On June 6 Alstom announced that it had been awarded a €92·5m contract by the Dominican Republic's transport authority Opret to supply 19 three-car Metropolis trainsets for the 14·5 km first metro line in Santo Domingo, which is due to open in 2008.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and UK Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander visited the new Western Ticket Hall serving London Underground's Circle Line platforms at Kings Cross on May 25, before it opened to passengers on May 28. On May 25 LU awarded a £115m contract to Balfour Beatty for completion of the part-built Northern Ticket Hall which will serve the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras and Network Rail's new Western Concourse at Kings Cross Completion of the NTH is scheduled for 2010, with the Western Concourse above to be ready in time for the 2012 Olympic Games
Spanish company Acciona Infraestructuras and its local partner Mostostal Warszawa have been awarded a 217·7m zloty contract to build a 1·5 km extension of Warszawa metro Line 1 from Stodowiec, including new stations at Stare Bielany and Wawrzyszew. Mainly using cut and cover construction, work is due to be complete within 15 months, giving a completion date of October 2007.
Northstar Corridor Development Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BNSF Railway and the state of Minnesota on May 9, paving the way for the start of commuter rail services between Minneapolis and Big Lake in 2009. NCDA will pay $107·9m for rights to operate six trains each way per day on the 64·3 km route, serving intermediate stations at Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids/Riverdale and Fridley.
TURKEY: Minister of Transport & Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced plans to launch tickets which can be used on all rail and metro lines in Istanbul built and operated by the ministry, and eventually on public transport across Turkey. The roll-out would start on the Marmaray, ...
USA: The Operation Lifesaver safety campaign has expressed concern over an increase in illegal ‘Subway surfing’, where people ride on the outside of metro trains, and New York City Transit has deployed drones to back up a publicity campaign developed with teenagers to tackle the problem ...
PHILIPPINES: Passenger services on the Manila LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Phase 1 began on November 16, following an official inauguration by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr the previous day. ‘This extension will greatly reduce travel time, giving commuters the gift of more moments spent with ...