Transit news
Chile plans commuter rail expansion S
OARING traffic has encouraged Chilean State Railways (EFE) to dust off plans for a new suburban service in Santiago, and extensions to the commuter rail lines in Concepción and Valparaíso (pictured). In Santiago, EFE plans to upgrade a 61km freight line to the southwestern dormitory towns of Peñaflor, Talagante and Melipilla for commuter rail operation. The $US 600m project involves track doubling, electrification and the acquisition of 19 emus. Known as “Melitren,” the
project was originally put out to tender in 2002, but no offers were received. In addition, Santiago Metro opposed the scheme because it did not have capacity on Line 1 to handle the extra passengers transferring to the metro from the new service. Both problems have since been resolved, with EFE planning to operate the commuter service itself while the metro is building Line 6 which will also connect with the new suburban line.
In Concepción the 11.5km line to Lomas Coloradas will be extended 17km further south to Coronel over an existing freight line, which will be electrified. The $US 76m scheme should be completed by 2015.
Studies are underway to extend the 43km Valparaíso Regional Metro by 25km from Limache via Quillota to La Calera. This would involve
German breakthrough for CAF Urbos 3: CAF celebrated the first order for its Urbos 3 low-floor LRV from a German customer last month after signing a contract with Freiburg Transport (VAG) for 12 metre-gauge vehicles. The 650V dc bidirectional LRVs will be 43m long and 1.3m wide, and will accommodate up to 250 passengers, 82 of them seated. The first six vehicles will be delivered in 2015 for the opening of the extension of the line to the city’s exhibition centre, while the remainder will enter service in 2017, when the line to Rotteckring is due to be completed.
re-electrifying a sparsely-used freight-only section of the line to Santiago, and the purchase of 10 trains to supplement the fleet of 27 Alstom Xtrapolis emus.
In 2012, commuter rail
traffic in Chile rose by 10% to 934 million passenger-km and traffic has now reached almost 30% of the historical maxima attained some 40 years ago, but on a much smaller network.
Grand Paris express metro to go ahead
F
OLLOWING a review of the project, French prime minister Mr Jean-Marc Ayrault confirmed on March 6 that the French government will proceed with construction of the 160km Grand Paris express metro network, which will connect the city’s suburbs and link the Paris region with Orly and Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airports. The project was unveiled by the Sarkozy government in 2007, although there has been mounting speculation in recent months that Grand Paris would fall victim to spending cuts. However, under the so-called New Grand Paris plan construction will go ahead albeit with a revised schedule. The government has allocated the project a budget of ƒ26.5bn, together with a further ƒ7bn for investment in the city’s light rail and RER networks by 2017.
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In brief Budapest
Hungary’s National Transport Authority has approved the fleet of 15 four- car Alstom Metropolis trains for Line 4 for public use. The trains are currently certified only for manned operation, although they are expected to run solely in driverless mode after the first year of operation.
Edinburgh
The first completed section of the city’s £776m light rail line was handed over to Edinburgh City Council on March 8. Commissioning began on the 2.8km western stretch between Gogar depot and Edinburgh International Airport last November, and the heavily-delayed line is due to open next year.
Ho Chi Minh City
Representatives of the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Mr Nguyen Huu Tin, vice- chairman of the municipal people’s committee in the city on March 13 which paves the way for a $US 260m loan to finance the construction of metro Line 5. The banks have already provided finance for metro Line 2.
Konya
Škoda Transportation has been awarded a contract worth around ƒ104.7m to supply 60 low-floor LRVs for the city’s light rail network, beating off bids from Astra Arad, Bombardier, CAF, CNR Tangshan, and Pesa. The 32.5m-long air-conditioned vehicles will accommodate 287 passengers, 56 of them seated.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles City Council approved a $US 352m funding measure on March 6 which will cover the cost of operating and maintaining the planned city centre light rail loop line. The 6.5km line, which will serve the financial district, old bank district, and South Park, is expected to cost around $US 125m to construct.
IRJ April 2013
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