All Light Rail articles – Page 70
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NewsStrasbourg trams cross the border
FRANCE: April 29 marked the start of tram services from Strasbourg into Germany, following a ceremony the previous day with French and German officials. German Chancellery Chief of Staff Peter Altmaier called the start of services ‘an especially important, perhaps historic event’, and praised the co-operation between the two ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutonomous tram stabling experiment completed
FRANCE: Paris transport authority RATP and tram supplier Alstom have completed an experiment with a tram which can stable itself in the depot autonomously. The tram uses lidar sensors to detect obstacles, and can react by reducing speed, increasing braking or applying emergency brakes. The tram is also capable ...
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Metro Report InternationalTram components 3D printed on demand
GERMANY: Siemens is using 3D printing to reduce its lead times for the supply of customised tram components from weeks to days while eliminating the cost of specialised tooling and the need to keep parts in stock. Siemens has seen an increase in demand for customised parts, but the ...
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Metro Report InternationalWork begins on second phase of Karlsruhe tram and road tunnel project
GERMANY: Jazz played on alpenhorns accompanied Baden-Württemberg Transport Minister Winfried Hermann and Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe Frank Mentrup as they attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of the Kombilösung tram and road project on April 21. A road tunnel is being built beneath the east-west Kriegsstraße to ...
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Metro Report InternationalCatenary-free operation for Newcastle light rail line
AUSTRALIA: The six Urbos trams which CAF is to supply for the light rail line under development in Newcastle will be equipped with onboard energy storage to permit catenary-free operation, New South Wales Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance has announced. ‘Removing the overhead wires will preserve the ...
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NewsBergen airport tram extension opens
NORWAY: The extension of Bergen’s Bybanen light rail line from Birkelandsskiftet to Kokstadflaten and the airport at Flesland was officially opened with a ceremony on April 21. Passenger services started the following day. The opening of the latest section of the line completes the 7 km Lagunen – Flesland third ...
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Metro Report InternationalCourt backs Bombardier in Ontario LRV dispute
CANADA: Ontario provincial transport authority Metrolinx cannot immediately cancel a contract with Bombardier Transportation for the supply of 182 light rail vehicles without compensating the manufacturer, a court ruled on April 19.Metrolinx had launched legal proceedings against Bombardier over what it claimed were a series of delays to the production ...
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NewsStadler selected to supply Szeged tram-trains
HUNGARY: National passenger operator MÁV-Start has selected Stadler Rail Valencia to supply eight electro-diesel tram-trains to operate on the planned route between Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely. The order announced on April 18 includes an option for four more vehicles. The project is being fully financed by the EU, with rolling ...
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Metro Report InternationalSeattle light rail renewable energy agreement signed
USA: Sound Transit has entered into a 10-year agreement with Puget Sound Energy enabling the transport authority to purchase wind-generated energy directly. It hopes to use only renewable energy to power its light rail network from 2019. Through its 2015 Sustainability Plan and Sound Transit 3 network expansion project, ...
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Metro Report InternationalSheffield tram-train infrastructure work progresses
UK: Work has started on the Tinsley Chord that will connect Sheffield Supertram with the main line network. The 400 m chord, which includes 160 m of new alignment, will enable tram-train services to run between Sheffield and Rotherham. The Tinsley Chord is located near Meadowhall, the terminus of ...
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NewsBelkommunmash wins Pavlodar tram order
KAZAKHSTAN: Belkommunmash has won a contract to supply up to 25 trams to Pavlodar. The contract is worth 2·7bn tenge. The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is providing 2bn tenge under a loan agreement signed in 2015. The remainder will come from the government, which is also funding ...
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NewsLviv fast tram route completed
UKRAINE: The second phase of the fast tram route in Lviv opened on April 15 to the Sykhiv district in the south of the city. The 1·5 km extension has four stops and runs south from Kinoteatr Dovzhenka to Vul Akademika Vernadskoho. Routes 2 and 8 serve the extension, ...
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Metro Report InternationalTram changes to aid Melbourne Metro construction
AUSTRALIA: Melbourne operator Yarra Trams is to reconfigure three routes with effect from May 1, offering new cross-city connections and facilitating the construction of the Metro Rail tunnels. The current Route 55 between West Coburg and Domain Interchange is being extended southeast to Toorak, taking over the southern part ...
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Metro Report InternationalDetroit tram deliveries completed
USA: Brookville Equipment Corp delivered the last two of six Liberty Modern Streetcars for Detroit in March, ahead of the planned opening of the QLine on May 12. The pilot vehicle arrived in Detroit in September 2016, after Brookville signed a $32m order the previous year. The 70% low-floor ...
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NewsKarşıyaka tram line opens in Izmir
TURKEY: Izmir mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu attended the inauguration of the Karşıyaka tram line on April 11. Travel on the line is free until June. The 8·8 km route with 14 stops runs along the northern coast of the Gulf of Izmir, linking Alaybey and Mavişehir stations on the city’s ...
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Metro Report InternationalBattery energy storage to lower light rail energy cost
CANADA: Toronto Hydro is to provide a battery energy storage system capable of providing the future Eglinton Crosstown light rail line with back-up and emergency power for up to 4 h in the event of a widespread power outage. It will also store energy generated during night time off-peak ...
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NewsTram-trains on test in Sheffield
UK: Non-passenger-carrying tests of the Class 399 tram-train vehicles have started on the Supertram network in Sheffield. Driver training is due to begin shortly, with passenger services on the existing tram network now expected to begin in mid-2017. Testing on the national rail network is currently expected to start next ...
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Metro Report InternationalLyon’s future metro design revealed
FRANCE: Announcing details of Sytral’s Avenir Metro programme at a press conference on April 3, President Annie Guillemot unveiled the design of the future metro trainsets ordered from Alstom for deployment on metro lines B and D. Insisting that ‘investment is a top priority’ for Sytral, she explained that the ...
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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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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 ...