In brief TTC and Metrolinx agree Toronto LRT plan G
REATER Toronto and Hamilton area transport
authority Metrolinx and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) signed an agreement on November 28 outlining plans for construction of four light rail lines in Canada’s largest city. The agreement covers the Eglinton, Finch West, Sheppard East and Scarborough lines, and also commits TTC to the introduction of an integrated electronic smart card system, dubbed Presto, which will replace tokens and tickets on subways, trams, and buses. Under the agreement the
province of Ontario will take ownership of the four new light rail lines, although TTC will operate them in tandem with existing lines. The pact also outlines how potential conflicts will be solved, and the approval process for changes to the scope of the projects. “Now that we have a master
agreement signed it gives us much more certainty that we have defined agreements,” Metrolinx CEO Mr Bruce McCuaig told local media. “And it becomes that much more difficult for governments at any level to change.”
Amsterdam
Two years and eight months after tunnelling began, TBM Victoria broke through the final section of bored tunnel on Amsterdam’s North-South metro line in the early hours of November 30. The ƒ3.1bn, 9.7km line is due to open in 2017.
Bursa
Rotterdam Electric Tram (RET) has sold 44 redundant type T metro sets built by Düwag in 1980-84 to the Bursaray for used on the light metro network. Nineteen of the trains will be dismantled for spares, while the remaining 25 will be refurbished for their new owner.
China
A joint venture company called Shentong Bombardier (Shanghai) Rail Transit Vehicle Maintenance has been formed by Bombardier and Shanghai Shentong Metro to maintain, repair and overhaul metro trains.
Dallas
Hamburg opens U-Bahn extension: Hamburg celebrated the opening of the latest addition to its U-Bahn network on November 28 with a week of free rides on Line U4 prior to the launch of commercial operations on December 9. Construction began in August 2007 on the 4km branch, which diverges from Line U2 at Jungfernstieg, and runs south to Hafen City. A 1km extension to Line U4 east to Chicago Square is planned.
China approves two new metro lines C
HINA’s National
Development and Reform Commission has approved plans for new metro lines in the cities of Nanchang and Fuzhou at a total cost of more than Yuan 30bn ($US 4.8bn). Nanchang Line 2 will run for 23.3km from Nanchang West mainline station, crossing the Ganjiang river to reach Yangming Lu and Shanghai Lu, before terminating at Yudai River station. The line will have 21 stations, seven of which will be interchanges with Line 1 and mainline stations. Line 2 will be built as a Type
B metro with 1.5kV dc overhead electrification, a maximum operating speed of
IRJ January 2013
Dallas Area Rapid Transit opened a $US 360m 7.2km extension to the Blue Line to Rowlett Downtown on December 3 together with the second 6.9km phase of the Orange Line between North Lake College and Belt Line Road. These extensions take North America’s largest LRT network to 137km.
Lyon
80km/h, and a fleet of 22 six- car trains. Train control and maintenance facilities will be co-located with those of Line 1 at Hongjiaozhou depot. Construction is expected to take four years and ten months to complete and the Yuan 14.5bn project is being financed with the aid of a $US 250m World Bank loan secured through the Jiangxi provincial government.
The 26.3km Fuzhou Line 2 will connect Shadi with Gushan, and will have 22 stations. Services will be operated by 26 six-car trains. The total cost of the project is Yuan 18.2bn and construction will take four years.
The latest addition to the city’s already-extensive light rail network was inaugurated on November 17 with the start of services on the initial phase of Line T5. The ƒ59.3m project involved the construction of a 3.8km branch with four new stations off Line T2 from Les Alizés, serving the district of Bron and the Eurexpo exhibition centre.
Nairobi
Kenya’s president, Mr Mwai Kibaki, officially opened a $US 4.7m 2.3km extension of the Nairobi - Embakasi line to Syokimau on November 14, which is said to be the first new station built in Kenya for
80 years. Trackwork was completed jointly by Kenya Railways and Rift Valley Railways, while El Noor Construction built the station.
Perth
The Western Australian government has placed an order for an additional five three-car B-series emus from a consortium of Bombardier and Downer EDI, to strengthen the Perth suburban fleet. The order takes the total number of B-series trains ordered for Transperth to 66.
Rio de Janeiro
SuperVia has awarded Alstom a contract worth around Reais 300m ($US 142m) to supply 20 four-car Metropolis emus. The first trains will enter service in February 2014, two years earlier than scheduled in SuperVia’s concession agreement.
San Francisco
Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) has launched a review of system operations with a view towards introducing limited- stop services as well as the splitting and joining of trains on certain routes. The concepts are being explored because Bart expects passenger numbers to increase by 50% by 2025, driven in part by the extension of the network to San Jose.
Sofia
A ceremony was held in Sofia on November 21 to mark the start of construction on the 7.2km eastern extension of metro Line 1 from Tsarigradsko Shose to Sofia Airport Terminal 2. The extension will have six stations, four of them underground, and is due to be completed by early 2015.
Warsaw
Warsaw Tramways announced on November 22 that Pesa Bydgoszcz has submitted the best offer for a contract to supply 45 LRVs with a five- year warranty. Pesa bid Zlotys 377.4m ($US 119.2m) for the contract, while Solaris and CAF submitted offers of Zlotys 481.4m and Zlotys 573.2m respectively. IRJ
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