MANILA: The Philippines Department of Transportation has awarded a Peso 37bn ($US 672.6m) contract to Mitsubishi for electrical and mechanical systems and trackwork for the Malolos - Clark Railway. Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the project is the second section of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) to link municipalities in southern Luzon, Metro Manila and central Luzon. Due to be completed by June 2025, the 53km, nine-station line is expected to cut travel times between Malolos, Bulcan and Clark from 1h 30min to 30 minutes and it will feature the Philippines’ first airport express service, running from Makati to Clark International Airport.
Toulouse: Public transport operator Tisséo has awarded a consortium of Eiffage and NGE a contract for civil engineering works on metro Line C between Laporte and Raynal, including an 8.4km main tunnel, nine passages connecting it to access shafts, a connection through tunnel to a maintenance facility, six stations and five lineside structures. Total contract value is €590m, with Eiffage having a 65% share and NGE 35%. Two TBMs, fibre-reinforced concrete segments manufactured at the consortium’s own plant near Toulouse and Eiffage’s Carasol soil analysis technique will be deployed on the project, which will create 150 to 200 new jobs from spring 2023 to handover in late 2025.
Beijing: On February 4 a 9.7km metro extension from Qinghe to Xitucheng opened on the Changping Line. The extension is at the southern end of the line and takes its total length to 43km, with trains running at a maximum speed of 100km/h and services operating at intervals of 2min 30sec at peak periods. The extension currently has five stations, with Liudaokou providing interchange with Line 15, and a sixth station due to open at a later date.
Pune: The European Investment Bank (EIB) has confirmed a €150m, 20-year loan to support construction of a metro serving over 3 million residents. The EIB is providing a total of €500m to fund 31.25km of metro construction along with 30 stations estimated to benefit 159 million passengers a year. The project, which is being co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), is due for completion during 2023 and is expected to create at least 900 new jobs.
Porto: The first of 18 LRVs built in China by CRRC Tangshan for Porto Metro has been delivered and put on public display at Trindade station, where it was inspected by Portugal’s minister of environment and climate action, Mr Duarte Cordeiro. He said it was both an example of how the public could be encouraged to switch to public transport, and of the potential benefits of higher-level cooperation with China.
Taipei: On February 10 trial operations officially started on the 7.7km Ankeng light rail line from Shishizhang to Shuangcheng with passengers able to travel free of charge until March 12. The free travel period is from 10.00 to 18.00 daily and the end-to-end journey time is 21 minutes with nine stops. Shisizhang station provides interchange with the metro Circular (Yellow) Line and the LRT line is expected to carry 53,000 passengers a day.
São Paulo: Systra has been awarded a contract to provide technical services to support the supervision, monitoring and control of civil works at the three stations and the Ragueb Chohfi stabling facility forming part of the extension of Line 15. Construction is due to begin in March 2023. Line 15 is a high-capacity monorail and will have stations at Ipiranga, providing interchange with Line 10, and at Boa Esperança and Jacu-Pêssego.
Toronto: Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has selected Mott Macdonald, with subcontractors Sener SES Canada, Hawkins/Brown Architects, Adamson Associates, SvN Architects + Planners and Aldea Engineering, as prime designer for the Scarborough Subway Extension Stations, Rail and Systems (SRS) contract. The project will extend the Bloor-Danforth metro line by 7.8km from Kennedy station to Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road, including three new underground stations. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have selected Scarborough Transit Connect (STC), a 50:50 joint venture of Aecom and FCC Canada, as development partner for the SRS contract, which includes buildings, substations and systems testing and commissioning.
Hong Kong: Mass Transit Railway (MTR) has awarded Robel Track Construction Machines a contract to supply a Romis mobile maintenance train to be deployed on the Tuen Ma and East Rail lines. The two-vehicle train comprises a store wagon able to transport personnel, equipment and materials, and a work unit with an open floor structure providing workers with direct access to the track in a fully protected environment. The two vehicles are linked by an internal crane. When on site, the train can supply lighting and power for plant and has side walls that can move outwards to extend the working area.
For more data on metro and light rail projects around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
