Argentina: Buenos Aires city council has begun consideration of a bill granting powers to build metro Line H from Retiro to Nueva Pompeya. The first section to be built is likely to be Hospitales - Plaza de Miserere.
China: Looking to award a contract in May, Guangzhou Metro has called tenders for the supply of 26 trainsets for Line 2, due for completion in 2003. Government policy will require at least 70% of the order to be sourced locally.
Great Britain: With the opening on December 22 of Westminster station, London Underground’s Jubilee Line Extension project is complete.
London’s Docklands Light Railway Ltd has ordered 12 additional trainsets from Bombardier Transportation for £17·4m. Deliveries from Bombardier’s Brugge plant are due to start in September 2001.
Netherlands: GVB has approved plans to upgrade all Amsterdam metro stations in a six-year 250m guilders programme, which will also see barriers capable of accepting smart card tickets installed at all stations by the end of 2001.
Turkey: The municipality of Kayseri has selected Eser Müsarvirlik Mühendislik to help develop a transport plan for the city up to 2030 which will include a light rail network. Bids for light rail feasibility studies and outline design in Samsun and Eskisehir are to be invited this year.
Taiwan: Taipei Rapid Transit Corp opened the first section of its Blue line on December 24. The 7·7 km east-west route links Lungshan Temple on the Panchiao line with City Hall on the Nankang line via an interchange with the north-south Red/Green and Orange lines at Main Station (MR99 p58).
USA: Sacramento Regional Transit District has completed purchase of a 10 km strip of land adjacent to Union Pacific right-of-way for construction of its South Line light rail extension to Elk Grove, on which work started in November (RG 1.00 p13) for opening in September 2003.
Four consortia have qualified to bid for the $300m design and build contract for the 20·9 km Hiawatha Avenue light rail line in Minneapolis. Kiewit/Mortensen JV, BPL JV, Minnesota Transit Constructors and Bechtel Infrastructure must submit final bids in June. Assuming approval of funding by the FTA, construction could start before the end of the year.
