WITH Hong Kong's public transport operator MTR preparing to open the latest additions to its metro network, the 2.6km Kwun Tong extension and the 7km South Island Line, 2016 is set to be another big year for the company.

NORWEGIAN infrastructure manager Jernbaneverket has awarded a NKr 250m ($US 28.9m) signalling contract to Thales for the Follo Line project, Norway largest infrastructure project.

EGYPT's National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has awarded Alstom and its consortium partners contracts worth €187m to supply signalling, telecommunications and electromechanical equipment for the phase 3 extension of Cairo Metro's Line 3.

Denmark's bold decision to renew its entire signalling infrastructure raised eyebrows across the signalling community when details of its plans first emerged nearly 10 years ago. With work on the major contracts now well underway, Kevin Smith visited Banedanmark in Copenhagen to find out how the project is progressing.

THALES Canada has reacted strongly to claims by Edmonton's mayor Mr Don Iverson's that it has not delivered a "working product" for the city's new Metro Line light rail line, which began restricted operations on September 6.

Misalignment between the objects, interfaces, services, apps and solutions designed for a model user and an actual user's needs is undermining design and the effective implementation of new technologies at stations. Giuseppe Attoma Pepe, service design strategist, and Alessandro Catania, user research manager, at Attoma, provide an overview of methods to help managers and designers base their choices for station wayfinding on real-life situations.

EDMONTON's troubled $C 665m ($US 501.4m) Metro Line light rail project began limited operations on September 6, around 16 months after the line was due to enter service.

THE Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded contracts totalling $US 205.8m to Siemens and Thales to install communications-based train control (CBTC) on New York Subway's Queens Boulevard Line.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has awarded Thales a £760m contract to resignal London Underground's Sub-Surface Lines (SSL), encompassing the Circle, Metropolitan, District and Hammersmith & City lines, following the cancellation of its original deal with Bombardier.

NEW YORK Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has given preliminary approval for two contracts totalling $US 205.8m for the first phase of the Queens Boulevard Line (QBL) CBTC rollout.
The Siemens contract is worth $US 156.2m, while the total value of the Thales contract is $US 49.6m.