CAF wins order for up to 77 trams for Montpellier
EUR223m order will cater for expansion of the French city’s tramway network and its move towards free travel for all in 2023.
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Charlotte approves design contract for Gold line Phase 3
Funding approved for plans to extend the east-west line to 16km under Charlotte’s 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan to connect all current and future LRT and rail lines.
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Malaysian Prime Minister inaugurates Putrajaya line
First 17.5km phase of the MRT-2 service opens to passengers on 16 June. Full operation to begin in January 2023.
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Confederation line inquiry gets underway
Public hearings begin for the inquiry into delays and technical issues with Ottawa’s first low-floor LRT line. Report expected later this year.
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Tram-train proposed for Cardiff – Taff Ely corridor
New report estimates the costs for a tram-train project to serve a ‘North West Corridor’ (NWC) from Cardiff Taff Ely at GBP500m (EUR575m).
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Moskva tramway rolls out new ‘smart switch’
Domestically-developed automated switch technology to be rolled out across the Moscow tramway network.
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NSW Government funds Parramatta tramway phase two
NSW Government commits AUD602.4m (EUR404m) to the future western extension of Western Sydney’s light rail project; stage one is planned to open in 2023.
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KC Streetcar boost attributed to rising fuel prices
Kansas City’s free-to-ride light rail service has reported that patronage is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, with a major uplift recorded since March.
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West Midlands services to restart on 9 June
Limited services on the West Midlands Metro are to restart on 9 June following an 11-week suspension for vehicle repairs. Operator MML “remains very confident” of a full service ahead of this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
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Rio tramway expands and explores surplus Cuiabá LRVs
Approval given for BRL255m VLT Carioca extension to the future Terminal Intermodal Gentileza hub as city representatives inspect mothballed CAF Cuiabá trams.
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Empowering operations teams with real-time information
The team from Transit9 explores the importance of user-friendliness when implementing new technology and processes.
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A vision of the urban tram’s future
Imagine a modular autonomous tram which carried passengers during the day and freight in the evening. Such a vision was recently confirmed as the winner of the prestigious DESING+ competition organised by the University of West Bohemia…
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Always ahead of the game
Patrick Lamb, Managing Director of Severn Lamb, describes the process of creating bespoke vehicles for some of the more unusual light rail projects.
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Coming of the Tempe Streetcar
With an innovative new urban streetcar due to open on 20 May and expansion of its existing LRT system underway, Vic Simons revisits Arizona.
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A life without wires
Mott MacDonald’s Chris Tindall assesses the positives and negatives of a range of technologies promoted as an alternative to traditional LRT electrification.
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Tram-train learning
Simon Coulthard and Alex Dodds of Network Rail’s Light Rail Team describe the creation of the innovative online data resource which presents a ‘warts and all’ overview of the UK’s tram-train pilot.
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The Southampton Tram Project: Over 40 years in the making
Until 2020, this Southampton group was working largely away from public gaze, painstakingly restoring local trams with minimal funding and manpower. Martin Petch relates progress.
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Where the UK went wrong
Tony Young examines the many and complex reasons why the UK doesn’t have more second-generation tramways when so many were promised.
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Addressing the climate crisis
The issues surrounding sustainable transport infrastructure design have never been as important as cities face increasing instances of extreme weather events. TAUT looks at the some of the resilience measures being implemented for new light rail systems around the world.
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Forchbahn: Fit for the future
An ambitious programme to renovate the Swiss Forchbahn to increase capacity and make it fully-accessible will soon be underway. Andrew Thompson explores the plans in detail.
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UK Very Light Rail Conference
Attendees to this one-day event in June will hear from the teams involved in delivering the Coventry Urban VLR project and Revolution VLR.
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Light rail: The key to sustainable mobility
The European Light Rail Congress brings together many senior and key professionals from across Europe for two days of debate covering innovation and new technologies with light rail being a key driver to sustainable mobility.
read moreLight rail events for 2022
Mainspring’s 2022 events diary: Details about the European Light Rail Congress, 16th Annual UK Light Rail Conference, and Global Light Rail Awards.
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Mainspring LRT Excellence Day: From theory to practice
Sharing innovation, new technologies and best practice between engineers and the supply chain in Wolverhampton.
read moreRail Live 2021
Rail Live is a unique event bringing the full railway industry together to explore technology, innovation and strategy for the entire rail supply chain.
read moreEvents for 2022
Dates for your diaries for 2022’s events
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Sharing experience in Zaragoza
Geoff Butler rounds up the highlights from this year’s European Light Rail Congress in north-eastern Spain, a further return for face-to-face events for a mobility sector disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Celebrating success…. virtually
Global pandemic didn’t stop the sector recognising excellence and innovation.
read moreCOVID forces InnoTrans cancellation
The 2020 running of the world’s largest rail exhibition – held in Berlin biennially since 1996 – has been cancelled.
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Rail Live!
Rail Live! is now firmly positioned as one of the world’s most exciting rail events. This event brings top tier leaders of the rail industry together to discuss topics critical to future developments in the premium conference, alongside an action-packed exhibition which attracts the full rail supply chain.
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