All Metro articles – Page 223
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News
Expansion programme confirmed
ARGENTINA: The Buenos Aires city legislature has passed a bill confirming the metro expansion programme that will be undertaken by the administration of Mauricio Macri, who was elected to lead the municipal government at the end of last year. As well as the northern extension of Line H to ...
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NewsTram-trains and electrification planned
AUSTRALIA: Plans to electrify four suburban lines around Adelaide have been outlined in the South Australian government's latest budget, which offers A$2bn for transport projects over the next decade. Preliminary work to electrify the Noarlunga, Grange and Outer Harbor lines at 25 kV 50 Hz will commence later this year, ...
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News
Kayseri cars arrive in August
TURKEY: The first cars to operate the 17 km light rail line in Kayseri are set to arrive next month. The line will serve an east-west corridor across the city from an industrial park to Mimar Sinan with 31 stops. Trams will run at 4 min headways and total end-to-end ...
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Metro to reach Bulacan
PHILIPPINES: Universal LRT Corp signed a concession agreement on June 18 to build and operate the MRT-7 line to link the existing elevated metro network in Manila with San Jose del Monte in Bulacan. The US$1·23bn project has been approved by the Department of Transport & Communications some seven years ...
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NewsA €14bn vision for Ile-de-France
FRANCE: The President of the Ile-de-France region Jean-Paul Huchon was joined by the presidents of RATP, RFF, SNCF and the Mayor of Paris to unveil an ambitious regional transport vision for the next 12 years on June 19. Huchon hopes to see investment of €13·7bn by 2020 on a series ...
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NewsMake your own information display
USA: San Francisco metro operator BART is encouraging local retailers, offices and coffee shops to use spare computer screens to provide their customers and staff with real-time train running information. A simple file available to download from www.bart.gov enables almost any internet-linked computer to display departure information for a chosen ...
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NewsRijnGouwe design award
NETHERLANDS: Movares has been awarded a contract by ProRail to design the project to convert the Gouda – Alphen aan den Rijn – Lammenschans line to light rail standards. The section from Gouda to Alphen is expected to be completed in 2010, the remainder by 2015. The move follows the ...
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NewsCities must learn to 'love their trams'
AUSTRALIA: Yarra Trams Chief Executive Dennis Cliche wore this simple message on his lapel at a recent light rail conference, where he outlined how the Melbourne operator is taking positive measures to manage increasing congestion and surging ridership.
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NewsTramlink transferred to Transport for London
UK: Ownership of the Tramlink light rail system in Croydon was transferred to Transport for London on June 27. Tramtrack Croydon Ltd held a 99-year private finance initiative concession to build and operate the 28 km network, but on March 17 the shareholders accepted TfL's offer to purchase the business ...
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Frankfurt LRV handed over
GERMANY: Frankfurt Transport Authority VGF has taken delivery of the first of 146 Flexity Swift light rail vehicles which are being built by Bombardier. A further 11 will be supplied from the Bautzen factory this year, with deliveries continuing until autumn 2015. The bi-directional vehicles have been custom designed for ...
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News
Tren Suburbano inaugurated
MEXICO: The first 20 km of a planned suburban rail network in Mexico City was inaugurated on June 2, following three weeks of fare-free trial operations. Known locally as El Tren Suburbano, the line links the former inter-city terminus at Buenavista with Cuautitlán in the north, using an existing right-of-way ...
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NewsFunding boost for Manchester
UK: In a statement to the House of Commons on June 9, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly 'granted programme entry' to the first business case requesting support from the Transport Innovation Fund for a major programme of local transport enhancements. This was submitted in July 2007 by the Association of Greater ...
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NewsEdmonton light rail vehicle unveiled
CANADA: The first of 37 Siemens SD160 cars ordered to double the fleet size in advance of the opening of Edmonton's South Line light rail extension was publicly unveiled on June 23. The €77m contract was awarded to Siemens in October 2005, partly funded through fuel taxes. The first ...
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News
GE to resignal Rotterdam metro
NETHERLANDS: Rotterdam transport operator RET has selected GE Transportation to undertake the resignalling of the city's 55 km two line metro network. GE said the €62m contract is the company's largest-ever rail signalling order and its first full-scale metro project in Europe. Work will begin in early 2009 to ...
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NewsMexico City metro Line 12 contract awarded
MEXICO: A US$1·7bn contract to build metro Line 12 in Mexico City has been awarded to a consortium led by construction firm Empresas ICA and including Alstom and Carso Infraestructura y Construccion. Running entirely underground, the 24 km Line 12 will have 22 stations serving the southern portion of ...
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NewsRefurbished tram back in Sofia
BULGARIA: The first of 18 Sofia trams to be modernised under a €13·6m contract with Inekon has returned to service in the Bulgarian capital. The 1 009 mm gauge three-section T8-700IT tram has been rebuilt from a twin-section T6M-700 with the insertion of a 360 mm entrance height centre section ...
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NewsCádiz tram-train contract
SPAIN: The Andalucía regional government has awarded Sacyr and Prinur a contract worth €52·8m to undertake civil and track work on the 5·8 km San Fernando - Caño Zurraque section of the tram-train route linking Cádiz with Chiclana de la Frontera. Work on this section with eight stops is due ...
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News
Melbourne to re-let franchises
AUSTRALIA: The Victorian state government has called for expressions of interest to operate its urban rail services from 2009. The suburban trains are presently run by Connex Melbourne, and the Yarra Trams network is operated by the Metrolink joint venture of Transdev and Transfield Services Ltd. Both franchises expire next ...
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News
Urban rail news in brief - June 2008
Madrid Metro has unveiled the first of 36 Series 9000 trainsets that are to be introduced on Line 6 by 2011, part of an order for 52 units placed with AnsaldoBreda for €450m. The upgrade of Line 6 has included the construction of new traction substations and a new station ...
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News
Santiago trackwork
CHILE: Balfour Beatty plc announced on May 14 that its Chilean subsidiary had been awarded contracts worth a total of £37m to undertake tracklaying on two extensions to the Santiago metro. Under a contact worth £10·2m, work on the 3·8 km section of Line 1 from Escuela Militar to Los ...