Groundbreaking celebrations were held on November 18 to mark the start of construction on the Everline light metro in the South Korean city of Yongin. Connecting the Everland amusement park with the Seoul metro network, the 18·5 km fully-automated elevated line will have 15 stations. It is being built by the Bombardier-led Yongin LRT Consortium under a 35-year BOT concession awarded in July 2004.
CAPTION: The first of 20 Type 14T low-floor trams being built for Praha by Skoda Transportation began test running in the Czech capital on December 11. Powered by six Skoda 90 kW motors, the 30 m five-section cars styled by Porsche are all due to enter service by the end of 2007; Praha has an option to buy a further 40 vehicles
Photo:Milan Sramek
Buenos Aires metro construction authority SBASE has called tenders for civil works on Section C1 of Line H, comprising the tunnel between Once and Corrientes, Corrientes station and a turnback spur. A budget of 64m pesos has been set for the work.
Stockholm transport authority SL has selected the Stockholmståg AB joint venture as concessionaire to operate the Swedish capital’s suburban service over the next five years, following a tendering exercise that attracted six bids. Stockholmståg is owned 68% by SJ AB and 32% by Tågkompaniet. The rolling stock will be maintained by EuroMaint and the stations by ISS Facility.
On November 18 Shenyang Mayor Chen Zhenggao initiated work on the city’s first 22·8 km metro line, linking Zhangshi with the Liming Cultural Museum. Due to be completed by the end of 2009 at an estimated cost of 8·9bn yuan, Line 1 will have 18 stations and is expected to carry 300000 passengers/day. The mayor said the city hoped to start work on Line 2 by the end of 2006, as part of plans for a seven-line network totalling 182·5 km.
Ceremonies were held at Jing-an Temple station on November 29 to mark the start of work on an extension of Shanghai Line 7 to serve the site of the 2010 World Expo in Pudong. One of eight metro projects totalling 389 km to be built by 2012, the 35 km line with 28 stations is due to be completed by the end of 2009. Worked by 26 trains, offering a 3min interval service, it is expected to handle 15% of Expo visitors, or 150000 passengers/day.
