THE Mayor of Eskisehir Mr Yılmaz Büyükerşen formally opened the latest addition to the city's EsTram light rail network on March 18 when he made an inaugural trip over Line 3, which serves eastern districts of the Turkish city.
CNR, China, announced on March 17 that it has been awarded a contract to supply a fleet of 41 LRVs for the 37.4km light rail network which is currently under construction in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
SIEMENS announced on March 13 that The Hague Tramways (HTM) has exercised an option worth around €55m for 20 additional Avenio low-floor LRVs, taking its total order to 60 vehicles.
IZMIR Metropolitan Municipality has signed a €165m financing agreement with international lenders for the construction of two new light rail lines, which will serve the districts of Konak and Karsiyaka.
Transport planners are starting to consider how "big data" retrieved from passenger smart cards, computers and mobile phones could improve the design of urban rail networks and timetables, and improve operations by predicting ridership.
HANNOVERIANS had their first opportunity to sample the city's new type TW 3000 light rail vehicles on March 8, when two of the trams carried a total of 3200 passengers on free demonstration trips between Main Station and Allerweg in the city centre.
LEIPZIG Transport Authority (LVB) has issued a call for tender for up to 41 light rail vehicles to be supplied between 2016 and 2020, with the first five vehicles supplied as a pre-series.
BELGIAN light rail operator, De Lijn, has issued a call for tender for 146 low-floor LRVs for operation in Antwerp, Ghent and the West Flanders coastal line. The deadline to participate is April 17.
BUDAPEST Transport Centre (BKK) has placed a €90m contract with CAF, Spain, for a fleet of 37 low-floor LRVs of two types with an option for another 87 units. Delivery will start at the end of 2015.
CREA, the public transport authority in Rouen, France, has sold 28 Alstom trams to the Turkish city of Gaziantep in a deal worth €5.2m.