Urban rail – Page 392
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NewsLFX-300 Ameritram hybrid streetcar unveiled in Charlotte
USA: The prototype LFX-300 100% low-floor hybrid streetcar developed by Kinki Sharyo for the US market was unveiled in Charlotte on January 20. Rainer Hombach, Vice President & General Manager of Kinkisharyo International, announced that the vehicle would be marketed as 'ameriTRAM'. The prototype has completed a series of tests ...
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NewsFlywheel firm launches
USA: Kinetic Traction Systems has been launched to bring together flywheel energy storage developed by Urenco Power Technology and carbon fibre manufacturing experience from Pentadyne Power Corp. Trackside flywheels spinning at up to 36000 rev/min are used to store regenerated braking energy for reuse. The flywheels are rated at 200 ...
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NewsDelhi metro completes Violet Line
INDIA: Delhi Metro Rail Corp opened the final 5 km elevated section of Line 6 between Sarita Vihar and Badarpur at 08.00 on January 14. The completed route, known as the Violet Line, is 20 km long with 16 stations. The Line 6 fleet has been increased from 16 to ...
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NewsRenovated metro trainset delivered in Cairo
EGYPT: The first nine-car trainset to be renovated for Cairo Metro by Alstom was handed over during a ceremony hosted by Transport Minister Alaa Fahmy on January 1.Alstom and its local partner Cairo Metro Organisation was awarded a €19m contract in 2007 to upgrade braking, traction and electrical equipment on ...
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NewsMRT plans get go-ahead in Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA: Tenders for the first phase of Kuala Lumpur’s proposed mass rapid transit line from Sungai Buloh to Kajang are due to be issued in April. Work is expected to start in July for completion by 2015.The project to build an MRT network serving the Greater KL/Klang Valley area is ...
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NewsMHI wins Macau automated light metro contract
CHINA: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been awarded a 4·69bn patacas order by Macau’s Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) to supply the rolling stock and railway systems for the first phase of the Special Administrative Region’s automated light metro. The contract, which is expected to be signed in February, ...
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NewsBergen Bybanen extension blasts off
NORWAY: A blast of dynamite at midday on January 7 triggered the official start of work on a NKr1·4bn project to expand Bergen’s Bybanen light rail line. The ceremony was attended by the chairman of Hordaland County Council Torill Selsvold Nyborg, Commissioner Lisbeth Iversen, local politicians and dignitaries. Construction of ...
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NewsFTA awards advanced payments to US rail projects
USA: The Federal Transit Administration has given a total of $182·4m in advanced funding to seven rail projects which are already underway. The money is being awarded ahead of schedule using unallocated funds from FTA’s 2010 New Starts budget. ‘By making these payments now, we’re not only fulfilling the federal ...
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NewsHampton Roads LRT opening postponed
USA: A light rail vehicle was towed through the streets of Norfolk on January 5, marking the start of tests on the overhead power lines for the city’s starter light rail line. However, the opening of Norfolk’s first tram route has now been postponed indefinitely, adding to the 16 ...
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NewsOrange Line makes Porto greener
PORTUGAL: After a period of trial running Line F of the Metro do Porto light rail network entered revenue service on January 2, linking the eastern municipality of Gondomar to Senhora da Hora in 39 min. Services on Line F — designated the Orange Line — operate between 06.00 and ...
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NewsTwo metro lines open in Shenzhen
CHINA: Trial operation of the first sections of Shenzhen metro lines 2 and 3 began on December 28, adding 40 km and almost tripling the size of the network — which was inaugurated in December 2004 when Lines 1 and 4 entered service — to around 70 km with 49 ...
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NewsTainan – Shalun branch opens early
TAIWAN: The 6·5 km Shalun branch linking Tainan with the Taipei – Kaohsiung high speed line station southeast of the city was opened for passenger services on January 2, a month ahead of its expected completion in February. Built by the Ministry of Transport & Communications’ Railway Reconstruction Bureau, the ...
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NewsBeijing metro expands by 100 km
CHINA: Beijing Mass Transit Railway Corp opened five new lines in December, adding more than 100 km to the existing metro network. The first new route to open was Line 15 on December 28. The 20·2 km route runs northeast from Wangjing West, with an interchange to Line 13, to ...
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NewsAirport Rail Link reaches Seoul city centre
SOUTH KOREA: Phase II of the A’REX airport rail link was inaugurated on December 28 by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-Sik, marking the completion of a 10-year privately-financed project to build a 61 km line between Incheon International Airport and Seoul. Revenue services started the next day.The 20·7 km extension runs ...
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NewsCAF wins Urbos tram contracts
EUROPE: Spanish manufacturer CAF has won three export orders for its Urbos tram, signing deals to supply vehicles to Stockholm, Besançon and Nantes.Stockholm transport authority SL has initially ordered 15 three-module trams costing around €40m but, with options to supply up to 121 vehicles, the total contract value could rise ...
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NewsGyeongchun Line reopens in Seoul
SOUTH KOREA: KR’s Gyeongchun Line to the east of Seoul was reopened on December 21 following the completion of a 2·7 trillion won project to replace the former single-track regional diesel route by a new double-track elevated and electrified alignment. The reconstruction of the 81·3 km route from Mangu ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
A 2 km extension of München metro line U3 between Olympia-Einkaufs-zentrum and Moosach opened on December 11, providing a connection to S-Bahn services. The U-Bahn network is now 103·1 km long with 100 stations. No further extensions are envisaged for the time being. Following the completion of two short ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
The timetable change on December 12 was marked by a spate of urban rail openings in Germany, including the 5·2 km tram Line 6 from Rotes Tor to Friedberg West in Augsburg, a 1·8 km extension of Köln tram Line 5 from Rektor-Klein-Str to Butzweilerhof and a branch of Hannover ...
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NewsHonolulu light rail prospects look positive
USA: Hawaii’s newly-elected Governor Neil Abercrombie has signed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Honolulu’s proposed $5·3bn light rail project, clearing the way for final approval from the Federal Transit Administration. The 32 km elevated line was stalled when Abercrombie’s predecessor, Linda Lingle, refused to approve the ...
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NewsTbilisi tram design contract signed
GEORGIA: The Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava signed contracts with French consultancy Systra on December 17 covering studies for a proposed tram network and the development of an urban master plan as part of the city's railway bypass project.The French government is financing the development of plans for a tramway. ...
