Regional operator EFE Valparaíso has launched the use of contactless payment using Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards and mobile payment on the Limache – Puerto suburban rail service. In the next phase, it is also to be extended to buses, trolleybuses and funiculars in the Valparaíso area.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has awarded a joint venture of Shanghai Tunnel Engineering and Obayashi Corp a S$530m design and build contract covering civil works for the underground CR14 Turf City station and tunnels on Cross Island Line Phase 2. Construction is expected to be challenging owing to the varying soil conditions, with the Bukit Timah granite formation requiring specialist excavation techniques. Opening is planned for 2032.
Société des Grands Projets has awarded NGE, Webuild and Equans France the €1·38bn Grand Paris Express Line 15 West construction contract covering the 7 km from Bécon-les-Bruyères to Saint-Denis-Pleyel with four stations.
Queensland regional transport agency TransLink has announced the introduction of A$0·50 flat rate fares from August 5 for six months across all zones and modes in its network. Airtrain fares will be reduced to A$11 during this time.
ArcelorMittal’s steelworks at Veriña and Trasona in Spain are to supply rail for the 23·6 km, 17-station extension of the Bangkok metro’s Purple Line. Scheduled for completion in 2027, this will run south from Tao Poon to Rat Burana.
On May 28 CAF was announced as the sole bidder for a contract to supply 40 six-car trainsets to replace the Class 2000 ‘Panda’ trainsets on Madrid metro Line 1 at cost of €412m.
France’s Minister for Transport Patrice Vergriete has announced the trial of an integrated multimodal transport ticket by the end of the year. The trial will initially cover networks in the cities of Caen, Le Mans and Tours, as well as those provided by multiple operators in the neighbouring régions of Normandie, Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val-de-Loire.
The Federal Transit Administration has allocated $67m to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to improve accessibility on stations of the B and C branches of the Green Line light rail line in the Boston area. Works include the improvement of lighting as well as widening, levelling and raising the platforms, to eliminate the 356 mm gap when boarding.
Rhein-Ruhr transport authority VRR has awarded a €10m grant towards a €13m project to make tram and Stadtbahn services at Krefeld Hauptbahnhof fully accessible. Platform edges will be adapted to provide easy access to Rheinbahn’s 2 650 mm wide high-floor standard gauge LRVs and SWK Mobil’s 2 300 mm wide low-floor metre gauge trams.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced on May 17 the availability of $17m in state funding to be spent on improvements at the Capitol Heights metro station. The work will help to protect the Blue Line tunnel, relocate utilities, create safer pedestrian connections to the station, and reconfigure bus bays to allow development around the interchange.