Khabarovsk’s municipal tram operator has taken delivery of the first of 10 UKVZ Type 71-623-04 trams being supplied under a 801m rouble contract. A distinctive feature of trams for this city is covering over of their roof-mounted equipment.
Paraguay’s state railway Fepasa is looking to domestic companies to develop a 45 km light rail line between Ypacaraí and Asunción. A proposed US$597m deal with a South Korean consortium including Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp, Korea National Railway and Hyundai Engineering fell through because of rising costs.
Samara tram operator TTU has signed an 8·4bn rouble contract with Sberbank Leasing for the supply of 71 four-axle single-section PK TS 71-911EM Lionet trams between H1 2025 and May 2026. The leasing agreement runs to December 31 2028. Under an earlier contract, TTU is to receive three three-section 71-931M Vityaz-M trams by February 2025.
A groundbreaking ceremony on September 4 marked the start of construction of King-Bathurst, Queen-Spadina and Moss Park stations for Toronto’s Ontario Line project. The stations will be 30 to 40 m deep and put more than 70 000 people within walking distance of the line.
Following a ‘very competitive’ tendering process, Transport for London has selected Global to continue to manage advertising on its rail estate, including the Underground, Overground, DLR, London Trams and Elizabeth Line, and JCDecaux at bus shelters. The contracts run for eight years from April 1 2025 with an option for TfL to extend for a further two years. TfL is converting lighting in advertising panels within stations to LEDs, which use up to 60% less energy than traditional lighting while providing around 10% brighter light.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board has renewed CEO Lori Kahikina’s contract for three years from January 1 2025, with options for two additional two-year extensions. Lisa Baker has been selected to fill the vacant ninth voting member position, previously held by Edwin Young who has stepped down for health reasons.
Hong Kong’s MTR Corp concluded its first public issuance of offshore Renminbi Green Bonds on September 10. The 3bn yuan 10-year and 1·bn yuan 30-year bonds were issued under in accordance with its sustainable finance framework; according to MTR the 10-year tranche represents the largest 10-year public bond issuance of all the offshore Renminbi bonds of the same tenor by corporate issuers, and the 30-year tranche is the longest tenor ever offered by a corporate issuer in the public offshore Renminbi bond market.
TMH’s Oktyabrsky Electric Railway Car Repair Plant has opened an assembly area for 71-431R Dostoevsky trams which have been developed by Uraltransmash specifically for St Petersburg, with retro-styling and the ability to negotiate 14 m radius curves. The 76 three-section bidirectional low-floor trams with 49 seats and a capacity of 226 passengers will be assembled from parts manufactured in the Urals. A total of 76 retro-styled trams of different types are to be supplied to St Petersburg under a leasing contract with Sberleasing and a direct contract between operator Gorelectrotrans and Uraltransmash.