Metro news – Page 222
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NewsVitoria plans pre-Christmas opening
SPAIN: The Eusko Tran light rail line in Vitoria, capital of Alava in northern Spain, is due to enter commercial service before Christmas this year. The first of 10 trams being built by CAF arrived in Vitoria on September 29 to undergo type testing in the depot at Landaberde. Series ...
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NewsNew York orders 382 subway cars
USA: New York MTA has ordered a further 382 R160 metro cars from the ALSKAW joint venture of Alstom and Kawasaki. The $784m order announced on November 10 is a second option on a July 2002 contract for 660 cars worth $961·6m, which was followed with a $1·12bn option for ...
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NewsLTA awards Downtown Line contracts
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority has awarded three major contracts totalling more than S$1bn covering the supply of signalling, communications systems and rolling stock for the 40 km Downtown Line automated metro, which is now under construction. Linking the north-western and eastern parts of the island to the Central Business ...
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NewsWarszawa signs 15 year operating contract
POLAND: The city of Warszawa's suburban rail subsidiary SKM has signed a 15-year operating contract with transport authority Zarzad Transpotru Miejskiego. Running from 2010 to 2024, it covers the operation of 154 million train-km on one existing and two new routes, and is worth an estimated 2·6bn zloty. SKM ...
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Chennai funding agreed
INDIA: Work was due to start last month on the first phase of the Chennai metro, following the confirmation of an initial loan of Rs49·9bn by the Japanese government on October 22. JBIC has agreed to lend Rs8bn towards the Rs111bn cost of Phase 1, comprising two lines totalling ...
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Shanghai Line 11 contracts
CHINA: A consortium comprising Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Thales Rail Signalling Solutions and Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co has signed two contracts worth €50m with Shanghai Shentong Group Co. Alcatel Shanghai Bell will provide an integrated communications package on a turnkey basis, including project management, network integration and maintenance, whilst Thales will ...
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NewsMetrolinx unveils 'The Big Move'
CANADA: Toronto regional transport authority Metrolinx has published a draft version of ‘The Big Move', its C$50bn long-range transport plan (RG 5.08 p277), but admits that the required funding sources are still unidentified. One potential revenue stream that had been unofficially discussed - road tolls and congestion pricing - ...
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NewsRevenue services begin on Orange Line
TAIWAN: Revenue services on Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp's 14·4 km Orange Line began on September 22, following eight days of free rides after the inauguration ceremony on September 14. During October the MRT Bureau will submit proposals to the Ministry of Transport & Communications for extensions to the Red and ...
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NewsCrotram on tour
EUROPE: The Crotram partnership of TZV Gredelj and Koncar expects to begin demonstrating a Zagreb TMK 2200 tram in Sofia shortly, having determined that the metre-gauge car will require minimal adaptation for use on the Bulgarian city's 1 009 mm gauge lines. Trials in Helsinki earlier this year found ...
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Salt Lake City airport link underway
USA: A ceremony in Salt Lake City on October 22 marked the start of construction on the $300m Airport TRAX light rail line. The 9·7 km five-stop branch will diverge from the main north-south line at Arena, heading west to Terminal One. It is expected to carry 14 000 daily ...
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NewsWarszawa Line 1 finished
POLAND: The final section of Warszawa’s first metro line between Slodowiec and Mlociny was completed on October 25, an event celebrated with an afternoon of free travel on November 1. The 20 km line with 21 stations has taken 25 years to build. Although construction of Line 2 has been ...
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NewsDubai ruler's trial run
UAE: Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum officially launched test running on the Dubai Metro during a visit to the test track on September 20. Sheikh Mohammed took a ride on one of the Kinki Sharyo-built trains, accompanied by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al ...
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Shenzhen prepares for Line 5 construction
CHINA: Shenzhen Metro has awarded a contract worth 9·3bn yuan to China Railway Group to construct Line 5 on a build and transfer basis. Linking Shenzen West with Longhua, Line 5 will be 41 km long with 27 stations and a rolling stock depot. It is due to open to ...
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NewsSydney metro project 'deferred'
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Transport Minister David Campbell has announced that the proposed North West metro in Sydney is to be deferred because of 'the size of capital required and the current economic climate'. 'The Government is facing tough decisions as part of the mini-budget process', Campbell said on ...
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NewsLausanne Line m2 opens
SWITZERLAND: Commercial services on Lausanne's automatic metro line m2 began on October 27 when the first train left Ouchy station at 05.26 bound for Croisettes. The 6 km route climbs 338 m during the 18 min journey, with gradients of up to 12%. Line m2 took 4½ years to build ...
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NewsStreetcar operations are returning steadily
NEW ORLEANS: The first of the 24 Canal Street cars damaged by flooding after Hurricane Katrina returned to the tracks in August, although ridership remains well down, as David Lustig reports.
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NewsBangalore Metro programme gathers pace
INDIA: With tendering well underway for the first phase of the Bangalore metro, Delhi Metro Rail Corp has been appointed as consultant for Phase II. Phase I consists of two routes running north-south and east-west, intersecting at Majestic. The 33 km standard gauge line will have 35 stations. The 14·9 ...
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NewsCongress approves Amtrak funding bill
USA: Funding and safety legislation primarily benefiting Amtrak and other public transport operators received its final Congressional approval on October 1 with a veto-proof 74-24 majority which means President George Bush must sign the bill despite his administration’s general antagonism toward rail transit and long opposition to federal subsidies for ...
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Police methods help catch delayed trains
USA: MTA New York City Transit plans to use a statistical analysis model similar to that employed by the police department to find out why trains are being delayed. The NYPD's system of tracking criminal activity, CompStat, will be adapted and applied to on-time performance. The average number of delays ...
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Warszawa confirms tram renewal
POLAND: Mayor of Warszawa Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz has approved a major investment to upgrade the capital's tram network, following her recent decision to postpone construction of metro Line 2 until after 2012. Faced with the prospect that the first phase of Line 2 would not be ready for the Euro ...