Thursday, September 25, 2014

Dubai's RTA gearing up for completion of Dubai Tram: Arabian Supply Chain

by ASC Staff on Sep 22, 2014

As the November 11 launch date approaches for phase one of the Dubai Tram, Gulf News reports that Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) workers are racing to finish the project on time.

Phase one of the tram system will see operations begin on the 10.6 kilometre network from Dubai Marina to Al Sufouh, with 11 trains and give carriages divided into Gold, Silver and Family.

The Dubai Tram is expected to serve 27,000 riders per day, operating every sin minutes from 5.30am to midnight daily.

Each train is designed to carry up to 405 passengers.

Siemens to build modern tram fleet for San Francisco

BY NEWS
IN LIGHT RAIL · RAIL NEWS · ROLLING STOCK AND COMPONENTS
— 22 SEP, 2014

Image: Siemens.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Overcrowding soars Melbourne's busiest tram routes

Date: September 17, 2014

Comments 24

The overcrowding on trams continued the upward trend experienced in recent years and was again most evident on routes serviced by Yarra Trams' ageing fleet of small Z-class and A-class trams.

Route 48 between North Balwyn and Docklands, route 55 from West Coburg to Domain, and routes 1, 3, 5, 8, 16, 64 and 67 - all of which ply the city's busiest tram corridor along Swanston Street and St Kilda Road - were worst hit.

By contrast, Melbourne's busiest route, number 96 between St Kilda Beach and East Brunswick, suffered no overcrowding as it continued to be exclusively allocated the new high-capacity E-class tram.

Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said the train network was again showing signs of strain after recent timetable boosts had eased the commuter squeeze.

"We got a big improvement in 2011 from a new timetable that basically plucked some low-hanging fruit that we'd had for years when people realised that we had some extra track capacity in the middle of the city, but the low-hanging fruit is running out now and we need to bite the bullet with some real investment in capacity improvements," he said.

"There's real concern as to whether the best solution is the one being pursued commercially as a result of this unsolicited process," he said.

"We see the need for an independent expert under the auspices of PTV to look at this, who can adjudicate in the public interest without fear or favour."

Gold Coast light rail marks 1 million trips

18 September, 2014 10:11AM AEST ABC Australia. By Charmaine Kane and staff

The Gold Coast light rail system has marked its one millionth paid passenger since it opened to the public. The G:Link was officially launched on July 20 and reached the six-figure milestone on Wednesday afternoon.

The State Government initially revised down its early forecasts of how many people would use the trams. However Member for Surfers Paradise John Paul Langbroek says the popularity of the G:Link has exceeded expectations.

"From numbers that began as low as 13,000 a day now up to 16,000, 17,000 and on some days even up to 20,000," he said. "Gold Coasters are taking to this whether they are tourists, visitors, locals, they are certainly using it to get to work and to play."

Games 'unlikely factor' in expansion

The Commonwealth Games in 2018 are unlikely to be a factor in considering expanding the city's light rail network. Mr Langbroek says any expansion would need to be carefully planned regardless of the Commonwealth Games.

"It's only four years away and I know there is a small window of opportunity to supposedly extend this and get it done before 2018, but it's also important to make sure we plan properly fund it properly," he said.

"Without it the games are going to go ahead anyway with a comprehensive transport plan should that be the case."

'Confident' of increasing numbers

Mr Langbroek says it is important the city has a number of events which can be serviced by the light rail system. He says the light rail will provide another transport option for people attending events like the Gold Coast 600 motor race.

"The operators of it are very positive about moving people through the precinct where it will be held at Main Beach and that that will be another alternative," he said. "We need to make sure that we have lots of other events, day to day events as well that people use the light rail for.

"I am confident they are going to in increasing numbers." The government will continue to monitor patron numbers on the light rail system.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Edinburgh trams carry 1.5m passengers in first 100 days: Herald Scotland

Monday 8 September 2014

Edinburgh Trams said the passenger numbers and revenue levels were in line with predictions.

It said that major events such as the Edinburgh Festival season and a One Direction concert and Champions League games at Murrayfield helped to boost numbers using the trams over the first few months of the service.

About 130,000 stepped on board during the first week of operations and since then more than 90,000 passengers on average have used the service each week.

Ian Craig, chief executive of Transport for Edinburgh, said: "I'm very pleased with progress so far and with 100 days of the tram service under our belts, coupled with record-breaking patronage on Lothian Buses, we're well-placed to thrive as a modern integrated transport operator.

"What we're seeing suggests a genuine increase in use of public transport across the piece, which is a priority for us but also a shared aspiration for many in the city."

The trams began operating on May 31 and the 100 days covered the period up to September 7.

Lesley Hinds, transport convener and chair of transport for Edinburgh, said: "We can count these 100 days as a very encouraging start and the fact that we've carried 1.5 million passengers speaks volumes about how quickly people in the city have embraced their new tram service.

"These are still the early days of a new operation and there's always going to be scope to refine things to make sure passengers get the best possible service.

"We've got a great team in place to hone and develop the tram operation and to ensure that we deliver a fully integrated public transport system for the capital."

The tram network opened to the public in May after six years of building work and problems including a long-running dispute between the council and its contractor.

The project has seen the construction of a line from Edinburgh Airport to York Place, costing about £776 million.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/edinburgh-trams-carry-15m-passengers-in-first-100-days.1410186380

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

France Besançon’s low-cost tramway opens

01 Sep 2014. http://www.railwaygazette.com

FRANCE: A weekend of ‘modest celebrations’ marked the inauguration of Besançon’s 14·5 km tram line on August 30-31, with local residents attending wearing turquoise-blue to match the trams’ colour scheme.

The tramway has been explicitly developed as a low-cost project by the Grand Besançon municipality, which had hoped to reduce construction costs by up to a third compared to recent light rail schemes in other French cities. It serves 31 stops from Marnières in the east of the city to Hauts-du-Chazal in the southwest with a short branch to Besançon-Viotte main line station.

A consortium of STD, Sacer, Roger Martin, Colas Rail and Alstom undertook civil works on the 7 km western section under a €43m contract awarded in March 2012. The eastern 7 km section was built under a €53m contract by the Eurovia consortium, which includes Bonnefoy, Eurovia Travaux Ferroviairies, Campenon Bernard and Coteb Codiel.

Colas Rail supplied the overhead electrification equipment, while seven substations to supply traction current at 750 V DC were installed by Spie Est. Signalling was supplied by Vossloh Cogifer.

The 19 Urbos 24 m long trams were assembled at CAF’s CFD Bagnères plant in Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Services are operated by municipal transport company Ginko.

Alstom opens new Citadis tram line in Le Mans, France

1 September 2014 Thanks to railway-technology.com

French train manufacturer Alstom has opened a second Citadis tram line in Le Mans, France, in a move to expand the city's tram network and the Citadis fleet.

The new tram line aims to increase the 15.4km-long network to 19km and the fleet from 26 to 34 trams.

In 2012, eight new trams were ordered to operate on lines 1 and 2.

The 30m-long Le Mans Citadis trams have been modified by widening the seats, adding buzzers to the doors, display and an intercom, as well as improving handrails.

Alstom Transport Key accounts and local authorities director François D'Hulst said: "Setram has also upgraded the 26 trams already in service on the network, according to processes defined and deployed by Alstom, which provided logistics and parts.

Of the 11 Alstom sites in France, five of them took part in building the Citadis for Le Mans."The city of Le Mans now has a fleet of 34 modern trams adapted to the specific needs of people with reduced mobility."

The La Rochelle plant designed and constructed the tram, while Ornans, Le Creusot, Tarbes and Villeurbanne sites offered motors, bogies, powertrain equipment and onboard IT respectively.

More than 1,800 Citadis trams have already been sold to 45 cities worldwide, 1,500 of which are currently in operation.

In August, a low-floor tramway was launched in Moscow, Russia, by TramRus, a joint venture between Alstom and Transmashholding.

Developed on the basis of the Citadis platform, the new tramway is capable of running at speeds of up to 75km/h and will be operated on tram service 17, which connects Medvedkovo with VDNKh metro station in Moscow.

Image: Alstom opens line 2 of the Citadis tramway in Le Mans, France. Photo: courtesy of Alstom.

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