Metro news – Page 170
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NewsLTA announces Thomson Line alignment
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority announced the alignment and station locations for the future Thomson Line on August 29. The 30 km underground metro line is scheduled to be built in three phases for completion in 2021. The route runs north to south from Woodlands to Marina Bay, linking a corridor ...
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NewsTwo tram lines to serve Avignon
FRANCE: Avignon council has finalised its preferred alignment for a planned two-line tramway which could open in 2016. The 9·2 km Line A with 16 stops would run from Ile Piot via Gare Centrale to Le Pontet Gare, with a branch at the eastern end serving Realpanier. The 5·2 ...
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NewsDijon tram network opens six months early
FRANCE: The first line of a two-route tram network opened in Dijon on September 1 with a weekend of celebrations and inaugural rides, before full commercial services started on September 3. The 8·5 km starter line runs on an east-west alignment from the city’s main line railway station to the ...
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NewsTrackside art on Calgary light rail extension
CANADA: Public art is a feature of the 2·9 km northeast extension of Calgary Transit's light rail Blue Line from McKnight-Westwinds to Martindale and Saddletowne which opened on August 27. Construction has taken three years at a cost of C$124m. The two new stations are located within walking or cycling ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - September 2012
An Octopus-Lingnan Pass smart card has been launched which can be used for transport payments in Hong Kong and 16 cities in Guangdong province. The cards contain two e-purses which can be topped up in yuan or Hong Kong dollars, with payment deducted in the appropriate currency. Public wi-fi is ...
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NewsFree rides celebrate opening of Sofia metro Line 2
BULGARIA: The first phase of Sofia metro Line 2 opened on August 31, with President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso attending the celebrations. Musical entertainment was laid on at the National Palace of Culture, with the public able to ...
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NewsWork starts on Ho Chi Minh City metro Line 1
VIETNAM: Transport Minister Dinh La Thang and representatives from the Japanese embassy attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the future Ho Chi Minh City metro Line 1 on August 28. Completion is planned for late 2017, with six months of testing and commissioning to be followed by regular services in ...
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NewsMoscow metro extended to Novokosino
RUSSIA: A 3·2 km eastern extension of Moscow metro's Kalininskaya Line 8 from Novogireyevo to Novokosino opened on August 30. Novokosino is the 186th station on the metro network. It has single vaulted underground hall, with black, grey and white marble and granite cladding combined with coloured ceramic tiles. ...
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NewsHelsinki tram extension opens
FINLAND: Helsinki tram Route 9 services began running to the Länsisatama ferry terminal on August 13, completing a €7·5m extension project. Trams run every 10 min during the day, with late-night services co-ordinated with ferry times. The 4·1 km double-track extension has 11 stops. Construction was undertaken by city transport ...
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NewsCAF wins Sydney tram order
AUSTRALIA: Spanish manufacturer CAF has been awarded a A$20m contract to supply six new and four leased trams to Sydney, New South Wales Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian announced on August 16. The new light rail vehicles will be delivered from next year. They are needed for the 5·6 km ...
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NewsSupercapacitor light metro train unveiled
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive has unveiled a prototype light metro trainset which uses supercapacitor energy storage to operate without an external power supply. Developed in conjunction with Chinese Academy of Engineering, the trainset has underfloor power pick-ups which are used to charge the roof-mounted supercapacitor unit from a fixed ...
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NewsArriva takes over Stockholm light rail operations
SWEDEN: Deutsche Bahn subsidiary Arriva took over from Veolia as the operator of Stockholm's Nockebybanan, Tvärbanan and Lidingöbanan light rail lines on August 20. In November 2011 Storstockholms Lokaltrafik selected Arriva for two parallel operating contracts covering local bus and light services. The overall package runs for 12 years and ...
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Metro Report InternationalPrincess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University driverless metro opens
Metro Report International takes an exclusive preview ride on the driverless metro serving a women’s university campus in Riyadh.
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NewsSound Transit launches Northgate Link construction
USA: A groundbreaking ceremony on August 17 marked the start of work on the Northgate Link light rail extension in Seattle, a 6·88 km route running mostly in tunnel from University of Washington station to U District, Roosevelt and Northgate. The project is expected to cost $2·1bn, with ...
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NewsDoha metro contracts awarded
QATAR: Qatar Rail has signed the first round of engineering and consultancy contracts for the planned US$36bn national network of railway and metro routes. Construction of the 75·4 km Phase 1a of the network is scheduled to begin in early 2013 for completion by October 2019 and opening in 2020. ...
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NewsFinal Ampang LRT Line Extension Project contract awarded
MALAYSIA: Government infrastructure body Prasarana has announced the winner of the final construction contract for Kuala Lumpur's Ampang Line metro extension project, selecting a joint venture of George Kent and Lion Pacific to supply and commission trackwork and railway systems. The Ampang Line is being extended 17·7 km from Sri ...
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NewsKadiköy - Kartal metro opened by Prime Minister
TURKEY: The first metro line on the Asian side of Istanbul was opened by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on August 17. Line M4 runs for 21·7 km from Kadiköy on the Bosporus to Kartal, with 16 stations and an end to end journey time of 32 min. The line ...
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NewsJeddah and Makkah metro plans approved
SAUDI ARABIA: Plans to develop metro networks in Jeddah and Makkah have been approved. A 62bn riyal strategy to develop a metro and bus network in Makkah was announced on August 14. Four metro lines totalling 182 km with 88 stations are planned, supplementing the existing Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah ...
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NewsLondon Underground pulls the plug on Powerlink PFI
UK: London Underground gave notice on August 16 that it intends to terminate the 30-year Powerlink private finance initiative contract for the operation and maintenance of its high-voltage electrical power network. LU will end the contract in August 2013 by exercising a half-way break clause. It will be required ...
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NewsChemnitz orders electro-diesel tram-trains
GERMANY: Vossloh has won an order to supply eight electro-diesel tram-trains for the network under development around Chemnitz, with an option for two more. Delivery is planned for 2014. The €42·3m contract was signed by transport authority Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen on August 14, with funding from the Land of Sachsen and ...