Urban transport modes – Page 364
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NewsCongress approves Amtrak funding bill
USA: Funding and safety legislation primarily benefiting Amtrak and other public transport operators received its final Congressional approval on October 1 with a veto-proof 74-24 majority which means President George Bush must sign the bill despite his administration’s general antagonism toward rail transit and long opposition to federal subsidies for ...
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Police methods help catch delayed trains
USA: MTA New York City Transit plans to use a statistical analysis model similar to that employed by the police department to find out why trains are being delayed. The NYPD's system of tracking criminal activity, CompStat, will be adapted and applied to on-time performance. The average number of delays ...
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Warszawa confirms tram renewal
POLAND: Mayor of Warszawa Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz has approved a major investment to upgrade the capital's tram network, following her recent decision to postpone construction of metro Line 2 until after 2012. Faced with the prospect that the first phase of Line 2 would not be ready for the Euro ...
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Mumbai SPV on track
INDIA: The Rs23·56bn Mumbai Metro Line 1 project reached financial closure on October 3 after a consortium of banks sanctioned funds amounting to Rs11·94bn. Mmrda will provide a capital grant of Rs6·5bn while the remaining Rs5·12bn will be raised through equity. With construction activity in full swing, Mumbai Metro One ...
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NewsLima metro concession expected
PERU: This month is due to see the award of a 40-year concession to complete and operate Line 1 of the Lima metro. The government's private investment agency ProInversión announced in September that final bids were to be submitted by September 17, with the technical offers to be opened on ...
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NewsTram-trains bids invited
UK: Train operating company Northern Rail has issued an Invitation to Tender for the supply and maintenance of lightweight tram-train vehicles to operate on the Shefffied - Barnsley - Penistone - Huddersfield line during a two-year trial sponsored by the Department for Transport. Northern is looking to acquire a minimum ...
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Sevilla Line 1 trials
SPAIN: Testing of CAF-built rolling stock for the east-west metro Line 1 in Sevilla began on August 19, using a 4·2 km section between the depot at Cocheras and Gran Plaza. The entire 18 km route between Ciudad Expo and Olivar de Quinto is now expected to open by the ...
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NewsDubai metro starts test running
UAE: Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum officially launched test running on the Dubai Metro during a visit to the test track on September 20. Sheikh Mohammed took a ride on one of the Kinki Sharyo-built trains, accompanied by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al ...
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Tri-City feasibility study awarded
POLAND: Following a lengthy clarification process which delayed the decision, the IVV consortium has been selected to undertake feasibility studies for the proposed Tri-City Metropolitan Railway linking Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. The winning bid was reportedly worth 1·5m z?oty, whereas the other bids varied in value from 1·8m to 3m ...
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Berlin north-south link agreed
GERMANY: A north-south S-Bahn service through Berlin Hauptbahnhof should be in place by 2016, under plans agreed by the Berlin Senate's Office for Urban Development. With work expected to start within the next year, the project would see a new Line S21 running off the orbital ring onto the north-south ...
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More electrification planned
ARGENTINA: By means of a resolution published on September 9, the federal government has added two further electrification projects to its investment programme for the Buenos Aires suburban network. On the Sarmiento route, 830 V DC third rail is to be extended from Moreno to Luján and from Merlo to ...
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NewsToronto transit plans
CANADA: Toronto Transit Commission launched a tender on September 15 for project management and consultancy services to support its ambitious Transit City light rail expansion programme. Estimated value of the contract, which will last about 10 years, is C$375m. On August 27 TTC re-opened the procurement process for 204 ...
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Singapore to retrofit platform screen doors
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority has awarded two contracts covering the installation of half-height platform screen doors at 36 elevated stations along the existing North-South and East-West MRT lines. This initiative forms part of the Land Transport Masterplan which was unveiled earlier this year (RG 3.08 p127). ST Electronics ...
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Urban rail news in brief - October 2008
On August 24 Shenyang Deputy Mayor Xing Kai confirmed that construction had started on the Shenyang section of the Shenyang – Fushun inter-urban light rail project. Operation of the 61·1 km route is expected to commence in April 2009. The line will reduce journey times between the two cities from ...
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Madrid places €1bn order
SPAIN: On August 28 the Madrid regional government announced that it will invest €993·7m in new rolling stock for Metro de Madrid. The acquisition will be financed by the region (52%) and the city administration (48%). The metro will initially lease the trains for 17 years, with an option to ...
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NewsSeoul metro cable order
INNOTRANS: Nexans has announced a €3m order to supply South Korean rolling stock manufacturer Hyundai Rotem with specialised power and control cables for the 300 metro cars which will be delivered to Seoul metro Line 3 from 2009. The cables will comply with the French NFF standards, and ...
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NewsKaohsiung Orange Line revenue service starts
TAIWAN: Revenue services on Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp's 14·4 km Orange Line began on September 22. Eight days of free rides had begun on September 14. During October the MRT Bureau will submit proposals to the Ministry of Transport & Communications for extensions to the Red and Orange lines. ...
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NewsLausanne metro line M2 inaugurated
SWITZERLAND: Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger formally inaugurated Lausanne's automatic metro line M2 on September 18 by cutting a ribbon at Riponne-M Béjart station. More than 60 000 people rode on the rubber-tyred metro trains on September 18 and 19. The public are able to use the line until September ...
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Madrid resignals two lines
SPAIN: Under a programme costing €104m, Madrid Metro is resignalling lines 1 and 6 with communications-based train control to increase capacity by 50% and 31·8% respectively. So far, 94 km of radiating cable has been laid, as well as over 200 km of optic fibre, with CBTC equipment being fitted ...
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Urban rail news in brief - September 2008
Discussions are underway between the Department of Transportation & Communications and Metro Rail Transit Corp regarding the purchase of 73 additional cars for Line 3 of the Manila metro. The talks are separate from those taking place over the government's plans to buy out Metrostar Express, the consortium that built ...