Austria: Tenders are to be issued this year for work on the first section of a 10 km U-Bahn line from Praterstern across the River Danube to Stadlau and beyond. Completion is expected in 2008.
Germany: The first dual-gauge track has been laid in Braunschweig. Conversion of the 1100mm gauge tram routes is needed to allow through running of services on to main lines to form a regional rail network in the future.
München city council has approved further expansion of the city’s U-Bahn network. Work is to start in 2001 on the 3·6 km Line U5-West from Laimer Platz to Pasing. Line U3-Nord is to be extended by 2 km from Olympia Einkaufszentrum to Moosach, where interchange will be made with S-Bahn services.
China: Creative Star Ltd has signed an agreement with Dah Sing Bank, allowing holders of current or savings accounts to get an automatic recharge of HK$250 when their personalised Octopus smart cards run out of stored value.
Denmark: Commissioned by architects khras Arktekter, Halcrow Fox of Great Britain has completed pedestrian capacity and safety assessments for Nørreport station on the København metro.
Great Britain: Schlumberger has started commissioning 78 magnetic-stripe ticket vending machines for the Croydon Tramlink light rail system, linked by an optic fibre local area network.
On August 19 London Underground opened Canada Water station for East London line trains. The Jubilee line extension was expected to serve the three-level interchange from ’late summer’.
Ireland: Alstom Transport has received an order worth 30m euros to supply 20 Citadis 300 light rail vehicles for Dublin’s LUAS network. Deliveries are due to take place between October 2001 and May 2002.
Singapore: Land Transport Authority has appointed PB Kennedy & Donkin Ltd to undertake quality auditing of contractors and subcontractors and quality control of the manufacture of a control and communications system for the North East line, Polytechnic station and the MRT extension to Changi Airport.
USA: SEPTA has received three bids in response to its call for tenders to supply 12 partially low-floor LRVs to re-open the Girard Avenue line. Breda, Skoda and T21-LRV of Great Britain responded, the latter offering its lightweight low-cost design tested in Blackpool.
NJ Transit is to spend $3·8m on a feasibility study into an extension of its projected Camden - Trenton light rail route from Trenton station to the state capitol. The extra 1·6 km would add $40m to the $604m cost of the project.
