The first Stadler Tina tram began operating passenger-carrying test services in Darmstadt on October 9. Operator HEAG Mobilo ordered 25 Tina trams in two batches in 2020 and 2021 to replace 30-year old ST12 high-floor vehicles and expand the fleet to enable an increase in services.
Portland’s TriMet held a public event on October 15 to unveil one of the 30 S700 LRVs being supplied by Siemens Mobility for MAX services. Designated Type 6 by TriMet, they are expected to begin enter service by the end of the year. The order includes 26 LRVs to replace the first-generation Type 1 cars dating from the opening in 1986, and four purchased for the A Better Red MAX Extension & Reliability Project.
Teleste supplied 150 TFT passenger information displays for the Jokeri light rail line in Helsinki and Espoo which opened on October 21. The requirements of passengers with reduced mobility were taken into consideration during installation, and there is a text-to-speech function to enhance accessibility.
A 5·5 km northern extension of Tehran metro Line 6 from Shahid Sattari to Kouhsar was inaugurated on October 10, along with a one-station extension of Line 7 from Shahid Dadman to Meydan-e Ketab. MAPNA Group’s involvement in the three-phase 31 km Line 6 project has included the supply of power, control, signal and communication systems, track, escalators, lifts, ventilation, ticket gates and SCADA. A planned extension to Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine would take Line 6 to 38 km.
The USA’s Federal Transit Administration is to award $5·1m of competitive grant funding to field test the use of advanced digital tools to improve management of public transport construction projects. ‘Our goal is to help agencies deliver projects on time and under budget’, said Administrator Nuria Fernandez October 13. ‘These advanced platforms are all about efficiency and provide comprehensive tools that will allow transit agencies to complete projects more seamlessly.’
The lighting at London Underground’s Oxford Circus station has been upgraded to LEDs, which use up to 60% less energy than traditional lighting while being brighter and having lower maintenance requirements. The aim is to convert all stations by 2032. Transport for London said installation is complicated by the narrow time slots for access, and the range of lighting assets including heritage designs which need special consideration. Neasden and Ruislip depots and the wheel lathe shed at Upminster have also been fitted with low-energy but brighter lighting.
Busan Transportation Corp has awarded a consortium led by SK Telecom a 49bn won contract to deploy an LTE-R 4G network on metro lines 2 and 4 and wired communications on lines 3 and 4 by October 2026.
On October 17 Gary Slagel, representative for Richardson, University Park, Addison and Highland Park, was elected Chair of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board for a two-year term. Dallas representative Rodney Schlosser was elected Vice-Chair, and representative for Plano and Farmers Branch Nathan Barbera was elected Secretary.
Genève operator TPG has announced the appointment of Eva-Maria Kerner as Director of Finance & Management with effect from January 1 2024. She previously served as Financial Director.
Moody’s Investor’s Service has upgraded its rating on the Houston area’s Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s sales and use tax bonds from Aa2 to Aa1. Kroll Bond Rating Agency has affirmed its AAA rating with a Stable Outlook. ‘METRO has always been fiscally sound, and we will continue to be good stewards as we work to improve travel throughout the region’, said President & CEO Tom Lambert on October 19.
Teltronic supplied its Nebula TETRA communications technology including network infrastructure, 76 onboard radios, control centre terminals, 199 portable handsets and 20 mobile radios for Jakarta‘s recently-opened Jabodebek LRT. ’This project means a step forward in our expansion process towards the Asia–Pacific region, boosting us as one of the main actors of critical communication sector in a part of the world that offers great growth potential’, said Felipe Sanjuán, Business Development Director for Transport.
The Boston area’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is establishing a Climate & Resiliency Policy & Planning team tasked with decreasing its environmental footprint and increasing the resilience of the network. ‘From securing grants to fund environmental initiatives to reducing emissions through fleet electrification, the MBTA is firmly committed to building a greener, more climate-ready transit network’, said General Manager & CEO Phillip Eng.
Rob Free became Acting President of Long Island Rail Road on October 19. He succeeds Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi who had been Interim LIRR President since February 2022 and will continue her role at Metro-North. Free joined the LIRR 31 years ago as a station cleaner, and said his priorities as Acting President are safety, reliability and improving the customer experience.
