Spain’s Ministry of Transport and the Junta de Andalucía have agreed equal co-funding for a €1·3bn project to built a 7·6 km double-track underground extension of Metro de Sevilla Line 3 north from an interchange with Line 1 near Prado de San Sebastián to Pino Montano, along with a 1·4 km branch to a new depot. Construction is expected to take eight years.
Strabag Rail has begun construction of the 500 m second phase of the Barrandov tramway extension from Holyně to Slivenec in Praha under a KC233m contract awarded by operator DPP. Opening is planned for October this year, with the tramway forming the backbone of public transport services to the residential developments.
Chris Aiken has been appointed to the Auckland Light Rail Ltd board. He has experience of large-scale and complex property development and construction projects, is a director on the Kāinga Ora Construction Programme Assurance Panel and a director with Kiwi Property Group.
In early February test running began on the Most – Litvínov inter-urban tramway which is undergoing an extensive modernisation by contractor Chládek & Tintěra to reduce journey times and increase comfort, safety and capacity.
Systra has been awarded a contract to provide specialist technical engineering services to support civil works at three stations and a maintenance depot as part of the extension of São Paulo’s Line 15 monorail. Construction of the route from Ipiranga on Line 10 to Boa Esperança and Jacu-Pêssego is scheduled to begin in March.
Moskva Metro says it reduced headways by 6-10 sec down to 80 sec during testing of a domestically produced train control system on the circular Line 5. This would provide more than 2 500 extra seats in both directions, and improve punctuality.
The Philippines Department of Transportation is studying options for a PPP contract covering the operation and maintenance of Manila MRT Line 3. This would follow on from Metro Rail Transit Corp’s current build-lease-transfer contract which expires in July 2025, Assistant Secretary for Planning & Project Development Leonel Cray De Velez told local media on February 4.
The Asian Development Bank is discussing the provision of US$2·5bn of co-financing for the proposed Dhaka metro Line 5, which would run for 17·4 km from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi serving 15 stations.
All Moskva Metro and Central Circle ticket gates now accept bank card payment. ‘Upgrading almost 4 000 turnstiles will allow the residents of the city to save a total of over 50 000 hours per year due to the faster operation of the devices’, said noted Maksim Liksutov, Deputy Mayor for Transport.
The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which oversees the Caltrain commuter rail service between San Francisco and San Jose, has appointed San Bruno Mayor Rico Medina and Palo Alto Council Member Pat Burt as directors. Medina represents the San Mateo County Transit District, while Burt is the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Chair and representative on the Caltrain Board.