Metro news – Page 134
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NewsTunnelling starts on Sydney's North West Rail Link
AUSTRALIA: Tunnelling for Sydney’s North West Rail Link started on September 8 with a ceremony in Bella Vista. Elizabeth is the first of four hard rock tunnel boring machines delivered by NFM Technologies. The 120 m long, 6·99 m diameter TBM was assembled at Bella Vista over the past ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - September 2014
The European Investment Bank is providing a €128m loan towards the extension of Paris tram route T3. The 4·3 km extension from Porte de la Chapelle to Porte d’Asnières will have eight stops. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has authorised a study into converting the Orange ...
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NewsToronto welcomes new generation trams
CANADA: Toronto’s first Bombardier Flexity Outlook trams entered service on the 510 Spadina route on August 31. The 100% low-floor cars are part of the first new generation of streetcar in the city for 30 years. The air-conditioned five-section vehicles are 30·2 m long, 2 540 mm wide and ...
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NewsRio metro train on test in China
BRAZIL: The first of 15 trainsets ordered for Rio metro Line 4 is undergoing testing at the CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles factory in China. In mid-October it will leave for Rio, with arrival scheduled for December. Deliveries are due to be completed in 2015, in time for the opening of ...
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NewsCAF to refurbish Lyon metro fleet
FRANCE: Lyon transport authority Sytral has awarded CAF a €23m contract to undertake heavy overhaul and refurbishment of 36 two-car MPL 85 trainsets. Built by Alsthom, the rubber-tyred driverless cars entered service in 1991 on Line D of the Lyon metro. Due to start during autumn 2014 for completion by ...
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NewsFeature articles in the September 2014 issue of Metro Report International
Articles in the September 2014 issue of Metro Report International. Comment Licensing agreements are helping Škoda Transportation develop its activities in China, says Petr Vízdal News Review Round-up of world metro, light rail and tram news City digest London goes contactless, Sydney Rapid Transit plans, Paris funding package, Wien metro ...
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NewsTransdev signs new Luas operating contract
IRELAND: The National Transport Authority and the Railway Procurement Agency signed a new contract for incumbent Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd to operate the capital’s tram system on September 1. The five-year contract worth €150m starts on September 29, and includes responsibility for infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance through novated ...
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NewsAubagne opens tramway
FRANCE: The Aubagne tramway entered commercial service on September 1. The 2·7 km line runs from Le Charrel to the main railway station with seven stops. Aubagne is the first city to use Alstom’s Citadis Compact tram. According to the manufacturer, this is ‘specially designed to meet the needs ...
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NewsOne-year postgraduate metro programme
INDIA: The Secunderabad-based Institute of Metro & Rail Technology has welcomed its first intake of 17 students for a one-year postgraduate programme in metro and rail technology. Organised in partnership with consultancy firm Barsyl, the IMRT course has extensive industry involvement, providing ‘case study-based learning, individual and group work, industry ...
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NewsBesançon’s low-cost tramway opens
FRANCE: A weekend of ‘modest celebrations’ marked the inauguration of Besançon’s 14·5 km tram line on August 30-31, with local residents attending wearing turquoise-blue to match the trams’ colour scheme. The tramway has been explicitly developed as a low-cost project by the Grand Besançon municipality, which had hoped to reduce ...
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NewsLe Mans launches second tram route
FRANCE: The light rail network in Le Mans was extended on August 30 with the opening of a 3·6 km branch through the northeast of the city. The city’s 15·4 km starter line opened in 2007, consisting of a principal route of 12·6 km from the university in the ...
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NewsSão Paulo monorail Line 18 concession signed
BRAZIL: Sole bidder ABC Integrado has been awarded a 25-year PPP concession to build, operate and maintain São Paulo monorail Line 18. The consortium is made up of local firms Primav, Encalso and Cowan, as well as Benito Roggio Transportes from Argentina. It is to invest R$1·9bn in the ...
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NewsWarszawa orders tram track maintenance vehicles
POLAND: Tramwaje Warszawskie has selected ZPS to supply eight maintenance vehicles for use on its tram network. Under the 21·7m złoty deal, ZPS will also provide servicing. Six will be 12·5 m to 14 m long powered vehicles equipped with a snowplough; the other two will be non-powered wagons ...
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NewsChengdu metro train unveiled
CHINA: CNR Changchun unveiled the first trainset for Chengdu metro Line 4 on August 21. CNR Changchun is supplying 27 six-car trainsets for metro Line 4, as well as 24 for Line 3, at a cost of 1·36bn yuan. Deliveries of the Line 4 cars are due to run ...
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NewsFirst Addis Abeba tram rolls out
ETHIOPIA: The first of 41 trams being built for the two-line network under construction in Addis Abeba was unveiled at CNR Changchun’s plant in China on August 26. The trams were ordered in March 2014 and are scheduled to be delivered by January, being shipped via Tianjin and Djibouti ...
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NewsNagpur metro foundation stone laid
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the two-line Nagpur metro August 21. A 19·7 km north-south line is planned to connect Automotive Square with Mihan City on a mostly elevated alignment, with an underground section at the southern end. Interchange will be provided ...
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NewsOlsztyn selects new tramway contractors
POLAND: Skanska signed a 150m złoty contract with the city of Olsztyn on August 19 for the construction of 6 km of tram route by September 2015. Construction of the standard gauge network officially began in September 2012, but in 2013 the city terminated FCC Construcción’s contract, citing a ...
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NewsMetro station energy efficiency project
SPAIN: As part of the EU-backed Sustainable Energy Management for Underground Stations research project, Passeig de Gràcia station on Barcelona metro Line 3 has been fitted with 50 sensors to monitor the power consumption of subsystems including lighting, escalators, lifts and ventilation. The multinational Seam4us project partners envisage that ...
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NewsWashington Silver Line receives federal funding
USA: On August 20 Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a $1·28bn Transportation Infrastructure Financial Innovation Act loan for the second phase of the Washington metro Silver Line extension. This is part of a $1·87bn combined commitment of TIFIA loans for the Silver Line Phase 2, which the Department of ...
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NewsWaterloo ION light rail breaks ground
CANADA: A groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 21 for Stage 1 of the ION Light Rail Transit project on Dutton Drive in Waterloo, the future site of the operations and maintenance facility. Stage 1 covers the 19 km of light rail from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview ...