Transdev has been awarded a further €448m contract to continue operating the Lia-branded public transport network in Le Havre from January 2024 to the end of 2029. The contract covers development of the city’s third tram line, the planned 14 km Line C, which is due to be completed in 2027.
A 43·2 km section of Chengdu express metro Line 19 opened on November 28. Line 19 incorporates part of Line 17, and some trains run over the southern end of Line 18 to create a 63 km through route between Jinxing and Airport North station at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.
Knorr-Bremse is to supply braking and climate control systems for Alstom Movia trainsets which Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corp has ordered for the Bhopal (27 trainsets) and Indore (25) metro projects. Knorr-Bremse will also provide 15 years of servicing. Entry into service is planned from 2024.
Dubai Airports has renewed Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ contract to operate and maintain the 2·3 km automated peoplemover at Dubai International Terminal 3 for a further five years. The APM was originally supplied by MHI Group in 2012 and it has been operating and maintaining the line since 2018.
Seoul Metro announced on November 3 that it is to remove the seats from two cars of the 10-car trainsets used on Line 4 and from two of the eight cars on its Line 7 trainsets. Taking effect from January, the move is intended to ease overcrowding.
Brazil’s national suburban rail operator CBTU has started renovation works on three river bridges on the metre-gauge commuter line in João Pessoa, state capital of Paraíba. The R$900 000 works, funded by the federal government, started on November 6 and are scheduled to take six months.
In an effort to reduce cost-intensive damage caused by vandalism and the overall cost of cash handling, Erfurt transport operator EVAG is introducing Scheidt & Bachmann FareGo ST|22 ticket vending machines which will only accept cashless payment. The touchscreen displays offer German and English language interfaces able to sell 15 different ticket options, including single tickets, day tickets and the VMT Hopper ticket, with payment by Girocard, credit card, Google Pay or Apple Pay. Half of EVAG passengers already pay using cashless methods.
Transport for London has added data on its high voltage underground cables to online repository LinesearchbeforeUdig.co.uk, which provides searchable information on underground assets. Trackside cables are to be added to LSBUD later this year.