Metro news – Page 189
-
NewsBielefeld Vamos light rail vehicle unveiled
GERMANY: The first of 16 high-floor light rail vehicles for Bielefeld city transport operator MoBiel was presented to a select audience at HeiterBlick’s Leipzig plant on April 14. MoBiel placed a €47m order for the cars with a consortium of Vossloh Kiepe and HeiterBlick on January 26 2009. Vossloh Kiepe ...
-
NewsPraha metro car modernisation complete
CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Transportation completed a long-term programme to modernise Praha metro’s original Soviet-built Type 81-71 rolling stock when the last of 93 five-car trainsets was handed over on February 12. The KC10bn programme was launched with a prototype in 1996. It encompassed overhaul of traction motors, underframes and gearboxes, ...
-
NewsColourful celebrations mark opening of Reims tram
FRANCE: Reims tram line 1 was inaugurated by Adeline Hazan, the city’s Mayor and president of Reims Métropole, on April 16 with other officials joining the ceremony which began a weekend of colourful celebrations to mark the opening. Commercial operation started two days later with trams running at headways of ...
-
NewsBombardier is preferred bidder for London Underground resignalling
UK: Bombardier Transportation was named preferred bidder for the major contract to resignal London Underground's large-profile Sub-Surface Lines on April 12. The contract will be signed following the regulatory standstill period during which the other shortlisted bidder, Invensys Rail, is able to raise any objections. The contract covers around ...
-
NewsNeVa cars start tests in St Petersburg
RUSSIA: Vagonmash transferred the first three of its NeVa series cars to the St Petersburg metro on March 25. A further three will be delivered in the next few months to complete a six-car trainset which will undergo compliance tests.The NeVa is the result of a collaboration agreement signed with ...
-
NewsAlstom and RATP announce metro automation joint venture
FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP and Alstom Transport have agreed to establish a joint venture company to develop a new generation of automated metro technology for the 21st century. Unveiled at the UITP world congress in Dubai on April 12, Metrolab will have an initial staff of 15 experts drawn ...
-
NewsÜstra orders 50 light rail vehicles
GERMANY: Hannover transport operator Üstra has ordered 50 high-floor TW 3000 light rail vehicles from a consortium of Vossloh Kiepe and Alstom Transport. The contract announced on April 8 is worth €126m, with half of the cost being met by Land transport agency LNVG. Consortium leader Vossloh values its share ...
-
NewsSytral orders Citadis trams for Lyon T3
FRANCE: Lyon transport authority Sytral has awarded Alstom a €33m contract to supply a further 10 Citadis trams. Options for up to nine more vehicles could increase the contract value to €58m. The 43 m long trams with capacity for up to 400 passengers will operate on route T3, which ...
-
NewsHelsinki Westmetro project receives EIB funding
FINLAND: The European Investment Bank confirmed on April 1 that it will lend up to €450m to part-finance the 14 km western extension of the Helsinki metro network to Espoo.The loan and guarantee agreements were signed in Espoo by Matti Kokkinen, CEO of Länsimetro Oy, Mayor of Espoo Jukka Mäkelä ...
-
NewsChengdu Metro orders more cars
CHINA: CSR has signed a 520m yuan contract to supply Chengdu Metro with a third batch of trains, taking its total orders for the city’s metro network to 354 cars. The vehicles are required for the 19·5 km second phase of Line 2.Line 1, which entered trial operation on September ...
-
NewsADB supports Bangalore metro
INDIA: The Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of up to US$250m over 18 years for the US$2·7bn metro project currently under construction in Bangalore. Bangalore Metro Rail Corp is building a 42·3 km standard-gauge network in the capital of Karnataka, comprising an 18·1 km east-west line with 17 ...
-
NewsTramlink Nottingham named preferred bidder for NET Phase 2
UK: Nottingham City Council announced on March 29 that the Tramlink Nottingham consortium had been chosen as preferred bidder for the Nottingham Express Transit Phase Two concession, which covers construction of two extensions to the light rail network and operation of the network including the existing Line 1. The government ...
-
NewsToronto unveils revised transit plan
CANADA: Top officials of the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario announced a new C$12·4bn transit plan on March 31. This envisages a fully-underground 25 km Eglinton Avenue light rail line and two extensions of the Sheppard subway totalling 13 km. The province will contribute C$8·4bn towards the ...
-
NewsPortland light rail extension starts final design
USA: The Federal Transit Administration has approved the start of final design for the $1·5bn MAX light rail extension to the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. The 11·7 km project, dubbed the Orange Line, is already at the 30% design stage. TriMet had previously received FTA permission to start building the ...
-
NewsBursa light rail receives international funding
TURKEY: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has approved a 15-year loan worth €50m towards construction of the second phase of the light rail network in Bursa. The loan is part of a financing package which also includes €100m from the European Investment Bank. The BursaRay light rail network ...
-
NewsRhein-Neckar Verkehr orders more supercapacitor trams
GERMANY: Rhein-Neckar regional transport operator RNV has ordered a further 11 low-floor Variobahn trams for €33m, Bombardier Transportation announced on April 4. They will be fitted with Bombardier's Mitrac Energy Saver technology, which uses roof-mounted double-layer supercapacitors to store electricity regenerated during braking for reuse when accelerating. Trials in ...
-
NewsAdelaide orders A-City EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The Government of South Australia has placed an A$269m order for 22 three-car suburban EMUs from Bombardier Transportation, the manufacturer announced on March 31. The trains are required to operate suburban services around Adelaide on four lines that are to be electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz AC by ...
-
NewsDriverless metro line opened in Busan
SOUTH KOREA: Busan Transportation Corp inaugurated its driverless light metro Line 4 on March 30, following 11 days of trial running between March 15 and March 25. The 12·7 km route runs east from Minam on metro Line 3 to Anpyeong and provides an interchange to metro Line 1 ...
-
NewsADB loan supports Hanoi metro Line 3
VIETNAM: The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide US$293m in funding to support construction of Line 3 of Hanoi’s urban rail master plan. The decision adds to loans already in place from EIB and Agence Française de Développement. The 12·5 km first phase of the heavy metro line will ...
-
NewsCrossrail issues rolling stock shortlist
UK: Crossrail Ltd announced on March 30 that it had shortlisted Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens for the contract to supply rolling stock and depot facilities for the new east-west route across London. ‘Work continues to finalise our detailed requirements for the new trains and we expect that shortlisted ...