
© TfNSW
On 19 March Alstom delivered the first metro trains for the Sydney Metro project. The vehicles are part of an order of 22 trains that will be used for Stage 1 of the project, also known as Sydney Metro Northwest.
Sydney is the first city in Australia to build a metro system and it will be fully automated.
Stage 1 will be 36 km long and have 13 stations, eight of which will be new and five of which will be upgraded stations from an existing suburban rail line. It is scheduled to start revenue service in the first half of 2019 with a train running every four minutes at peak hours.
With Stage 2, also know as Sydney Metro City and Southwest, the line will extend into the city centre and beyond. This section will have 18 stations: seven new and 11 upgraded from an existing suburban rail line. It is scheduled to open in 2024. It will have an ultimate capacity of a train every two minutes.

Trains will run under Syndey Harbour (© Syndey Metro)
With Stage 1 and 2 combined, the line will have 31 metro stations and be 66 km long.
The line will complement suburban rail services, increasing total capacity of Sydney’s public transport services.
Sources:

© ww.siemens.com/press
The design of trains for Vienna’s fully automated line U5 was presented on 8 March. The six-car trains, called “X cars”, will be produced by Siemens. They carry on the design elements of the city’s existing trains with an added modern touch and other upgrades.
Operator Wiener Linien commissioned 34 fully automated metro trains at the end of 2017. The contract includes their maintenance for a period of 24 years and an option for an additional eleven trains. The “X cars” will be operated fully automated on the new U5 line in Vienna beginning in 2024. The trains can also operate semi-automated or manually on previously existing lines.
Delivery of the trains is scheduled to begin in mid-2020 and to be completed by 2030. They will be manufactured at the Siemens factory in Vienna.
The trains can be walked through from end to end and feature an open and bright interior.
New on-board PIS
The trains will be equipped with the “FGI Plus” passenger information system, which offers passengers routing directions including connection information before they arrive at the station. Directions are displayed above each door. Passengers will know before they arrive at the station how they should proceed when they get there.
Trains will run at a maximum speed of 80 km/h and capacity will be 928 passengers including 200 seats.
Source:

Kuala Lumpur LRT3 route
At the end of February Siemens received, in consortium with Rasma Corporation Sdn Bhd, an order from Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, the operator of Malaysia’s Light Rail Network (LRT), for the supply and installation of signaling and train control system for the planned fully automated Light Rail Transit 3 Line (LRT3) in Kuala Lumpur.
The new line, with 38 kilometers and one depot, is expected to be completed in February 2021. The scope for Siemens also includes the installation of an intrusion preventive system and a platform screen door system.
The planned route for the LRT3 will ultimately link Bandar Utama to Klang, spanning 26 stations – 25 elevated above ground and one underground. Once completed, the line will be incorporated into the existing Klang Valley Integrated Transit System in the city.
The line will provide connectivity to the western part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley area. The project is expected to benefit 74,000 commuters daily and 500,000 residents as it will mobilise 36,720 passengers per hour in a single direction by improving connectivity and reducing traffic congestion.
Source: Siemens press release

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Chengdu Railway Corp. Ltd. has awarded two contracts for metro line 9 phase one in the city of Chengdu to Alstom and its joint ventures in China, SATEE and CASCO. The contracts will cover the supply traction systems for 200 metro cars and the CBTC signalling system for the entire driverless line. The two contracts are worth approximately €64m in total. Read more →

Tan Kah Kee station on DTL phase 2
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