The Tampere tramway began tests carrying pre-booked passengers on May 10, ahead of the opening planned for August 9. Around 500 reservations were made in the first 10 min after booking to travel on the trial services opened on May 3, and almost 900 trips were made on the first day. The operators reported that ‘everything worked as expected’.
On May 7 Berlin operator BVG withdrew the last of the 582 ČKD Tatra KT4DM trams delivered to the city from 1976 as the KT4D, and modernised in 1993-97.
The European Investment Bank, State Bank of India and India’s Ministry of Finance signed financing agreements worth €300m to support the Kanpur and Pune metro projects on May 7. ‘Today’s new agreements will further support transformation of urban mobility for millions of commuters through the construction of new world-class metro networks’, said EIB President Werner Hoyer.
MPK Wrocław has awarded Zakład Sieci i Zasilania two contracts totalling 2·3m złoty for tram track repairs, and a 1·7m złoty contract for track renewals including subgrade replacement and the installation of prefabricated track. Torhamer has been awarded a 2·2m zloty contract to replace turnouts and curves, and GM Roads Polska is to renew a 800 m double-track section of grassed track for 5·7m złoty.
Siemens Mobility has acquired Padam Mobility, a Paris-based technology company that provides software for managing and booking on-demand and paratransit services. ‘Padam’s proven software and intelligent solutions will expand our ability to provide travel options that integrate and co-ordinate on-demand and shared mobility. Having the ability to choose from the full spectrum of mobility options significantly improves the travel experience and turns the idea of seamless travel from the first mile to the last into reality’, said Andre Rodenbeck, CEO Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, on May 11.
The Tyne & Wear Metro has installed a £4·2m CCTV system covering all 60 stations. This uses 740 Cisco fixed and Sony pan-tilt-zoom cameras as well as Cisco back-office software.
Istanbul has joined the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s Green Cities urban sustainability programme. ‘The EBRD’s Green Cities programme offers a pioneering vision of how we can reimagine and reshape the cities we live in, and build a better and more sustainable future for us all’, said EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso on May 3. ‘EBRD is already financing two metro lines that keep Istanbul on the move, and we are ready to fund more improvements to public transport and other areas of city life. Istanbul stands to gain enormously from the investment, policy advice and expertise that come with joining this programme. Just as the programme itself will also benefit from welcoming such an historic and truly impressive city.’
INIT has formally signed a $30m contract announced last year which covers the roll out of its MobileVario account-based ticketing system for Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County in Houston, Texas.
