Canada: The tram route along St Clair Avenue West between Yonge Street and Vaughan Road in Toronto reopened on February 18, following a rebuild to segregate tracks in the median. The C$65m project to modernise the route will be completed in 2009.
Turbo Power Systems has won a US$8m order to supply Bombardier with auxiliary power electronics for 39 metro trainsets to be built for Toronto Transit Commission.
France: On March 2 EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive and Mayor of Nice Jacques Peyrat signed a memorandum of understanding covering a k150m loan for the 9 km first phase of tram Line 1 which is under construction from Comte de Falicon to Pont-Michel, and Line 2 which will initially be built as a segregated busway.
Hungary: Balaton Development Council has proposed the construction of a 5?5 km tramway from Keszthely at the west end of Lake Balaton to the resort town of Hévíz.
India: Karnataka state government has approved plans for a monorail feeder to the two-line metro being developed in Bangalore.
Japan: Users of 26 railways and 73 bus companies in the greater Tokyo area began using Pasmo stored-value smart cards on March 18. Pasmo is compatible with Suica cards used by JR East and other operators.
Netherlands: On March 7 voters in Leiden rejected plans to route RijnGouwe tram-train services through the city centre. The provincial government is now revising the proposed route as it wishes to continue with the project which would link Gouda, Alphen an den Rijn and Leiden, and later extend to Noordwijk and Katwijk.
Romania: EBRD has granted a €15m loan for the €17·5m modernisation of 15 km of double-track tramway in Iasi. The city transport operator will be restructured on a commercial basis and agree a public service contract with the council.
CTP Arad expected to take delivery last month of the last of 20 redundant trams purchased from Essen. Further similar cars are now being sought.
Spain: Line 1 of the Palma metro is due to open this month. Starting at the university, the line runs for 7·2 km to terminate at a rebuilt rail-bus interchange that opened at Plaza de Espa?a on March 3.
Tunnelling has been completed on the 1·7 km extension of Bilbao Metro Line 2 from Portugalete to Santurtzi. Serving one intermediate station at Pe?ota, the route is due to open to traffic next year.
Taiwan: Marubeni Corp, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and local power equipment maker CTCI Corp have won a ¥57bn order to supply 138 metro cars and signalling equipment to Taipei by April 2015.
UK: The city and county councils have voted to apply for legal powers for Nottingham Express Transit Phase 2. Work on the 9·8 km Chilwell and 7·6 km Clifton extensions could begin in 2010 for opening in 2013. The government is expected to meet 75% of the £400m cost, with the remainder split between the councils.
A long-term development strategy commissioned from Atkins by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport sets out 10 options for developing transport in Glasgow. These include a £270m enhancement of the 1 220 mm gauge subway, and a £2·3bn proposal for a new standard gauge metro line running in a loop in the east of the city.
USA: A ribbon-cutting was held on March 8 for the 7th & I/County Center light rail station in Sacramento, the final element of the 0·88 km Amtrak station branch opened on December 8 under the $261m Folsom Corridor extension project.
aryland Transit Administration has delayed the start of three light rail projects in Baltimore to allow further ridership studies. The 16·8 km Red Line would run from Woodlawn to Fells Point and Canton, the 22 km Purple Line between New Carrollton and Bethesda, and the Corridor Cities Transitway would parallel Interstate 270.
In March Siemens delivered the last of 16 S70 light rail vehicles for the 15 km Charlotte Lynx Blue Line which is due to open in November.
