The first two of 51 Urbos3 trams being supplied by CAF entered service on Budapest tram routes 17, 19 and 56 on March 22. The 46 five-module and five nine-module trams were ordered in 2022-23 under a 2014 framework agreement.
An infill station at Meydan e Khorasan on Tehran metro Line 6 was opened on March 17. Construction of lines 8 and 9 is expected to get underway shortly.
On March 5 Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corp began test running on the four-station southern section of the Bhopal metro Orange Line between Rani Kamlapati main line station and AIIMS.
Egypt’s cabinet has reportedly approved plans for Alstom to establish metro component and cable factories in the Borg El Arab logistics and industrial zone near Alexandria.
Moskva metro is to test a Moskva-2020 trainset modified for driverless operation on the Big Circle Line 11, though initially with a driver onboard. ‘We are just starting this year on a long journey to transition the metro to driverless operation’, explained Deputy Mayor for Transport & Industry Maksim Liksutov. ‘This is just the starting first stage of a long and challenging path, considering the high intensity of traffic. In the first stage, the train will operate at night to avoid interfering with the regular metro service.’
Rekeep Group has been awarded a €5m five-year contract for cleaning, graffiti removal and waste management at 20 Lille metro stations.
Plans for the reintroduction of trams in Toshkent were discussed by Deputy Mayor Sharof Rahmonov and France’s Minister for Foreign Trade Laurent Saint-Martin during a state visit to France by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Sheffield‘s Supertram has agreed to allow passengers to take dogs on its trams for a trial period starting on March 21, after a public consultation found 75% of people were in favour of a change in the rules. One ‘well-behaved’ dog’ per passenger will be permitted during the trial, which will inform a decision on a long-term policy.