Urban transport project news – Page 65
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Metro Report InternationalGold Coast light rail Stage 2 inaugurated
AUSTRALIA: Revenue services began running on Stage 2 of the Gold Coast light rail line on December 18, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day attended by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Transport Minister Mark Bailey and Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Free rides were offered to local residents and visitors ...
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Metro Report InternationalToronto Subway Line 1 extends into York
CANADA: A northern extension of Toronto Subway Line 1 into York was inaugurated on December 17, with a day of free travel. The 8·6 km section from Sheppard West to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre via York University adds six stations and 14 min of journey time to Line 1. It ...
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Metro Report InternationalLight rail tunnel opens in Stuttgart
GERMANY: An extension of the light rail network in Stuttgart was inaugurated on December 9, linking two existing lines with a new tunnel section offering a shorter and more direct route to the northeast. The 1·2 km link between Hallschlag and Wagrainäcker has an intermediate stop at Bottroper Straße. The ...
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NewsErdoğan opens first driverless metro line in Istanbul
TURKEY: A ceremony to inaugurate Istanbul’s first driverless metro line was held at Üsküdar on December 15, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Mayor Mevlüt Uysal. The first 10·5 km phase of Line M5, the second metro route on the Asian side of the ...
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NewsSt Petersburg tenders for second fast tram PPP
RUSSIA: The city of St Petersburg is tendering for a PPP concession to build and operate a fast tram line that would serve two of the city’s satellite towns. The route would run from Kupchino station on metro Line 2 to Shushary and Slavyanka. The winning bidder would invest ...
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NewsBasel gains third cross-border tram route
SWITZERLAND: Basel tram operator BVB opened a 3 km extension of Route 3 into France on December 9. Revenue services on the new section started the following day. The extension to Gare de Saint-Louis has four stops. It cost SFr54m, with an additional SFr33m for the construction of station ...
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NewsMacron joins Abidjan metro groundbreaking
CÔTE D’IVOIRE: Construction work on the Abidjan metro project was formally inaugurated on November 30 by President Alassane Ouattara and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron with a ceremony at the site of the future Treichville station. Visiting the region for an Africa-Europe summit, Macron said the urban rail service ...
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NewsInnsbruck tramway extended
AUSTRIA: Passenger services on a 3 km Y-shaped western extension of Innsbruck’s metre-gauge tram network were launched on December 10, following inauguration celebrations five days earlier. The extension runs from the former terminus at Höttinger Au to Peerhofsiedlung, with a branch to Technik West which has been built as the ...
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NewsDublin’s Cross City tram extension opens
IRELAND: Guests including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attended celebrations on December 9 marking the opening of the Luas Cross City extension of Dublin’s light rail Green Line. The €368m project to build the 5·9 km extension north from St Stephen’s Green to Broombridge with 13 stops was given the go-ahead in ...
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Metro Report InternationalShatin – Central project faces 23% cost increase
CHINA: Following a detailed review of the estimated cost-to-complete of the main construction works for Hong Kong’s Shatin – Central Link project, MTR Corp announced on December 6 that it had increased its estimate by 23% to HK$87·3bn. MTR Corp had previously said that ‘continuing challenges posed by external factors ...
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NewsBaghdad and Basra urban rail memorandum signed by Alstom
IRAQ: A memorandum of understanding for the development of urban rail projects in Baghdad and Basra has been signed by the Iraqi government and Alstom as part of a Franco-Iraqi inter-governmental meeting. A 20 km elevated light rail line is proposed for Baghdad, which would link Mustansiriyah, ...
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Metro Report InternationalLos Angeles light rail extension groundbreaking
USA: The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 2 for the next phase of the light rail route. The 19·8 km eastern extension from APU/Citrus College in Glendora to Montclair will add six stops. Main construction work is due to begin in 2020, with ...
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Metro Report InternationalKøbenhavn metro extension contractors selected
DENMARK: København metro authority Metroselskabet announced on November 27 that it had selected contractors to build and fit out the southern section of Line M4. The TUNN3L joint venture of Hochtief Infrastructure and Vinci Construction Grands Projets is to build 4·5 km of twin tunnels and five stations. A ...
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NewsHyderabad metro inaugurated
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao inaugurated the Hyderabad metro on November 28. Revenue services starting the following day on what has become the 10th metro network in India. Two lines have opened, which share an interchange at Ameerpet. Line 1 is 12·2 km ...
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NewsDudley extension receives government funding
UK: The government is to provide £250m from its Transforming Cities Fund towards the construction of an extension of the Midland Metro light rail network serving Birmingham, the West Midlands Combined Authority announced on November 20. The 11 km branch would serve 17 stops. It would run southwest from ...
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Metro Report InternationalParramatta light rail shortlists announced
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance announced shortlisted bidders to build and operate Stage 1 of the Parramatta light rail project on November 22. Two bidders have been shortlisted for the civil works contract: John Holland, and a joint venture of CPB ...
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NewsLänsimetro extension opens in Helsinki
FINLAND: The first phase of the Länsimetro extension of the Helsinki metro into Espoo opened to passengers on November 18. The 13·5 km western extension from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä in Espoo has eight underground stations. It was built by Länsimetro Oy and has a forecast ridership of 100 000 passengers ...
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Metro Report InternationalWork starts on Istanbul driverless metro extension
TURKEY: Work has started on the second phase of Istanbul metro Line M7. The western section of the driverless line will run from Mahmutbey to Esenyurt, serving 10 stations. A consortium of Akyol, Astur and IC İçtaş was awarded the construction contract for the 18·5 km route on July ...
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Metro Report InternationalPutin approves Moscow RER
RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin approved the first phase of an RER-style network planned for Moscow on November 15. Earlier this month Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced plans to create links between the existing radial rail routes into the city. At least five such RER routes are to be developed at ...
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NewsSixth Oslo metro line approved
NORWAY: Oslo city council approved plans for the city’s sixth metro line on November 13. Planned to open in 2024, the 8·2 km line with six stations would run from Majorstuen on the existing network to Fornebusenter to the west of the city centre, where the depot would be ...