Tallinn transport operator targets 50% market share
ESTONIA: The city of Tallinn and tram and bus operator Tallinna Linnatransport have signed a new operating agreement worth up to €1·4bn which includes ambitions to increase public transport’s market share from a third to a half and achieve close to zero CO2 emissions.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail operating contract awarded
USA: NJ Transit has awarded a joint venture of ACI and Herzog a contract to operate and maintain the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail network after the current design-build-operate-maintain contract expires.
Autonomous battery LRV tested in Indonesia
INDONESIA: Test running of a domestically developed, battery-powered, autonomous light rail vehicle began in Solo on November 6.
Consultants to support West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme
UK: West Yorkshire Combined Authority has appointed a consortium of Jacobs and Mott MacDonald as its Design Development Partner for the next phase of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme, which includes two light rail lines integrated with cycling, walking and rail travel.
Palermo orders more trams
ITALY: Comune di Palermo has awarded CAF a firm order to supply a further 14 trams.
Voters reject Salzburg S-Link rail project
AUSTRIA: Voters in the Salzburg area have rejected a proposal to build a 15 km partly underground light rail line, which will not now go ahead.
Low key opening for Barcelona tramway extension
SPAIN: An extension of Barcelona’s Trambesòs light rail network along Avenida Diagonal between the Plaça de les Glòres and Verdaguer opened without ceremony on November 10. The planned celebrations have been postponed as a mark of solidarity with people affected by the severe flooding in València.
Mount Fuji light rail study highlights steep challenges
JAPAN: An interim report by Yamanashi Prefecture into a proposal to build a light rail line serving Mount Fuji has raised a series of questions about the infrastructure and rolling stock needed for a railway with gradients likely to be as steep as 8∙8%.
Hamilton light rail civil works procurement begins
CANADA: The province of Ontario has issued a request for qualifications for the civil works & utility relocation contract for the Hamilton Light Rail Transit project.
Karlsruhe light rail extension plan dropped
GERMANY: The Karlsruhe district authority has dropped plans to extend Stadtbahn Line S2 from Stutensee-Spöck via Bruchsal and Hambrücken to Waghäusel.
Pavlodar to order battery trams
KAZAKHSTAN: The city of Pavlodar is planning to acquire up to 25 energy-efficient trams with traction batteries to help renew its fleet.
Warszawa opens its longest tramway extension since the 1950s
POLAND: A 6·5 km extension of the Warszawa tram network from Spacerowa to Miasteczko Wilanów opened on October 29, with the city saying it is longest new section of tramway added in the capital since the 1950s.
Galway light rail line could be feasible, study finds
IRELAND: The National Transport Authority has published a study into the feasibility of developing a light rail line in Galway.
Madrid trams to get mid-life overhaul
SPAIN: Madrid tram operator Metro Ligero Oeste has appointed manufacturer Alstom to undertake the mid-life general overhaul of the 27 Citadis vehicles which has been in operation since the opening of lines ML2 and ML3 in 2007.