Urban transport project news – Page 51
-
Metro Report InternationalBYD signs Salvador monorail contract
BRAZIL: Governor of Bahia Rui Costa has signed a PPP concession with a consortium of BYD Brazil and Metrogreen, which is to build and operate a straddle monorail line in Salvador. The BYD-led consortium had signed an initial agreement in May 2018. With the contract signing, work can now ...
-
NewsBusan to gain tram line
SOUTH KOREA: A street-running catenary-free light rail line is to be built in Busan, which the government has selected ahead of four other cities for the demonstration project. The Oryukdo Line would run on a north-south route in the city’s southeastern Yongho-dong district. The first section would cover 1·9 ...
-
Metro Report InternationalNewcastle light rail line opens
AUSTRALIA: Regular passenger services on the Newcastle light rail line began at 05.05 on February 18, marking the first tram service in the city since the first-generation network closed in 1950. The 2·7 km route serves six stops between Pacific Park in the east and Wickham in the west, ...
-
NewsManila cross-city rail link gets underway
PHILIPPINES: Ceremonies were held in Manila on February 15 to mark the start of work on the first phase of the North South Commuter Railway serving the capital’s northern suburbs. Broadly following the alignment of PNR’s moribund Main Line North, the 37·6 km line will run north from the ...
-
NewsDouala tram project poised to launch
CAMEROON: Construction work on a ‘pilot’ 18 km tram route in the rapidly expanding port city of Douala is expected to start during the first half of this year. This follows signature of an agreement announced on January 30 between the government and a consortium led by Iristone Consulting of ...
-
NewsFirenze tram route T2 inaugurated
ITALY: Firenze tram Route T2 was inaugurated at noon on February 11, ahead of the entry into passenger service at 14.30. Travel on the route is free for two weeks. The opening ceremony was attended by President Sergio Mattarella, Minister of Transport & Infrastructure Danilo Toninelli, Mayor Dario Nardella, Toscana ...
-
NewsFour shortlisted for Almaty light rail PPP
KAZAKHSTAN: Almaty municipality has shortlisted four bidders for the 26-year PPP contract to design, build and operate a light rail line in the city. The shortlisted bidders are: Itochu, Makyol and CAF;China Machinery Engineering Corp, China High Speed Railway Technology Co and China Railway 22th Bureau Group Co;Alstom, Marubeni, ...
-
NewsTesting starts on next Antalya light rail line
TURKEY: Testing on the next light rail line in Antalya began on January 25, after the completion of the route’s first stage four days earlier. The 11 km first phase has been built in 1½ years at a cost of TL700m. It will run from Varsak in the north ...
-
Metro Report InternationalCuenca tramway to open next month
ECUADOR: The Cuenca tramway is currently in the final acceptance phase and is scheduled to begin revenue service in the first half of March. Test running has been underway since 2015, but completion has been delayed by a series of funding and contractual problems. In 2017 the ACTN consortium ...
-
NewsLiège tram loan agreed
BELGIUM: The Tram’Ardent consortium, which is developing the Liège tram project, signed a €200m loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on January 31. The 30-year loan covers just under half of the total project cost and is guaranteed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments. ‘I am ...
-
Metro Report InternationalSanya tram line opens to passengers
CHINA: The initial phase of the first tram line in Sanya on Hainan Island opened for revenue service on January 1. Services are operating on the northern section of the line from Sanya Railway Station to Jiefang Lu, serving six stops. When complete, the line will be 8·4 km ...
-
NewsInnsbruck tram extension inaugurated
AUSTRIA: Trams began serving the Olympisches Dorf area of Innsbruck on January 26, following a ceremonial opening of an extension the previous day. The 4·3 km branch between Leipziger Platz and Josef-Kerschbuamer-Straße has 12 stops and is operated by routes 2 and 5. It includes a new bridge over ...
-
NewsSingapore Cross Island Line alignment confirmed
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority announced the alignment for Phase 1 of the Cross Island Line on January 25. To be built in three phases, the Cross Island Line would be the longest fully underground metro line in Singapore. When complete, initial ridership is forecast at 600 000 passengers ...
-
NewsNoida opens Aqua metro line
INDIA: The 29·7 km Aqua Line metro serving the Noida and Greater Noida districts to the east of Delhi was formally inaugurated on January 25 by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. Authorised by the state government in October 2014 at an estimated cost of Rs50·6bn, the line ...
-
NewsRevised cost estimate for Helsinki – Espoo light rail line
FINLAND: A revised cost estimate for the planned Raide-Jokeri orbital light rail line that would link Helsinki with Espoo has been announced. If this is approved by the two city governments, construction can begin in June. The 25 km route is now expected to cost €566m, including €110m for ...
-
NewsFirst Klang Valley Line 2 car bodies arrive in Malaysia
MALAYSIA: Car bodies for the first two trainsets that will operate Klang Valley Line 2 arrived at Westport in Port Klang on January 23. The bodies have arrived from Hyundai Rotem’s Changwon plant in South Korea and will now be transported to a factory in Rasa for final assembly. ...
-
Metro Report InternationalFirst suburban line opens in Wenzhou
CHINA: The first phase of suburban Line S1 in Wenzhou opened on January 23. The 34·8 km route runs from Tongling to Olympic Centre, serving 12 stations; three more stations are still to open. The National Development & Reform Commission approved the line in September 2012, and construction was ...
-
Metro Report InternationalSantiago opens second driverless metro line
CHILE: President Sebastián Piñera officially opened the second driverless line of the Santiago metro with a ceremony at Los Libertadores station on January 22. Line 3 links Los Libertadores with Fernando Castillo Velasco on a 21·7 km underground alignment with 18 stations. The end-to-end journey time is 30 min ...
-
NewsRevised Colombo light rail plan approved
SRI LANKA: The government has approved a revised plan for a light rail line to be built in Colombo, and plans to sign a loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency. The 17 km line with 16 stops would link Colombo Fort Multimodal Transport Hub with Malabe. Work is ...
-
NewsState approves Bangalore suburban rail network
INDIA: The Karnataka state cabinet has approved a four-route suburban railway network planned for Bangalore. Services would use dedicated tracks to serve 81 stations, including 30 elevated. The estimated Rs230·1bn cost would be funded by the central government (20%), the state government (20%) and loans from multilateral or domestic ...