Metro news – Page 133
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NewsKarlsruhe Citylink formally approved
GERMANY: The BOStrab approval certificate for Vossloh’s Citylink NET 2012 light rail vehicle was formally handed over to Karlsruhe transport operator VBK at InnoTrans on September 25. According to the manufacturer, this makes it the first low-floor tram-train vehicle to be approved for both BOStrab and EBO. VBK and ...
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NewsAlstom adds X05 to Citadis family
ALSTOM: Alstom announced at InnoTrans 2014 that it is to launch an update to its Citadis tram family. The Citadis X05 uses permanent magnet motors and is faster than existing Citadis vehicles, with a top speed of 80 km/h. As well as being equipped for use with Alstom’s APS ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse to supply Crossrail platform screen doors
UK: Crossrail Ltd announced on September 23 that it had selected Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems (UK) Ltd as preferred bidder for contract C631, covering the supply of platform screen doors for seven underground stations. Contract value ‘is in the region of £28m’, says Crossrail. Knorr-Bremse is to supply full-height platform screen ...
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NewsFirst Sustina export order
JAPAN: East Japan Railway train manufacturing subsidiary J-Trec has won an order to supply its Sustina design for the Purple Line in Bangkok. A fleet of 21 three-car sets will be delivered to Thailand in 2016 from the company’s factory in Yokohama, and JR East will set up a local ...
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NewsManchester exercises M5000 option
UK: On September 22 Bombardier Transportation announced that, together with consortium partner Vossloh Kiepe, it had signed an option worth £34m with Transport for Greater Manchester to supply an additional 16 M5000 light rail vehicles for the Metrolink network. Bombardier says that its share of the option is worth £25m. ...
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NewsSiemens to supply San Francisco LRVs
USA: On September 19 Siemens announced that it had been awarded a $648m contract by San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to supply an initial 175 light rail vehicles. With an option for an additional 85 cars, this is the ‘largest LRV contract ever awarded in the USA to Siemens’, according ...
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NewsHong Kong releases railway plans
CHINA: The Hong Kong government announced studies on September 17 for seven railway projects intended to open by 2031. This would increase the rail network to 300 km and would cost at least HK$110bn. The lines would serve outer suburbs where most of the city’s population growth is projected. ...
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NewsFirst Siemens Avenio tram enters passenger service
GERMANY: The first Siemens Avenio tram entered passenger service on September 17 on Route 19 in München. It had been publicly unveiled in the city in November 2013, following an order from München utility body SWM in September 2012. Eight Avenio vehicles are starting to enter service alongside the ...
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NewsAlstom to supply automated trains to Sydney
AUSTRALIA: Alstom is to supply automated metro trainsets and signalling for the North West Rail Link in Sydney under a contract worth €280m. Alstom will be responsible for project management, design and supply of 22 Metropolis trainsets and Urbalis 400 communications-based train control. The trains will be six-car formations, ...
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NewsDetroit light rail receives more TIGER funding
USA: Federal Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a $12·2m TIGER grant for the M-1 light rail project in Detroit on September 15. This follows a $25m TIGER grant awarded in 2011. Project promoter M-1 Rail Corp has committed more than $88m towards construction and operation of the $136m project. ...
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NewsContactless payment arrives in London
UK: With effect from September 16 passengers are able to use contactless bank cards to pay for travel on London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, tram and National Rail services within Greater London, as well as on buses. Bank cards are touched on the Oyster smart card readers at the ...
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NewsStorm damaged tunnels reopen after 13 months
USA: The Montague Tubes metro tunnel linking Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York has reopened following extensive repairs to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy. Services on the R Broadway Local line through the tunnel restarted on September 15. The $250m renewal project was funded by the Federal Transit Administration. ...
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NewsMinneapolis light rail moves forward
USA: Construction of the 25·4 km Southwest LRT linking Minneapolis with St Louis Park, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie is expected to get underway in 2016. The Metropolitan Council’s Southwest LRT Project Office submitted a New Starts application to the Federal Transit Administration on September 10 seeking permission to start final ...
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NewsManila selects LRT Line 1 concessionaire
PHILIPPINES: On September 12 the Department of Transportation & Communications selected the Light Rail Manila consortium to extend and operate Manila LRT Line 1. The consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp, Ayala Corp and Macquarie Group was the sole bidder. It now has 20 days to comply with post-award ...
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NewsNavi Mumbai orders metro trains
INDIA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a contract on September 10 to supply rolling stock for the first phase of Navi Mumbai metro’s Line 1. The contract is worth 300m yuan, including maintenance. The three-car trainsets would be 64·6 m long and 3 160 mm wide, with capacity for 1 128 ...
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NewsAuckland electrification complete
NEW ZEALAND: Auckland Transport’s Western Line was energised on September 4, completing the electrification of the city’s suburban network. Electric services on the Newmarket – Swanson route are scheduled to begin running next year. The first electric services started running in April on the Southern Line between Britomart and ...
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NewsFirst Kaohsiung trams arrive
TAIWAN: The first low-floor trams for the Kaohsiung light rail project arrived in the city on September 11. CAF is supplying a fleet of bidirectional trams from its Urbos family, equipped with CAF’s ACR onboard energy storage technology for catenary-free operation. The five-section vehicles are 34·2 m long with ...
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NewsBasel takes delivery of first Flexity tram
SWITZERLAND: The first Flexity Basel tram from Bombardier Transportation arrived at the Wiesenplatz depot in Basel in the early hours of September 4. It took four days for the tram to be transported by Universal Transport on a low-loader from Bombardier’s Bautzen plant. It will now undergo testing on ...
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NewsTfL consults on Barking Riverside extension
UK: Transport for London has begun public consultation on plans to extend London Overground services on the Gospel Oak – Barking line to a new station at Barking Riverside, where up to 10 800 new homes are planned along with commercial and leisure facilities. The 4 km extension would ...
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NewsBattery trams running in Nanjing
CHINA: The Hexi Line of the Nanjing tramway opened for passenger service during the Youth Olympic Games, following a period of test running that started on July 1. Two trams have entered service, with a further two delivered. There will eventually be eight trams operating services on the 8 ...