This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
The first two of 20 Impuls 2 58WE electric multiple-units ordered by Gdańsk – Gdynia – Wejherowo suburban operator SKM in March 2023 entered revenue service on September 8.
The project to modernise and extend Roma’s Termini – Giardinetti light rail line, to be rebranded as Line G, has received final approval. Tenders are being called for reconstruction of the 950 mm gauge route to 1 435 mm, including restoration of the section from Parco di Centocelle to Giardinetti where services are currently suspended. Line G would then be extended by a further 3·6 km to the Parcheggio Scambiatore A1 park and ride facility in Tor Vergata. Contracts are expected to be awarded by the end of this year.
The maximum line speed on a section of Boston‘s Orange Line metro between Oak Grove and Assembly stations has been increased from 65 to 88 km/h with effect from August 24. ’They’ve not only removed slow zones — they’re increasing speeds’, commented Massachussetts Governor Maura Healey. ‘This means faster, smoother commutes for riders and allows them to spend more time with family and friends, cooking a meal, taking the dog for a walk or catching a ball game.’
Planning is underway for a SKr11bn underground extension of Stockholm’s 891 mm gauge Roslagsbanan suburban railway from its current terminus at Stockholm Östra to T-Centralen, the city’s main transport hub. Construction could begin in 2028, with opening planned for 2038. Operator Transdev said the improved connectivity was projected to triple the Roslagsbanan’s ridership to 150 000 passengers/day by 2050.
On September 3 mayors along the proposed route signed an inter-institutional co-operation agreement to facilitate planning for the proposed București metro Line 7. Expected to cost around €2·47bn , the line would run for 26 km from Bragadiru to Voluntari, serving 27 stations.
Moskva Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has opened the newly-built Stolbovo depot on the capital’s Troitskaya metro line. The 18·8 ha site designed for stabling 29 eight-car trainsets has 12 km of track, and more than 50 buildings with a total covered area of about 100 000 m2. These include a maintenance and repair building with 33 pits and a train washing facility, a motor repair facility, an engineering building, a wheel diagnostic station and an administrative and amenity building.
Dortmund H-Bahn operating company H-BAHN21 has been integrated into parent city transport operator DSW21, in order to facilitate plans to extend the suspended monorail line by 2 km to an interechange with light rail line U42 at Theodor-Fliedner-Heim station.
Following thorough checks by independent experts, two historic Blackpool trams are to return to service during the Lightpool festival between October 15 and November 1. The ship-styled ‘HMS Blackpool’ tram dating from 1965 will be joined by a 1934 double-deck ‘Balloon’ tram for pre-bookable tours along the seafront. Operator Blackpool Transport said the heritage trams would be crewed by its regular drivers and conductors to ensure that the trips complied with the latest industry regulations.