Metro news – Page 219
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NewsMayor of Angers visits first tram
FRANCE: Mayor Jean-Claude Antonini led a delegation of city officials to Alstom's La Rochelle plant on January 30 to view the first of 17 Citadis 302 trams ordered for Angers. The 32·4m long and 2·4 m wide trams have a strong visual identity which was developed by Angers ...
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NewsAlstom ATC for Santiago Line 1 extension
CHILE: Metro de Santiago has awarded Alstom Transport a €5·3m contract to supply, install and commission Sacem automatic train control on the Escuela Militar - Los Dominicos extension which is now under construction. The 3·8 km addition to Line 1 is expected to open by December. Sacem will allow ...
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NewsStation names prove profitable
UAE: Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority has raised 1·8bn dirham for transport investment by selling the rights to name stations on the Red and Green metro lines. RTA has also awarded a consortium of SMRT Media, Kassab Media and Wellmark Communications a 10-year concession to manage advertising sites on trains ...
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NewsSystra wins in Santiago
CHILE: Systra has been appointed to supervise construction, testing and commissioning of two extensions on the Santiago metro network. The 28 month contract covers the 4 km Line 1 extension to Los Dominicos and the 14 km extension of Line 5 to Maipú. Systra has already started verification of the ...
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NewsTyne & Wear Metro shortlist announced
UK: The four bidders shortlisted for a contract to operate the Tyne & Wear Metro were named by owner and current operator Nexus on January 30. A total of nine expressions of interest were received. Invitations to negotiate will be sent to DB Regio Tyne & Wear Ltd, Hong ...
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NewsFirst stone laid for Oran tram
ALGERIA: On December 16, Algerian President Bouteflika, accompanied by Minister of Transport Amar Tou, laid the first stone near the future depot at Sidi Maarouf, symbolically marking the start of the Oran tram project. The contract to build the 18·7 km 32 station line was awarded to the Tramnour consortium, ...
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NewsKraków tram tunnel opened
POLAND: Trams began regular Route 50 services through a 1 538 m pre-metro tunnel beneath Kraków’s main station on December 12. The tunnel was planned in the 1960s as part of a proposed east–west metro line, which was subsequently dropped in favour of a north–south pre-metro. Construction was undertaken intermittently ...
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NewsSanto Domingo metro enters service
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: President Leonel Fernández officially inaugurated the first metro line in Santo Domingo at 17.40 on January 29, in a ceremony held at Centro de Los Héroes station. Full public service started at 06.00 on January 30. Speaking at the launch, Diandino Peña, MD of OPRET (the organisation responsible ...
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NewsLight rail pioneer secures a long-term future
UK: A £300m government financing package has been agreed for Metro Re-invigoration, a two-stage investment programme to overhaul the Tyne & Wear Metro. The pre-qualification process to create a shortlist for a seven-year operating concession is due to be completed this month, marking the start of a decade of change. ...
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NewsCabinet approves Chennai metro phase 1
INDIA: The government announced cabinet approval for the 45 km first phase of the Chennai metro on January 29. Two lines will be built in the first phase. One will run from Washermanpet to Saidapet and Chennai Airport, with 14·3 km of the 23·1 km route being underground. The ...
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NewsHeiterBlick to assemble Bielefeld trams
GERMANY: Bielefeld city transport operator MoBiel announced a €47m order for 16 high-floor light rail vehicles with options for a further 25 on January 26. Consortium leader Vossloh Kiepe will supply the electrical equipment for the cars, which are to be delivered from January 2011 to July 2012. They ...
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NewsCSR wins further orders
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co has been selected to supply rolling stock for the 30·7 km 11-station northern extension of Guangzhou Metro Line 3 to the airport. The contract is worth around 1·2bn yuan, and deliveries will run from February 2010 to February 2011, with 18 cars to be ...
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NewsFederal funding package
USA: A full funding grant agreement was signed on January 9 between the Utah Transit Authority and the Federal Transit Administration which, for the first time, effectively provides a single financial contribution for a group of rail projects. The $428·3m agreement covers four TRAX light rail extensions and the FrontRunner ...
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NewsHangzhou metro PPP agreed
CHINA: MTR Corp signed an agreement in principle on January 16 with the Hangzhou Municipal Government and Hangzhou Metro Group for the financing, construction and operation of Line 1 of the metro under a PPP model. The agreement allows MTR to enter into further discussion with the city government over ...
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NewsManchester tram assembly underway
UK: The bodyshell of the first of 40 additional high-floor light rail vehicles on order for Manchester Metrolink has been completed at Bombardier's Wien plant, and interior fittings and Vossloh Kiepe electrics are now being installed. The 28·4 m Flexity Swift cars for Manchester are based on the Köln ...
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NewsLine A extended to Flores
ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri opened the new Puán and Carabobo stations on Line A of the Buenos Aires metro on December 22. Work on the extension started in 2004 and formed part of a wider programme to refurbish and modernise the infrastructure of Line A, the oldest line ...
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NewsCo-operate and compete
ASIA: Recognising that the main area of growth in the urban rail sector for the next few years is likely to be the Far East, Veolia Transport and RATP Développement announced on January 21 that they were forming a joint venture company to bid for metro and public transport operating ...
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NewsToronto tram purchase enters final phase
CANADA: Toronto Transit Commission completed negotiations on technical details and commercial arrangements with three potential suppliers of 204 low-floor trams by January 5. Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens were then given seven weeks to submit their final prices to TTC, which will recommend a winner to the nine-member commission. A final ...
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NewsPrimove catenary-free induction tram
GERMANY: A tram powered by Bombardier's prototype Primove induction system was formally launched at the company's Bautzen plant on January 22. A potential rival to Alstom's APS ground-level power supply, Primove removes the need for catenary. Power is transferred to the vehicle by induction, as used in transformers. The ...
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NewsBangkok urban rail progress
THAILAND: Test running began on Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport rail link on January 18. Siemens has supplied four Siemens Desiro EMUs for the non-stop Airport Express services on the 28 km standard gauge line, and five three-car units which will operate a commuter service calling at eight intermediate stations. Meanwhile, ...