KfW IPEX-Bank is providing Köln transport operator KVB with €53m to finance the procurement of Alstom light rail vehicles, VDK electric buses and some smaller investments. ‘Strengthening local public transport is a key priority for us’, said KfW IPEX-Bank management board member Andreas Ufer on June 13.
A 1·5 km, one-station extension of Salvador metro Line 1 northeast from Pirajá to Campinas opened on June 14, and is expected to increase ridership by 15 000 passengers/day. The R$214m project was fully funded by the Bahia state government. A further 3 km extension to Águas Claras/Cajazeiras is expected to be completed in July.
A €3m project is underway to install 3 800 solar panels on the roof of the Barcelona metro depot at Zona Franca, which maintains the fleets used on lines 9 and 10. The panels will cover an area of about 9 800 m2, and are expected to generate over 2 MW of power, to meet local requirements on the metro, saving an estimated 1 300 tonnes/year of CO2. Panels are also to be installed on the roofs of four stations on Line 10.
Line 14 is the first Paris metro line to obtain European Foundation for Quality Management Level 6 certification for the wellbeing of staff at work.
On June 23 Zagreb operator ZET announced a plan to purchase 11 unspecified second hand trams for €2·7m to replace the oldest vehicles in its fleet.
The first rail for Montpellier tram Line 5 was installed in the Saint-Eloi district on June 24.
FGC has awarded Ferrovial, Sacyr, Copisa and Copcisa a €300m contract to bore twin 10 m diameter tunnels to extend its metre gauge line 4 km from the current terminus at Plaça d’Espanya in Barcelona to Gràcia. This would provide an interchange with its 1 435 mm gauge network. Work is expected to start in the late summer and take 58 months.
