Urban rail – Page 390
-
NewsMadrid metro Line 2 extended to Las Rosas
SPAIN: Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Madrid regional government, inaugurated an eastern extension of metro Line 2 from La Elipa to Las Rosas on March 16. The 4·6 km extension, with three intermediate stations at La Almudena, Alsacia and Avenida de Guadalajara, cost €315m and took 28 months to build. ...
-
NewsPreliminary engineering approvals for LA urban rail projects
USA: A $21·5m planning and engineering services contract for the Regional Connector light rail project in Los Angeles has been awarded to a joint venture led by AECOM. The scope of work encompasses advanced conceptual design and preliminary engineering, including the completion of environmental impact reports. The Regional Connector is ...
-
NewsGlasgow Subway upgrade approved
UK: Driverless operation, new rolling stock and infrastructure upgrading are set to go ahead on the 1 220 mm gauge Glasgow Subway under a £290m renewal programme announced by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Scotland’s Finance Secretary John Swinney confirmed on March 9 that following ‘careful consideration’ of ...
-
NewsTaichung awards turnkey metro contract
TAIWAN: A 16·7 km automated metro is to be built in Taichung under a turnkey contract valued at ¥29·5bn, which was confirmed by the Taichung city government on March 9. Under consideration since 1990 and approved in 2004, the Green Line is the first of three routes for the proposed ...
-
NewsBangkok to complete Blue Line loop
THAILAND: Mass Rapid Transit Authority has awarded a further package of civil works valued at 46·6bn baht covering construction of extensions to the Bangkok Blue Line heavy metro (table below). These works would see the completion of a loop connecting the existing termini at Bang Sue and Hua Lamphong via ...
-
NewsRFF backs Line E extension
FRANCE: Meeting on March 17, the board of Réseau Ferré de France confirmed its intention to press ahead with its plans for a western extension of Paris RER Line E, with a view to seeking a Declaration of Public Utility giving powers to build the line. Following public consultation between ...
-
NewsSiemens to energise Kolkata's east-west line
INDIA: Third rail electrification and power supplies for Kolkata’s east-west metro line are to be supplied by Siemens Mobility under a contract from Kolkata Metro Rail Corp announced on March 17. Siemens is to provide the 750 V DC traction power supply, with nine substations and the depot to be ...
-
NewsUrban rail news in brief - March 2011
Tendering for operating concessions in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Haag, due to have been completed by January 2012, has been postponed for a year by Transport Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen. The Federation of Netherlands Mobility Companies, comprising Connexxion, Arriva, Syntus and Veolia, believes the deferral ...
-
NewsTren Eléctrico concession awarded
PERU: State agency Proinversión has awarded the Tren Lima, Línea 1 consortium of Graña y Montero SA and Ferrovías a 30-year concession to operate and maintain metro Line 1 in Lima. GYM and Ferrovías have promised to invest US$290m in the network, US$200m of which will be spent on new ...
-
NewsTorino metro reaches Lingotto
ITALY: Torino metro operator GTT inaugurated the 3·6 km section of Line 1 between Porta Nuova and Lingotto on March 6, adding six more stations. Work on the extension started in September 2009. Testing and commissioning began in October last year and the route was handed over to GTT ...
-
NewsSEPTA Silverliners enter service
USA: The first two locally-produced Silverliner V commuter EMU vehicles entered revenue service on February 22, approximately a year behind schedule. They were coupled to three prototype cars produced at Hyundai Rotem’s plant in South Korea. Five additional cars should join the fleet this month.The 120 cars, costing $330m, were ...
-
NewsHouston buys Siemens Avantos
USA: Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority on February 24 allocated up to $83m to purchase an additional 19 Siemens S70 Avanto light rail vehicles, supplementing its existing fleet of 18. The 29 m long 70% low-floor cars will be part of a 180-unit option on a base order of 77 ...
-
NewsMetrolinx orders DMUs to work airport rail link
CANADA: The Metrolinx board of directors has approved the purchase of 12 two-car diesel multiple units for Toronto’s future airport rail link from Sumitomo Corp and its partner Nippon Sharyo Inc for C$53m. The DMUs will be similar to the 18 cars ordered by Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Authority to ...
-
Metro Report InternationalHawaiian blessing marks start of Honolulu light rail project
USA: A 90 min ceremony complete with a hula and a traditional Hawaiian blessing marked the official groundbreaking for the 32 km high-capacity light rail line linking East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center on February 22. State and local officials and supporters from the business community were ...
-
NewsTransport for London to launch contactless payment in 2012
UK: Transport for London is upgrading its smart card reader software to enable passengers to pay for travel using contactless credit and debit cards. Underground, Docklands Light Railway, tram, London Overground and bus services will be covered by the end of 2012, and discussions are underway with train operating companies. ...
-
NewsFirst tram-train arrives in Lyon
FRANCE: The first of 24 Citadis Dualis tram-trains for the TER network west of Lyon arrived at the L'Arbresle maintenance centre on February 18, having left Alstom’s assembly plant in Valenciennes two days earlier.Two more vehicles will be delivered to SNCF in Lyon during the next few weeks. The three ...
-
NewsBucuresti metro expansion tendering
ROMANIA: Bucuresti metro operator Metrorex has announced its intention to call tenders for a 2·26bn lei, 30-month contract to build the first section of metro Line 5 between Eroilor and Statia Piata Iancului. The line will eventually link Drumul Taberei in the southwest to Pantelimon at the eastern end ...
-
NewsPublic asked to name Montréal metro trains
CANADA: Montréal metro operator STM unveiled the design of its future trains on February 18, and is preparing to launch a publicity campaign across stations, local media and Facebook to find a name for the fleet. A consortium of Bombardier and Alstom was awarded the C$1·2bn contract ...
-
NewsTurkish metro project management transferred
TURKEY: The decision taken by the Council of Ministers in June 2010 to transfer responsibility for urban rail projects to the Ministry of Transport has now been enacted. The intention is to relieve the pressure on municipal budgets created by the high cost of metro investments, especially in Istanbul and ...
-
NewsNew Orleans tram project approved
USA: The Regional Transit Authority in New Orleans has approved moving ahead with final design on the French Quarter tram loop from Canal Street to Press Street via North Rampart Street and St Claude Avenue. In addition, a 1·9 km spur would be built on Elysian Fields Avenue to a ...
