Metro news – Page 195
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NewsARRA stimulus boosts Philadelphia
USA: More than two-thirds of the federal stimulus funding allocated to improve rail infrastructure in Philadelphia had been spent by early November, according to SEPTA Chief Engineer Jeffrey Knueppel. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has provided the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority with $191m for badly-needed infrastructure upgrades and repairs. ...
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NewsLos Angeles MTA seeks LRV bids
USA: Los Angeles County MTA has released a request for proposals for 74 light rail vehicles costing $335·4m; delivery would start in late 2013. The purchase under contract P3010 is described as a ‘best value LRV procurement’ that will include options for additional vehicles as required when future light rail ...
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NewsHajj pilgrims take the metro to Makkah
SAUDI ARABIA: Phase I of the Al Mashaaer Al Mugadassah Southern metro line has entered revenue service, following an inspection by Abdul Rahman Al-Shahwab, Director General of Projects at the Ministry of Municipal & Rural Affairs, on November 13. However, the service is initially limited to pilgrims from Saudi Arabia ...
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NewsCasablanca tram contracts awarded
MOROCCO: Casablanca tramway development company Casa Transports has awarded Alstom two contracts to provide signalling and power supply equipment for the 30 km Y-shaped network which is due to open on December 12 2012. The contracts announced on November 12 are worth €11m. One covers the design and supply of ...
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NewsUrban Rail News in Brief
Secretary of Transport Juan Pablo Schiavi and Mayor of Córdoba Daniel Giacomino ratified an agreement on October 5 to build an 18·5 km metro network with 29 stations in Argentina’s second-largest city, which has 1·5 million inhabitants. The project would be implemented by China Railway International and work would take ...
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NewsDublin Metro North project wins approval
IRELAND: The Railway Procurement Agency's application to build the proposed 18 km Metro North light rail line from St Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre to Estuary, north of Swords, has been approved. The PPP project is part of the Transport 21 plan. The Railway Order granted by the ...
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NewsAliaga – Izmir suburban services launched
TURKEY: The start of trial services on the 58 km suburban line from Alsançak to Aliaga on October 29 marked the completion of a project to develop the 80 km Aliaga–Menderes commuter network in Izmir. The project involves reconstructing two existing railway lines and launching suburban services to connect urban ...
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NewsGuangzhou peoplemover enters service
CHINA: Guangzhou Metro launched trial operation of its automated peoplemover on November 8. The line will serve key venues for the Asian Games taking place in the city from November 12 – 27. The 4 km double-track underground route connects the Zhujiang Xincheng central business district to the Tianhe commercial ...
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NewsAnsaldo STS selected to upgrade Stockholm Red Line signalling
SWEDEN: Stockholm public transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has awarded Ansaldo STS an €80m contract to replace the existing signalling on the metro’s Red Line with communications-based train control in order to increase capacity on the route.The Red Line is operated as two routes, T13 from Norsborg to Ropsten and T14 ...
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NewsSilverliner V makes its debut in Philadelphia
USA: Philadelphia operator SEPTA ran its first Silverliner V regional commuter train in passenger service on the Cynwyd Line on October 29. The three-car electric multiple-unit departed Cynwyd station shortly after 09.00 on its inaugural run and called at Bala, Wynnefield and 30th Street before terminating at Philadelphia’s Suburban Station, ...
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NewsBeijing metro lines 8 and 10 to be extended
CHINA: Beijing Mass Transit Railway Construction Administration Co Ltd has awarded Siemens and its local partner, China National Railway Signal & Communication Corp, a €65m contract to supply Trainguard MT automatic train control for planned extensions to Beijing metro Olympic Line 8 and Ring Line 10. Both lines have ...
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NewseBART project launched in San Francisco
USA: The Bay Area Rapid Transit District on October 29 held a groundbreaking ceremony for eBART, a DMU-operated extension of the regional rail network to the eastern part of Contra Costa County. The 16 km line will run east along the median of State Route 4 from a transfer ...
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NewsTrans-Hudson Tunnel scrapped
USA: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced on October 27 that he would not reconsider his decision to scrap ‘Access to the Region’s Core’, a commuter rail expansion plan that included a new trans-Hudson tunnel which would double capacity between northern New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan. Christie originally cancelled ...
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NewsLínea Uno consortium to build Panamá Metro
PANAMA: Roberto Roy, head of the Panamá Metro Secretariat, announced on October 27 that the Línea Uno consortium, comprising Odebrecht and FCC, had been awarded the contract to build Panamá City’s first metro line. The decision was made at a public meeting when two economic proposals were opened in the ...
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NewsComprehensive spending review backs light rail
UK: In his Comprehensive Spending Review speech on October 20, Chancellor George Osborne confirmed that the Department for Transport will make funding available for the Midland Metro extension from Snow Hill to New Street in Birmingham, and for Phase 2 of Nottingham Express Transit to Chilwell and Clifton.DfT is providing ...
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NewsBrussels takes up option for more Flexity trams
BELGIUM: Brussels transport operator STIB has exercised a €170m option for a further 65 Flexity Outlook trams, Bombardier Transportation announced on October 28. The order is a follow-on from two contracts signed in 2008, and covers 46 five-section 32 m long T3000 cars and 19 seven-section 43 m long T4000 ...
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NewsQbuzz wins Utrecht sneltram concession
NETHERLANDS: Utrecht regional transport authority BRU has selected Qbuzz for a concession to operate bus services and the sneltram light rail line from the city of Utrecht to the satellite towns of Nieuwegein and IJsselstein. The contract runs for eight years from December 11 2011, and is the first Dutch ...
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NewsMontréal metro car order placed at last
CANADA: Société de transport de Montréal confirmed on October 22 that it had signed a C$1·2bn contract with a consortium of Bombardier and Alstom for the supply of 468 rubber-tyred metro cars. The 52 nine-car trainsets will allow STM to replace its MR-63 fleet, which has been in service since ...
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NewsKolkata metro reaches New Garia
INDIA: A 2·8 km extension of Kolkata's north-south metro line from Kavi Nazrul to Kavi Subhash was officially inaugurated by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on October 7. Named after Indian poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay, the terminus at Kavi Subhash serves the New Garia district to the southeast of the city. Opening ...
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NewsLuas opens to Cherrywood
IRELAND: The 7·5 km Cherrywood extension of Dublin’s Luas light rail Green Line from Sandymount to Brides Glen was officially inaugurated by Taoiseach Brian Cowen on October 16, in a ceremony at the new Central Park stop. The event was also attended by the Chair of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County ...