A 100m taka feasibility study for the Dhaka mass transit project is due to start in December, financed from government funds. Originally proposed in 2002, progress on the proposed rail network in the capital of Bangladesh has been hampered by lack of finance.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle to develop metro Line 2 on a PPP basis. Mmrda will form part of the SPV but will not provide any financial equity. The 38 km line between Charkop, Bandra and Mankhurd with 27 stations is expected to cost Rs61·9bn. The Indian government has granted approval in principle for Rs15·3bn in ‘viability gap funding’.
The 2 km extension of Bordeaux tram Line B from Bassins à Flot to Claveau opened on October 20, bringing the total length of the line to 15·2 km with 31 stops.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency on October 21 approved a wide-ranging plan to improve Muni Metro light rail services. A new E-Embarcadero line using heritage trams will relieve the existing F-Market & Wharves line, J-Church services will run to San Francisco State University, replacing the M-Ocean View line; and frequencies on the N-Judah line will be increased. Capital investment of up to US$200m will be needed to implement the proposals.
The board of New Jersey Transit has approved $124m of funding to allow consultants THE Partnership to start final design work on the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel to Manhattan, once the project’s environmental impact statement has been approved. Construction could begin in 2009 for completion by 2017.
On November 14 Delhi Metro Rail Corp successfully conducted a trial run on the 6·4 km Vishwavidyalaya – Jahangirpuri extension of Line 2, about 11 months ahead of schedule. Trial running will last for up to five weeks, with the five-station section expected to open this month or in January.
An OJEU notice was issued by local transport authority Nexus on November 3 inviting expressions of interest in a concession to operate the Tyne & Wear Metro for seven years from April 1 2010. Nexus will continue to own and manage the metro, whilst the successful bidder would operate services, maintain and modernise the 90-car fleet and manage the stations. Nexus expects investment in modernising the 74 km network to total more than £320m over the next 10 years.
Construction of a suburban railway from Beijing city centre to the southern suburb of Daxing began on November 16. The 21·8 km line will have 11 stations and is due for completion in November 2010.
Granite Construction Northeast Inc has won a $161m contract from MTA New York City Transit to refurbish five stations on Line B to Brighton. Scheduled to start in November 2008, the work will take 38 months to complete.
The 4·7 km section of Bucuresti metro Line M3 between Nicolae Grigorescu and Linia de Centura was opened on November 20. Meanwhile, a 3·1 km extension of Line M4 from 1 Mai to Laramet is currently under construction. Offers for the 10-year contract to provide engineering consultancy services for the first phase of Line 5 between Drumul Taberei and Universitate were due to be opened on November 25.
Tunis light rail operator Transtu opened the El Mourouj 2 - Mourouj 4 extension of Line 6 on November 12, completing a 6·8 km route from Med-Ali (RG 4.07 p209).
New York MTA has ordered a further 382 R160 metro cars from the Alskaw joint venture of Alstom and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The $784m order announced on October 10 is a second option on a July 2002 contract for 660 cars worth $961·6m. The $1·12bn first option for 620 cars was exercised in July 2007. Alstom’s share of the latest option is worth $491m, and covers the production of 242 vehicles for delivery in 2009-10. Stainless steel body shells will be produced at the company’s Lapa plant at São Paulo, with final assembly in Hornell. Alstom will also supply propulsion systems for half of the 140 cars to be built by Kawasaki.
On October 30 Sytral approved €1·1bn of investment in the Lyon transport network between 2009 and 2014. This includes €487·7m for existing projects, such as the metro Line B extension to Oullins and the extension of tram Line T4 to Feyzin, as well as €342m for new projects, notably €88m for a proposed extension of Line T2 to Eurexpo.
CNR Changchun Railway Vehicle Co rolled out its first train for Shenyang metro Line 1 on October 17. A total of 23 six-car trains will be manufactured for the 28 km line, which will have 22 stations.
Alger metro authority EMA is expected to sign shortly a €50m contract for Keolis to operate the city’s first tram route; the other bidders for the 10-year concession were RATP Développement and Transdev.
