km and adding 44 stations at an estimated cost of 344bn roubles. Of this, 75 km and 36 stations would be completed by ...
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NewsBeijing metro lines open
CHINA: The first phase of Beijing metro Line 9 and two other extensions were opened on December 31, with over 126 000 passengers carried on the first day. The three routes are officially being operated as a trial service for the fist 12 months, pending formal approval. The new lines ...
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NewsShenyang to build 65 km tram network
CHINA: Shenyang municipality signed an agreement with CNR Corp on December 1 for the development of a 40bn yuan tram network. The 65 km five-line network will connect Taoxian Airport, Shenyang South high speed rail station, National Games Village and Olympic Sports Centre. Segregated surface alignments are planned, with grassed ...
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NewsCrenshaw/LAX light rail line gets go-ahead
USA: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been given the green light by the Federal Transit Administration to proceed this year with the $1∙7bn Crenshaw/LAX light rail line running between the Expo Line on Exposition Boulevard and the Green Line at Aviation/LAX. Metro had already invited proposals in December ...
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NewsCroydon tram on test in Chemnitz
UK: The first of six Stadler Variobahn trams ordered to increase capacity on the Tramlink network in south London underwent testing in the German city of Chemnitz during December. Stadler won its first UK contract in August 2011, when Transport for London announced a £16·3m order for six Variobahn trams ...
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NewsSilicon Valley BART extension contract awarded
USA: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has awarded a joint venture of Skanska, Shimmick Construction and Herzog Contracting Corp a $772m contract to build the 8∙6 km Berryessa Extension of the BART metro network south from Warm Springs Station in Fremont to north San Jose.The extension will include two stations ...
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NewsTrams are getting even greener
AUSTRIA: Technische Universität Wien is heading a consortium of Wien transport operator Wiener Linien, Siemens, Vossloh Kiepe, Rail Tec Arsenal and Schig which is undertaking research into operating strategies and design modifications which could lower the energy consumption of trams. Launched in March 2010 and backed by Austrian research agency ...
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NewsVision 2020 to expand Montreal's public transport
CANADA: Metro expansion and the electrification of commuter routes lie at the heart of a C$168bn strategic plan to improve Montréal’s public transport which has been announced by Agence Métropolitaine de Transport. Vision 2020 contains three metro projects; a Blue Line extension east towards Anjou, a northern extension of the ...
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NewsBART to test vinyl seat covers
USA: PreVail vinyl cushioned seat covers made by Omnova are to be tested in place of wool-based fabric on San Francisco's BART metro trains from April to June 2012. Laboratory tests found a passenger preference for vinyl, and the PreFixx Extreme coating is expected to make the seats easier to ...
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NewsSão Paulo metro cars modernised
BRAZIL: The first of 26 modernised trainsets for Line 1 of the São Paulo Metro was unveiled on December 8. The 30-year-old six-car sets are being refurbished at Bombardier's Hortolândia plant near São Paulo by a Bombardier-led consortium including Tejofran and Temoinsa. São Paulo metro operator CMSP awarded Bombardier a ...
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NewsGenève tram extension opens
SWITZERLAND: Genève inaugurated its latest tram extension on December 10. The 6·5 km double-track Line 14 from Cornavin to Bernex with 13 stops has been under construction since 2008 at a total cost of SFr320m, and opened 51 years after the original tram route to Bernex was closed. The ...
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NewsEssen orders 27 Flexity Classic trams
GERMANY: Essen transport authority EVAG signed a €72m contract for Bombardier Transportation to supply 27 Flexity Classic trams on December 21. Two pre-series vehicles are scheduled to be delivered in August 2013, with series vehicles following from March 2014. The three-module bi-directional and air-conditioned vehicles will be 30 m long ...
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NewsBEML wins Jaipur metro train contract
INDIA: BEML Ltd has won a Rs3·18bn contract to supply 10 four-car trains for the Jaipur Metro, and anticipates a follow-on order worth Rs600m. Construction of Jaipur Metro Rail Corp’s 9·2 km east-west line from Mansarovar to Chandpole is being managed by Delhi Metro Rail Corp. A ...
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NewsFTA backs Houston and Seattle light rail growth
USA: Representatives of the Federal Transit Administration and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County signed full funding grant agreements worth $900m on November 28 which will support two extensions to Houston’s light rail network totalling 19 km. Already under construction, the North and Southeast corridors are scheduled to open ...
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NewsPraha metro extension receives EIB funding
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Investment Bank confirmed on December 16 that it will lend up to €350m to part finance the 6∙1 km extension of the Praha metro Line A to Motol Hospital. With four new stations, the double-track extension starts from the current terminus at Dejvická in the northwest ...
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NewsCaen to switch to light rail
FRANCE: On December 14 Caen transport authority Viacités confirmed its intention to abandon its TVR rubber-tyred guided light transit route and replace it with conventional light rail by 2018. Viacités estimates it will take 18 months to replace the TVR guideway with tram track on the 15∙7 km Y-shaped ...
