Metro news – Page 220
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NewsMTR wins Stockholm metro contract
SWEDEN: MTR Corp has been named the winner of a concession to operate the Stockholm metro from November 2. The Hong Kong transport operator saw off five rival bids for the contract, which runs for eight years with a possible six-year extension. 'MTR submitted the best bid from a ...
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NewsTrams could return to Hamburg
GERMANY: Low-floor trams will enter service in Hamburg in 2014 if a project to build a 15 km route between Altona and Bramfeld goes as planned. Forming the first part of a network that could one day stretch to 50 km, the scheme won approval from the Hamburg Senate on ...
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NewsDocklands Light Railway opens to Woolwich Arsenal
UK: Mayor of London Boris Johnson inaugurated the 2·5 km extension of London’s Docklands Light Railway from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal on January 12, two days after the start of services. The infrastructure on the £180m light metro extension was built in 3½ years by ...
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NewsPhoenix light rail starter line up and running
USA: An estimated 150 000 free trips were taken during first two days of public service on the $1·4bn Metro light rail starter line in Phoenix. Despite cold weather, heavy crowds and long queues throughout the weekend of December 27-28, there were no operational problems along the 32·6 km route ...
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NewsUltracapacitors on test
SOUTH KOREA: National railway research agency KRRI is trialling the use of lineside ultracapacitor modules to store braking energy on the Seoul metro. KRRI has contracted Woojin Industrial Systems to manage the trial. During 2008, Woojin took delivery of 72 Boostcap ultracapacitors rated at 48 V, supplied by ...
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NewsCityCargo in receivership
NETHERLANDS: The CityCargo project which envisaged using Amsterdam's tram network to supply shops and businesses has gone into receivership, although receiver Joris Lensink and Veolia are investigating the possibilities to revive the project. The city council has said it sees potential in the project only as an unsubsidised ...
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NewsVictoria Line upgrade on schedule
UK: The ambitious project to renew one of London’s busiest Underground lines is nearing the halfway stage. Despite the high-profile collapse of PPP infraco Metronet in 2007, new trains and radio-based signalling are expected to bring a major capacity increase by 2013. Nick Kingsley investigates.
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - January 2009
Hampered by delays in extending the city’s metro, the Buenos Aires government is now considering alternative transport modes. On December 8, Mayor Mauricio Macri signed a collaboration agreement with the Mayor of Milano Letizia Moratti to investigate the feasibility of restoring the tram network. Two Boston Red Line metro cars ...
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NewsMumbai monorail contract
INDIA: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has awarded a contract worth Rs24·6bn to Scomi Engineering of Malaysia and consortium partner Larsen & Toubro to design and build an elevated monorail line in the city. Expected to take 30 months to complete, the 19·5 km Sutra straddle monorail is expected to ...
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NewsSarkozy backs Paris expansion
FRANCE: Paris metro operator RATP will invest an additional €450m in 2009, as part of a spending package to stimulate the French economy announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy on December 4. Much of the money will go on refurbishment and expansion of the rolling stock fleet, station renovations and modernisation ...
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NewsPiraeus extension retendered
GREECE: Expressions of interest are due by January 30 for a €515m contract to extend Athens metro Line 3 to Piraeus. Following a decision by the Minister of Town Planning, Environment & Public Works, Attiko Metro cancelled its earlier EU tender and issued a new call for bids on November ...
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NewsMadrid plans another €5bn suburban spend
SPAIN: Development Minister Magdalena Álvarez has presented the cabinet with an €5bn investment programme for the Madrid suburban network in 2008-15, which would see 115 km of new routes constructed and capacity increased by quadrupling a further 66 km. The programme envisages the construction of five new interchanges and 24 ...
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NewsDijon and Brest agree joint order
FRANCE: The cities of Dijon and Brest signed an agreement on November 27 covering the joint purchase of 53 trams at an estimated cost of €120m. Tenders are due to be issued to prospective suppliers by the end of 2008, with bid submission set for May and contract award expected ...
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NewsRed Line to proceed
THAILAND: An 8·7bn baht contract for construction of the first phase of the Red Line in suburban Bangkok was signed on December 12. State Railway of Thailand has finalised the agreement for a 15·3 km line from Taling Chan to Bang Sue with the Unique-Chun Wo joint venture of ...
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NewsCeremony starts Sofia Line 2
BULGARIA: Mayor of Sofia Boyko Borisov, Minister of Transport Petar Mutafchiev and Meglena Plugchieva, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for EU funding, attended a ceremony on December 15 to mark the start of work on metro Line 2. The route comprises a 6·4 km first phase running south from Nadezhda to ...
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WMATA fleet renewal
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority issued a request for proposals on December 4 for the supply of 64 metro cars, with an option for an additional 620. The contract would also include work to refurbish Wmata’s Series 4000 fleet, which is around 25 years old. The 64 new ...
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NewsHelsinki metro to go fully automated
FINLAND: Helsinki city transport operator HKL signed a €100m contract with Siemens Mobility on December 11 covering the complete resignalling of the capital's 21 km Y-shaped metro paving the way for fully-automatic operation by 2013. HKL has been looking at driverless operation for some time, and HKL Chief Executive ...
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NewsMTR signs Shenyang operating agreement
CHINA: MTR Corp, Shenyang municipal government and Shenyang Metro Group have signed an agreement in principle for the Hong Kong metro company to operate and maintain Shenyang Metro lines 1 and 2 for 30 years. Under the November 26 agreement MTR Corp will hold a 49% stake in a ...
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NewsManchester voters reject TIF proposal
UK: Voters in the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester have voted to reject the plans for transport investment outlined in the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities’ application for funding from the government’s Transport Innovation Fund. The £2·8bn TIF submission would have paved the way for Phase 3B of the expansion ...
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NewsMTR orders from the Mainland
CHINA: On December 10 Changchun Railway Vehicles signed a HK$1·1bn contract to supply Hong Kong's MTR with 10 eight-car trainsets which will enable an increase in service frequencies on the Island, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O lines. Russell Black, Projects Director at MTR Corp, said it ...