Urban transport news – Page 278
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NewsBucurești metro expands
ROMANIA: A 2 km extension of metro Line M4 in București opened to passengers on March 31, taking the line northwest from Parc Bazilescu to Straulești with an intermediate station at Laminorului. Construction was completed on December 19. The project also includes the construction of a depot and a ...
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NewsBangkok Sukhumvit Line extended
THAILAND: A southern extension of the Sukhumvit Line in Bangkok opened at 13.00 on April 3, from Bearing to Samrong. Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang attended the opening ceremony for the new section of the elevated metro line. Samrong will offer interchange with the future Yellow Line monorail, which is ...
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NewsGurgaon metro Phase 2 opens
INDIA: Phase 2 of the Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon elevated metro opened on March 31. The 7 km southern extension takes the route to Sector 55-56, with five stations. Work began in October 2012, with Siemens acting as lead contractor. In June 2013 IL&FS Engineering & Construction announced that it ...
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Metro Report InternationalGO Transit RER receives C$1·8bn in federal funding
CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on March 31 that the federal government is to provide C$1·8bn towards the GO Transit Regional Express Rail project being developed in the Greater Golden Horseshoe centred on Toronto. The money is to come from the New Building Canada Fund, with the province ...
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NewsCatania metro reaches Nesima
ITALY: An extension of the Catania metro opened from Borgo to Nesima on March 31, with two days of free travel. The 3 km section has four stations. This is the second extension since the metro line opened in 1999. On December 20 a 1·9 km extension opened at ...
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NewsLondon Underground orders Chinese wagons
UK: Transport for London has awarded the CRRC Shandong subsidiary of Chinese rolling stock conglomerate CRRC a contract to supply wagons to support track renewal and maintenance activities on the London Underground network. The order confirmed by CRRC on March 23 includes 66 open wagons and five flatbed wagons, along ...
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NewsGreek transport projects to receive EU funds
GREECE: Metro projects in Thessaloniki and Athens are to receive investment from EU cohesion funds, the European Commission announced on March 24. The grants form part of a €1·3bn funding package that would allow projects started in the 2007-13 EU budget period to be completed in the 2014-20 budget period. ...
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NewsMoscow metro maintenance contract awarded
RUSSIA: Moscow Metro awarded Metrowagonmash a 25bn rouble contract on March 28 to maintain 50 eight-car Oka trainsets. These were produced by Metrowagonmash in 2012-14 and are stabled at the Ismailovo and Varshavskoye depots. Under the contract, 46 trainsets of the 50 have to be available for service each day. ...
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NewsTrams run in Samarkand
UZBEKISTAN: Regular passenger services started on the first phase of the Samarkand tram network on March 29. Test running had started on March 26. The initial 6·4 km route links the city’s main station with the Sat Tepo district using an alignment mostly running in road medians. Construction of ...
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Metro Report InternationalArlington to trial driverless shuttles
USA: The city council of Arlington, Texas, approved a one-year leasing agreement with EasyMile on March 28 for the use of two EZ10 driverless shuttles. These will be used in a pilot project in the city’s Entertainment District, which could start as early as June. ‘The city ...
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Metro Report InternationalQuébec agrees REM investment
CANADA: Public pension and insurance investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the government of Québec have agreed the main terms for the province’s participation in the Réseau Électrique Métropolitain automated metro project in Montréal. The provincial government has committed to provide C$1·28bn, representing 24·5% of the total ...
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Metro Report InternationalHitachi delivers first Miami metro train
USA: Hitachi Rail Italy has delivered the first of 68 two-car trainsets that it is supplying for Miami-Dade Transit’s Metrorail network. The trainset arrived at Metrorail’s Lehman Center depot from HRI’s Medley plant in northwest Miami. Dynamic testing is due to begin in the next few weeks. The second ...
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Metro Report InternationalCrossrail electrification nears completion
UK: Work to electrify the western section of the future Elizabeth Line route on the Great Western Main Line to the west of London has been completed as far as Maidenhead. Infrastructure manager Network Rail led the three-year project which saw a workforce of 800 people to install 1 ...
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NewsLegoland Japan themed train launched
JAPAN: An electric multiple-unit operating on Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit Co's Aonami Line has been specially decorated to promote the Legoland Japan theme park ahead of its official opening on April 1. The EMU’s four cars are themed on the Lost Kingdom Adventure, Dragon Coaster, Rescue Academy and Submarine Adventure ...
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NewsFreight tram to support electric car production
GERMANY: CarGoTram freight services returned to Dresden’s tram network on March 24, carrying automotive parts between the Friedrichstadt freight terminal and Volkswagen’s car factory at the Großen Garten on Straßburger Platz. CarGoTram was first launched in 2001 to reduce the need for lorries to pass through the city centre to ...
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NewsMore Innovia trainsets ordered for Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur transport agency Prasarana has ordered a further 27 four-car metro trainsets for the Kelana Jaya Line from a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Hartasuma. Bombardier has a 1·2bn ringgit share of the 1·7bn ringgit contract that was announced on March 27. The order for aluminium-bodied Innovia ...
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Metro Report InternationalBART extension opens to Warm Springs
USA: A ceremony on March 24 marked the opening of an 8·7 km extension of the BART network serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Passenger services began the following day. The southern extension adds one station to the network. Warm Springs/South Fremont is fitted with solar panels that meet ...
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Metro Report InternationalCRRC to supply rolling stock to Philadelphia
USA: The board of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has approved the purchase of 45 double-deck coaches from CRRC MA Corp for use on its Regional Rail network of commuter services. CRRC’s bid of $137·5m for the base order of 45 coaches and $161m including options for 10 more beat ...
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NewsWork starts on new tram line in Istanbul
TURKEY: Construction of a new tram line in Istanbul began on March 20. The 10 km route will run along the southern edge of the Golden Horn from Eminönü to Alibeyköy Cep Otogari. Interchange will be provided with tram route T1 at Eminönü, with metro line M2 at Küçük ...
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NewsMauritius light rail work begins
MAURITIUS: Preparatory work started on a light rail line on March 20, following a foundation stone laying ceremony on March 11. Preparatory works are expected to last three months. The 26 km Metro Express line would link Port Louis with Curepipe, serving 19 stops with an end-to-end journey time ...