The government of Crimea has awarded UVZ a contract to supply 27 four-axle partly low-floor Type 71-411 trams for the metre-gauge network in Yevpatoria by the end of 2021. They will operate on routes 1 and 2 which have turning loops, while the Route 3 shuttle and seasonal Route 4 will continue to be operated using cars more than 60 years old. UVZ was the sole bidder, as it is already subject to EU and US sanctions. The Russian federal government is funding modernisation of 8 km of the network.
Final designs have now been approved for the 12 Avenio trams which Nürnberg operator VAG ordered from Siemens Mobility in November 2019, enabling the start of manufacturing at the Kragujevac plant in Serbia. Deliveries are scheduled for mid-2022 to 2023, to support a planned increase in services, and there are options for up to 75 more to be supplied by the mid-2030s.
In early December PK TS delivered the last of a total of 390 Vityaz-M trams ordered by Moscow, a month ahead of schedule. The 27·5 m long, three-section, fully low-floor unidirectional Type 71-931M trams are now used on 26 of its 40 routes. PK TS is to deliver further trams under an order placed in September this year.
Systra has been commissioned to undertake studies for a proposed tramway in the Swedish city of Uppsala.
Planning approval is expected shortly for a €100m tram depot in the north of Magdeburg. It will have a capacity of 59 vehicles, and is intended to replace an existing depot which was damaged by flooding of the River Elbe in 2013.
Mumbai Metro has taken delivery of a Zephir battery powered road-rail vehicle for shunting at Charkop Depot
Following a tender, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System board has approved a six-year agreement for Transdev Services to operate 52 of its 95 bus services, with two two-year options that could bring the total value to $911m over 10 years. Transdev has provided similar services for the past 13 years. Priorities for the new contract include conversion to a zero-emissions bus fleet, with the all-electric Iris Rapid route launching in 2022.
Uraltransmash has delivered first of three Type 71-415 trams to Nizhny Tagil. The single section low-floor tram has a capacity of 150 people and an anticipated service life of 30 years. During the unveiling ceremony on November 24, Alexey Serkov, Commercial Director of Uraltransmash said the 71-415 trams was well received by staff and passengers because they were modern and comfortable.
Delhi Metro Rail Corp has signed a five-year contract to act as general and project management consultant for Noida Metro Rail Corp’s Phase II project for a 9·6 km extension of the Aqua Line from Noida Sector 51 to Greater Noida Sector 2 with five elevated stations.
Following the normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE, Transport Minister Miri Regev and Minister of Energy & Infrastructure Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei have agreed to co-operate in the development of smart transport including railways and autonomous vehicles.
SBS Transit and RATP Dev have entered into a strategic partnership ‘that will set a new benchmark in delivering world-class metro services in Singapore’. A new jointly-owned company will be set up to seek new business prospects in the Singapore rail sector. ‘We are delighted to join forces with SBST and combine our long-term vision on assets and mobility with SBST’s state-of-the-art customer-centric expertise to raise the bar even higher in terms of reliability, quality and sustainability for rail’, said RATP Dev’s Chair Laurence Batlle.
