Metro news – Page 216
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NewsManchester’s ‘big bang’ back on
UK: Plans to complete the expansion of Manchester’s Metrolink light rail network are set to be submitted to government after an alternative funding package worth £1·4bn was agreed by the 10 boroughs in Greater Manchester. A referendum was held in December 2008 to decide whether a £3bn package of ...
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NewsSofia metro Line 1 extension opens
BULGARIA: President Georgi Parvanov and mayor of Sofia Boyko Borisov opened an extension of the metro from Vasil Levski Stadium to Mladost on May 8. The extension of Line 1 is 5·6 km long and has three intermediate stations. Line 1 is being operated in two separate sections following ...
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NewsBombardier preferred bidder for Blackpool trams
UK: Preferred bidders for three contracts to revitalise Britain's only surviving traditional tramway were selected by Blackpool council on May 6. Bombardier Transportation has been chosen to supply 16 low-floor trams to the seaside resort, where they will operate alongside the existing vintage vehicles. Track upgrades and missing certain ...
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NewsExtra metro trains for Singapore
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority announced on May 6 that it had awarded a consortium of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Qingdao Sifang a S$368m contract to supply 22 six-car trains for the North-South and East-West lines. Deliveries are scheduled for 2011-12. The train order runs in parallel ...
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NewsFederal funds for Portland Streetcar Loop
USA: The Department of Transportation has awarded a total of $75m to the Portland Streetcar Loop. This includes $30m from the FTA 's Small Starts programme, and $45m earmarked in the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill signed by President Obama in March. Another $72m will come from local and state lottery ...
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NewsAbu Dhabi unveils transport master plan
UAE: Tenders for construction of the first of 30 light rail routes are to be invited in the next two months, following the official launch of the emirate’s Surface Transport Master Plan 2030 by the Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the end of April. Prepared by ...
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Lyon T4 first phase opens
FRANCE: Phase 1 of Lyon’s fourth tram line entered service on April 20. Linking Jet d’Eau to Feyzin, the €185·3m line T4 is 10 km long with 18 stops, and is operated by 13 Citadis trams. Sytral, the city’s transport authority, was one of the first to choose Alstom’s Citadis ...
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NewsNottingham’s next step
UK: The government approved the Transport & Works Act Order granting joint promoters Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council legal powers to build Nottingham Express Transit Phase Two on March 30. However, full government approval is still needed before construction can begin. The next step is to seek ...
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Tram on test
CZECH REPUBLIC: A prototype of Škoda’s Type 15T ForCity articulated low-floor tram began trials in Plzen on March 19. A total of 250 three-car unidirectional vehicles have been ordered by Praha operator DPHMP (RG 5.08 p279) at a cost of KC16bn, to augment its fleet of 60 Škoda Type 14T ...
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NewsHelsinki lines open
FINLAND: Helsinki’s public transport operator HKL began operations on two new sections of tram line on March 30, adding 7·2 km to take the total network to 112·3 km. The extensions significantly increase service flexibility. The figure -of-eight 3T/3B routes now wind through several central pedestrian zones and 3T ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - May 2009
The central government approved a revised budget on April 20 for the planned Taichung Mass Rapid Transit system in central Taiwan, increasing funding to NT$51·4bn from the previous NT$28·8bn. The 16·7 km 18 station project will link Taichung City’s Beitun district to Taichung County’s Wuri, based on an amended plan. ...
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NewsStrong interest in Sydney metro contract
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales’ Transport Minister David Campbell announced on April 29 that 13 groups had registered an interest in the contract to build the infrastructure for the planned CBD metro line in Sydney. These include both local and international companies. Formal Expressions of Interest are to be returned by ...
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NewsEdmonton launches South LRT extension
CANADA: The first 2·3km segment of Edmonton Transit’s C$673m South LRT extension from Health Sciences Centre to South Campus was ceremonially opened on April 25, along with a new intermediate station at McKernan/Belgravia. Construction of the extension began in 2005, and the remaining 5·2 km to Century Park is expected ...
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NewsToronto picks Flexity Outlook
CANADA: Toronto Transit Commission voted unanimously on April 27 to confirm the selection of Bombardier's Flexity Outlook low-floor tram design as the base model for its next generation fleet, following a recommendation by officials the previous week. Toronto is planning to purchase 204 articulated trams to replace its 248 Canadian ...
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NewsExtensions to ease Paris saturation
FRANCE: Funding for a 14·5 km extension of Paris tram route T3 around the east of the city from Porte d'Ivry to Porte de la Chapelle was approved on April 16. T3 will gain 26 stations when the extension opens at the end of 2012, providing interchanges with 11 metro ...
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NewsVeolia to run Hong Kong trams
CHINA: Veolia Transport has signed an agreement with Wharf Holdings to buy a 50% stake in Hong Kong Tramways. Veolia will assume responsibility for operating and managing the network, which opened in 1904 and now carries 240 000 passengers a day on 163 tramcars, the only entirely double-deck fleet remaining. ...
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NewsTraffic up, funds down
USA: Citing record fuel prices in mid-year as a key driver, the American Public Transportation Association reports that public transport ridership in 2008 reached its highest level since 1956, with more than 10·7 billion trips. And although job losses soared as the US economy fell into recession, patronage remained high. ...
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NewsMinisters ride Alger metro Line 1
ALGERIA: Government ministers rode over the first completed section of Alger metro Line 1 in early April. On board the special train were Minister of Transport Amar Tou, Minister of the Interior Yazid Zerhouni and Minister of Energy & Mines and President of OPEC Chakib Khalil. Starting from the ...
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NewsStockholm seeks metro car builders
SWEDEN: Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has invited prequalification bids for the supply of its next generation of metro trainsets. In an OJEU notice published on April 8, bidders have been given until May 25 to apply. SL is planning to order an initial build of 80 vehicles, designated C30, with options ...
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NewsMetro tunnellers in trouble
EUROPE: March 3 was a bad day in Köln. Around 14.00 the building housing the city archive in Waidmarkt collapsed, probably as a result of tunnelling work for the north-south Stadtbahn taking place near the structure. Adjacent buildings were also affected, and by March 13 it became clear that two ...