Metro news – Page 185
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - August 2011
The first rail was laid on the T7 tram route in Paris at a ceremony on June 29. Due to open by the end of 2013, the 112 km route will link the Line 7 metro terminus at Villejuif-Louis Aragon with Athis-Mons via Orly airport. A future ...
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NewsMetro de Santiago orders more trains
CHILE: Metro de Santiago has awarded a US$144m firm order for CAF to supply a further 12 nine-car trainsets in 2012-13 for use on lines 1, 2 and 5. The rubber-tyred trains will be equipped for CBTC and unlike previous vehicles for Santiago will feature air-conditioning. The contract announced on ...
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NewsSalt Lake City launches two TRAX extensions
USA: Celebrations are being held in Salt Lake County on August 3 to mark the completion of Utah Transit Authority's Mid-Jordan and West Valley TRAX light rail extensions, with free rides being offered on both routes. The two lines are being built as part of UTA's Frontlines 2015 expansion programme, ...
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NewsSão Paulo Line 5 expansion gets underway
BRAZIL: São Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin officially launched work on an 11·5 km extension of Metrô de São Paulo's 8·4 km Line 5 on July 23. An initial one-station extension from Largo 13 to Adolfo Pinheiro has been under construction using NATM since September 2009, and is scheduled for ...
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NewsRATP buys Manchester Metrolink operator
UK: The RATP Dev UK Ltd subsidiary of Groupe RATP bought Manchester light rail operator Stagecoach Metrolink Ltd from Stagecoach Group on August 1. SML operates and maintains the Metrolink network under a 10-year contract with Transport for Greater Manchester which runs to July 2017. There are currently four Metrolink ...
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NewsFoothill Extension contract awarded
USA: Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority announced on July 27 that it had awarded the Foothill Transit Constructors joint venture of Kiewit and Parsons a US$485m contract to design and build the 18·3 km extension of the Los Angeles light rail Gold Line from East Pasadena to Azusa, ...
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NewsZürich West tram extension nears completion
SWITZERLAND: Zürich transport operator VBZ has begun test running on the 3 km Zürich West extension of tram Route 4 from Escher-Wyss-Platz to Altstetten Nord, scheduled to open on December 11. Seven stops will serve the Zürich West area where redevelopment is expected to increase the number of local ...
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NewsFreiburg begins work on tram extension
GERMANY: A groundbreaking ceremony in Freiburg on July 26 launched work on the 1·8 km Zähringen tram extension north from Reutebachgasse to Dorfbach, where it will serve a park and ride site on the city boundary. The three-stop extension of the metre-gauge network along a mostly segregated and grassed alignment ...
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NewsFortaleza metro South Line test running underway
BRAZIL: Test running began on June 17 on a 2·5 km section between Rachel Queiroz and Virgilio Tavora on the South Line of the Fortaleza metro (RG 1.11 p54). ‘Today is a victory’, announced Ceará State Infrastructure Minister Adail Fontenele, confirming that civil works for the rest of the 24 ...
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NewsNew Starts funding
USA: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a funding package worth $1·58bn on June 27 for 27 urban transport projects across the country under the New Starts initiative. While some of this total includes Full Funding Grant Agreements which are already in place, $345m has been allocated to rail projects as ...
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NewsNorth-south tram line approved
SLOVAKIA: On June 30 Bratislava council approved construction of the first phase of a long-awaited urban transport backbone which will be centred on a north-south light rail route connecting Safárikovo námestie in the city centre with Bosákova ulice in Petrzalka. This will involve heavy renovation of the old bridge ...
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NewsSydney suburban link design contract
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian announced the award of the first contract for the North West Rail Link in suburban Sydney on July 14. A consortium led by Aecom and including Cox Architects Pty Ltd, Grimshaw Architects and Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia Ltd will undertake ‘a range of ...
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NewsRATP orders 66 trains for Paris metro
FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP has exercised an €300m option for 66 more MF01 metro trains, supply consortium leader Alstom announced on July 25. They are to be delivered for Line 9 by Alstom, Bombardier and Areva between May 2013 and August 2016, with financing split equally between RATP ...
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NewsJena places first Tramino export order
GERMANY: Polish bus and tram manufacturer Solaris announced its first tram export order on July 12, a €13·7m contract to supply five Tramino cars to Jena transport operator Jenaer Nahverkehr. Delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2013. The 100% low-floor cars will be custom-designed for Jena's metre gauge ...
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NewsChicago orders 300 more 5000-series metro cars
USA: Chicago Transit Authority has placed a $331m firm order for 300 more 5000-series metro cars, Bombardier Transportation announced on July 20. The order is an option under a July 2006 contract and brings the total number of 5000-series cars ordered by CTA to 706, worth a total of ...
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NewsQueues to see first Vamos in Bielefeld
GERMANY: Queues of up to an hour developed when Bielefeld transport operator MoBiel opened its first Vamos light rail vehicle for public viewing during a depot open day on July 3 which attracted 20 000 visitors. MoBiel placed a €47m order for 16 LRVs with a consortium of HeiterBlick and ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
A 1·5 km extension of Istanbul metro line M2 from Darüssafaka to Haciosman opened on May 23, taking the line length to 18 km. The southern extension of M2 from Sishane to Yenikapi over the new Golden Horn Bridge is expected to open in 2014. Waterloo Regional Council approved ...
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NewsThales wins Edmonton LRT signalling contract
CANADA: Thales announced on July 9 that it had been awarded a contract to provide signalling and train control technology for an extension of Edmonton's North LRT to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology which is due to open in April 2014. Under a C$45m package which includes upgrading work, Thales ...
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NewsPrime Minister launches MY Rapid Transit project
MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Najib Razak officially launched the MY Rapid Transit project on July 8, granting approval for the Sungai Buloh - Kajang Line. The 51 km metro line is the first of three totalling 156 km planned under the Greater Kuala Lumpur initiative which aims to put the ...
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NewsShenzhen metro keeps expanding
CHINA: Shenzhen metro continues to grow with four extensions planned and a new line inaugurated in June. Five more lines - 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 - have been approved and construction will start this year, with openings envisaged from late 2015 to mid-2018. A 19·7 km 12-station extension ...