Fraunhofer Austria and Wien transport operator Wiener Linien are to test the feasibility of ‘crowd-sourced’ parcel delivery, which would see tram passengers volunteer to carry small parcels between solar-powered collection points reducing the need for delivery vans.
The first two of 11 Alstom coaches being supplied for the Sounder S Line have arrived in Seattle, Sound Transit announced on August 22. The $46·5m contract for three push-pull driving cars and eight intermediate coaches was awarded in 2020 as part of a joint order with California’s San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission and North County Transit District in San Diego to reduce the unit price.
The Valley Metro Rail Board has elected Tempe Vice-Mayor Jennifer Adams as Chair, with Phoenix Vice-Mayor Laura Pastor as Vice-Chair.
Prospekt Mira station on Line 6 is the first Moscow Metro station to offer Face Pay biometric fare payment at all turnstiles.
Transport authority VMS intends to submit a planning application by the end of the year for 3·5 km of new line between Stolberg and Niederwürschnitz which is to be built as part of Stage 5 of the Chemnitz tram-train programme. Tram-trains would continue over the upgraded and electrified 16 km rail line from Niederwürschnitz to St Egidien. Commissioning of Phase 5 is planned for 2027 at cost of €96·4m
Following a pilot on the UP Express airport train service, Metrolinx has introduced contactless payment on GO Transit, Brampton Transit, MiWay and Oakville Transit services in the Greater Toronto area. Further expansion is planned.
Seattle’s Sound Transit says completion of the Lynnwood and Redmond light rail extensions, which was scheduled for mid-2024, may be delayed by four to six months, while the Federal Way Link Extension faces an unexpected ground instability issue which could delay completion from later 2024 into 2025. The East Link is expected to be delayed by at least a year beyond the previously scheduled mid-2023 opening. ‘While we are on a path to fully resolve the impacts of Covid-19, the concrete delivery strike and our construction challenges, we have more work to do before we can reliably establish opening dates’, said Interim CEO Brooke Belman on August 18.