
Long Island rail service opens to Grand Central
A key part of the USD11.1bn East Side Access Project to connect the LIRR to Manhattan opens on 25 January. Around 45% of LIRR commuters are expected to travel to Grand Central Madison, with 24 trains/hour, relieving crowding at Penn Station.
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First new DLR train arrives in London, expanded order due imminently
Transport for London reports that 12 trains from the base order for 43 will have been completed by April. They are due to enter service from 2024.
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Cleveland plans to standardise rail transit fleet
GCRTA close to appointing a preferred supplier to replace its ageing LRV and rapid transit fleets under plans to unify its Red, Blue and Green line services.
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New delays for Bethesda – New Carrollton LRT project
Utilities delays could push back the opening of Maryland’s 26km (16.2-mile) Purple light rail line to mid-2027.
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Belgrade appoints metro design advisor
RATP Dev awarded a 12-month contract to advise on the design and specification of the new 69km (41-mile) fully-automated three-line metro in the Serbian capital.
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Naumburg tram breaks passenger record
Heritage tramway in the small German town exceeds its pre-pandemic ridership by 17% in 2022.
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EIB funds to help Kharkiv rebuild its tramway
Technical support funding committed to rebuild and expand the tram network in Ukraine’s second city, including preparing tenders for replacement rolling stock.
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End of an era for the Tyne and Wear Metro
The 100-year-old depot, first opened in 1923 by the London and North Eastern Railway and converted for use by the Tyne and Wear Metro for its launch in 1980, closes on 19 January.
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Funding progress for Cardiff Crossrail
UK Government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’ allocates GBP50m towards the development of cross-city tram-train services for the Welsh capital.
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Cologne invites tenders for up to 192 LRVs
Initial order for 73 cars is planned for Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe, including provision for maintenance and spares and options for a further 60 cars and 23 intermediate modules.
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Metro and tram openings in 11 Chinese cities in December
In just six days, new metro lines open to passengers in Qingdao, Hefei, Taizhou, Jinhua, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Foshan, Xi’an, Wuhan and Beijing – as well as an all-new tramway in Huangshi.
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Beating the Bottleneck: Nexus’ Metro Flow
Metro Flow was completed on December 14th but what did the programme involve and how will it prove a game-changer to Nexus’ Metro passengers?
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A strategy for the future of light rail in the UK
James Hammett, Managing Director of UKTram, reveals how a bold sector-wide strategy is key to securing a sustainable future for light rail in England, Scotland, and Wales.
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European Light Rail Congress 2023 – Tenerife
Mainspring’s 2023 European Light Rail Congress will be held in Tenerife. Sustainability, innovation and the use of technology to improve the customer experience will be at the heart of this LRT dedicated congress.
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Kiel: Future-proofing public transport
Improving public transport and addressing climate change targets, the German city of Kiel is studying two alternatives for its future regional transport: tram and BRT. Torben Groß, Nils Jänig and Holger Wesselmann discuss the options.
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A ten-point plan for Light Rail in the UK
Norman Baker, UK Light Rail Minister from 2010 to 2014 and now External Relations Director for Campaign for Better Transport, sets out a simple vision for future development of the mode in the UK.
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‘While tramways do come at a cost, the barriers to new systems are clearing…’
SYSTRA CEO Pierre Verzat offers us his insight into today’s light rail landscape, new technologies, and a few predictions for the future.
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Dijon: Ten years on
TAUT revisits the capital of Burgundy to mark ten years since the opening of its modern tramway.
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Grand ambitions in Szczecin
A comprehensive and historic tramway network which is seeing significant reconstruction as it moves to low-floor operation; Andrew Thompson reports from north-western Poland.
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Coventry VLR: Roll on 2024
Monday 4 April was momentous for the Very Light Rail team at Coventry City Council. This was the day that the West Midlands’ ‘ask’ of GBP1.05bn (EUR1.25bn) for a package of rail, tram, bus and active travel improvements for the coming five years received formal approval under the UK Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS).
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European Light Rail Congress 2023 – Tenerife
Mainspring’s 2023 European Light Rail Congress will be held in Tenerife. Sustainability, innovation and the use of technology to improve the customer experience will be at the heart of this LRT dedicated congress.
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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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