Urban rail – Page 389
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NewsÜstra orders 50 light rail vehicles
GERMANY: Hannover transport operator Üstra has ordered 50 high-floor TW 3000 light rail vehicles from a consortium of Vossloh Kiepe and Alstom Transport. The contract announced on April 8 is worth €126m, with half of the cost being met by Land transport agency LNVG. Consortium leader Vossloh values its share ...
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NewsSytral orders Citadis trams for Lyon T3
FRANCE: Lyon transport authority Sytral has awarded Alstom a €33m contract to supply a further 10 Citadis trams. Options for up to nine more vehicles could increase the contract value to €58m. The 43 m long trams with capacity for up to 400 passengers will operate on route T3, which ...
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NewsHelsinki Westmetro project receives EIB funding
FINLAND: The European Investment Bank confirmed on April 1 that it will lend up to €450m to part-finance the 14 km western extension of the Helsinki metro network to Espoo.The loan and guarantee agreements were signed in Espoo by Matti Kokkinen, CEO of Länsimetro Oy, Mayor of Espoo Jukka Mäkelä ...
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NewsChengdu Metro orders more cars
CHINA: CSR has signed a 520m yuan contract to supply Chengdu Metro with a third batch of trains, taking its total orders for the city’s metro network to 354 cars. The vehicles are required for the 19·5 km second phase of Line 2.Line 1, which entered trial operation on September ...
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NewsADB supports Bangalore metro
INDIA: The Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of up to US$250m over 18 years for the US$2·7bn metro project currently under construction in Bangalore. Bangalore Metro Rail Corp is building a 42·3 km standard-gauge network in the capital of Karnataka, comprising an 18·1 km east-west line with 17 ...
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NewsTramlink Nottingham named preferred bidder for NET Phase 2
UK: Nottingham City Council announced on March 29 that the Tramlink Nottingham consortium had been chosen as preferred bidder for the Nottingham Express Transit Phase Two concession, which covers construction of two extensions to the light rail network and operation of the network including the existing Line 1. The government ...
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NewsToronto unveils revised transit plan
CANADA: Top officials of the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario announced a new C$12·4bn transit plan on March 31. This envisages a fully-underground 25 km Eglinton Avenue light rail line and two extensions of the Sheppard subway totalling 13 km. The province will contribute C$8·4bn towards the ...
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NewsPortland light rail extension starts final design
USA: The Federal Transit Administration has approved the start of final design for the $1·5bn MAX light rail extension to the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. The 11·7 km project, dubbed the Orange Line, is already at the 30% design stage. TriMet had previously received FTA permission to start building the ...
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NewsBursa light rail receives international funding
TURKEY: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has approved a 15-year loan worth €50m towards construction of the second phase of the light rail network in Bursa. The loan is part of a financing package which also includes €100m from the European Investment Bank. The BursaRay light rail network ...
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NewsRhein-Neckar Verkehr orders more supercapacitor trams
GERMANY: Rhein-Neckar regional transport operator RNV has ordered a further 11 low-floor Variobahn trams for €33m, Bombardier Transportation announced on April 4. They will be fitted with Bombardier's Mitrac Energy Saver technology, which uses roof-mounted double-layer supercapacitors to store electricity regenerated during braking for reuse when accelerating. Trials in ...
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NewsAdelaide orders A-City EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The Government of South Australia has placed an A$269m order for 22 three-car suburban EMUs from Bombardier Transportation, the manufacturer announced on March 31. The trains are required to operate suburban services around Adelaide on four lines that are to be electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz AC by ...
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NewsDriverless metro line opened in Busan
SOUTH KOREA: Busan Transportation Corp inaugurated its driverless light metro Line 4 on March 30, following 11 days of trial running between March 15 and March 25. The 12·7 km route runs east from Minam on metro Line 3 to Anpyeong and provides an interchange to metro Line 1 ...
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NewsADB loan supports Hanoi metro Line 3
VIETNAM: The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide US$293m in funding to support construction of Line 3 of Hanoi’s urban rail master plan. The decision adds to loans already in place from EIB and Agence Française de Développement. The 12·5 km first phase of the heavy metro line will ...
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NewsCrossrail issues rolling stock shortlist
UK: Crossrail Ltd announced on March 30 that it had shortlisted Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens for the contract to supply rolling stock and depot facilities for the new east-west route across London. ‘Work continues to finalise our detailed requirements for the new trains and we expect that shortlisted ...
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NewsMilano metro continues to expand
ITALY: A 3·7 km extension of Milano metro Line 3 from Maciachini north to Comasina entered service on March 26, adding four new stations to the Yellow Line. Interchange with LeNord local rail services is provided at Affori Nord. The next metro line to enter service in Milano will be ...
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NewsNew York MTA dedicates East Side Access TBMs
USA: Following a dedication ceremony in New York on March 21, two tunnel boring machines should soon begin digging the final set of tunnels for the East Side Access project. These will connect the Long Island Rail Road with Grand Central Terminal. The 642-tonne TBMs, named Tess and Molina by ...
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NewsExpo Line Phase II gets go ahead
USA: Clearance testing along the initial section of the Expo Line in Los Angeles began on March 22 using a jig mounted on rail wheels. Within the next few weeks, a light rail vehicle will be towed along the tracks, followed by trains running under their own power. The first ...
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NewsFuente de la Mora joins Madrid suburban network
SPAIN: Development Minister José Blanco joined Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Madrid regional government, to open a station at Fuente de la Mora on March 24. Now forming northwestern the terminus for routes C7 and C10 of RENFE’s Madrid suburban network, the new station has been built as part of ...
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NewsAnsaldo scoops Honolulu metro contract
USA: The award of two major contracts totalling $946m covering construction and fitting out of the elevated metro line in Honolulu was announced by the city’s mayor Peter Carlisle on March 21. The Ansaldo Honolulu Joint Venture, bringing together Finnmeccanica companies Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda, has been selected as core ...
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NewsManchester Metrolink starts Phase 3b
UK: Construction work has started on a 3·9 km extension of the Manchester Metrolink light rail network from Droylsden to Ashton-under-Lyne, following a groundreaking ceremony held on March 8. This is the first of the projects included in Phase 3b of the network expansion programme to get underway. The work ...
