Urban transport modes – Page 240
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NewsLausanne – Renens tram route approved
SWITZERLAND: Lausanne public transport operator TL announced on March 10 that the Federal Office of Transport had granted approval for the construction of the first phase of tram route T1 from Lausanne-Flon to Renens-Gare. A public inquiry had been launched in June 2012 to consider plans for the new ...
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NewsSix-month trial of standing on both sides of escalators
UK: Following research which has suggested it could provide a 30% increase in capacity on long escalators, on March 10 London Underground announced that passengers at Holborn station will be asked to stand on both sides of two up escalators for a six month trial period starting from April 18. ...
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NewsChicago orders CSR Sifang America metro cars
USA: The Chicago Transit Board awarded lowest bidder CSR Sifang America JV a contract on March 9 to supply its next generation of metro cars. The base order is for 400 of the 7000 Series cars, with options which could take the total build to 846 vehicles worth US$1·309bn. Chicago ...
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NewsHelsinki metro extension opening date announced
FINLAND: The 14 km western extension of the Helsinki metro from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä adding eight stations is to open on August 15, project promoter Länsimetro Oy announced on March 8. Länsimetro said the seven-year project has cost €1·088bn, which is 28·3% higher than planned. It has employed 1 500 ...
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NewsQingdao opens fuel cell tram route
CHINA: Described as the country’s first domestically-designed tram route, an 8·8 km line with 12 stops in the coastal city of Qingdao was opened for revenue service on March 5. Running from Qianwangtuan to Chengyang Wholesale Market, the 1 435 mm gauge line is the first of three planned routes ...
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NewsGold Line extension reaches Azusa
USA: The 18·3 km Foothill Extension of Los Angeles Metro’s Gold Line light rail route from East Pasadena to Azusa was officially opened on March 5, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Duarte/City of Hope station attended by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas, CEO Phillip Washington and ...
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NewsBangkok railway engineering education agreement signed
THAILAND: A memorandum of understanding for the provision of engineering expertise to students and instructors over the next four years has been signed by Bombardier Transportation, Navamindradhiraj University, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Krungthep Thanakom, Bangkok Mass Transit System and AMR Asia Co. The partners are to collaborate ...
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NewsStadler to supply driverless metro trains to Glasgow
UK: Strathclyde Partnership for Transport announced on March 4 that it had approved the award of a £200m contract to a consortium of Stadler Bussnang and Ansaldo STS to supply a fleet of 17 driverless trains and signalling for the Glasgow Subway. The contract forms part of ...
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NewsContactless ticketing to be tested in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority announced on March 1 that it will conduct a pilot for account-based contactless fare payment in the fourth quarter of the year. Passengers will be able to use contactless debit or credit cards and will be charged for travel on their card bills. ‘LTA has ...
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NewsMaryland Purple Line PPP contractor selected
USA: Maryland Department of Transportation has selected the Purple Line Transit Partners consortium of Meridiam (70%), Fluor Enterprises (15%) and Star America (15%) as preferred bidder for the 25·7 km Purple Line light rail line serving the northern suburbs of Washington DC. The PPP contract for ...
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NewsPesa to develop metro train
PESA: Polish rolling stock manufacturer Pesa has announced that it is to develop a metro train design with the aid of a 24m złoty grant from the National Centre for Research & Development. The ‘energy-saving metro with a higher level of comfort and safety’ project was awarded a grant for ...
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NewsParis metro hackathon
FRANCE: Alstom and programming school Ecole 42 are organising a ‘connected metro’ hackathon in Paris on March 17-18. Students will have 48 h to develop a vision for how the Paris metro would look in 2030 by creating mobile applications, services, Internet of Things applications and APIs offering ‘connected ...
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NewsKochi metro begins test running
INDIA: The first test run of the Kochi metro took place on February 27, on a 1 km section between Muttom Yard depot and Kalamassery at speeds of up to 10 km/h. Two crew and technical assistants were on board. Project manager Delhi Metro Rail Corp is ...
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NewsAccenture to support Madrid’s Digital Metro Station project
SPAIN: Metro de Madrid has appointed Accenture to support the design of a ‘Digital Metro Station’ model for the control and management of station technology such as security and passenger information systems. The project aims to define an open and scalable architecture to support future expansion and Internet of ...
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NewsMobile ticketing launches in Houston
USA: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County launched a mobile ticketing app for light rail and buses in Houston on February 29. Developed by GlobeSherpa, part of the RideScout group, the Q-Mobile Ticketing app allows passengers to pay for tickets by debit card, credit card or PayPal. A ticket ...
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NewsBangkok monorail lines approved
THAILAND: The government’s Public-Private Partnership Policy Committee approved in principle the Pink and Yellow monorail lines planned for Bangkok on February 29. The 34·5 km Pink Line, running from Khai Rai to Minburi, is estimated to cost 56·7bn baht to build. The Yellow Line would link Ladprao with Samrong ...
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NewsDelhi Metro launches experimental freight service
INDIA: Delhi Metro Rail Corp launched an experimental freight service on the Airport Express Line on March 1, making use of the secure luggage van on AEL trains to carry non-perishable and e-commerce goods. DMRC said this is the first time an Indian metro has been used for freight ...
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NewsEuropean disaster exercise simulates Underground station collapse
UK: What the London Fire Brigade describes as ‘Europe’s biggest ever disaster training exercise’ began on February 29, with emergency response personnel from London being joined by firefighters from Italy, Hungary and Cyprus in a four-day simulation based on a scenario where a building collapses onto a London Underground station. ...
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NewsDC Streetcar opens
USA: Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser was on the inaugural journey of the DC Streetcar on February 27 at 10.00. The 3·3 km mixed-traffic route with eight stops links Union Station with Oklahoma Avenue/Benning Road. Services operate every 15 min every day except Sunday. Frequencies are expected to increase ...
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NewsIncheon suburban extension opens
SOUTH KOREA: A northwest extension of the Suin Line in Incheon opened on February 27. The 7·3 km section links Songdo with Incheon station on metro Line 1. The extension adds five stations, including one at Hagik that is due to open in 2019. The Suin Line was rebuilt ...