Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the operator of the fully automated Line 9/10 and the main public transport operator in Barcelona, has become the first metro in the world to put into operation, on an experimental basis, a set of vertical platform screen doors. This innovative solution aims to improve passenger safety and comfort and, at the same time, enhance the safety and regularity of train traffic. Read more →
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/Trainsandtech
On 26 May the Metro North West Line opened in Syndey. This fully automated line is the first metro line in Australia.
The Metro North West Line is Stage 1 of Sydney Metro and includes 36km of track, 13 stations and a depot. It runs from Tallawong Station at Rouse Hill to Chatswood.
The line incorporated an existing 13km railway between Epping to Chatswood, which was updgraded for the metro project. Read more →
The ‘World Report on Metro Automation 2018’ was published on 23 May. This new UITP Statistics Brief introduces the current standing of automated metros across the globe – and expectations for the years to come.
Last year witnessed the milestone achievement of 1000km of automated metros reached as the Pujiang Line opened for use in Shanghai.
As of December 2018, nearly a quarter of the world’s metro systems have at least one fully automated line in operation. Read more →
The Doha Metro project upon completion will consist of three lines
The first metro line in Doha, the fully automated Red Line, opened on 8 May, serving 13 out of the 18 stations that it will serve upon completion.
The originally planned opening date was in 2020, but Qatar Rail has decided to open a “preview” service ahead of schedule to allow testing the Doha Metro system with passengers and provide an opportunity to evaluate and review performance, in preparation for the full operation of the network. Read more →
Dubai metro
On 31 March, Serco Group plc (Serco) signed a two-year contract extension with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to continue operating and maintaining the Dubai Metro until September 2021. The contract extension includes the operation and maintenance of the Red Line extension which is under construction.
The total value of the fixed base fee for the contract extension is around AED680m (equivalent to approximately €164m).
The test run of the Red Line expanded service is expected to start in February 2020, with a view to be ready for full operation ahead of Expo 2020 which begins in October. The extension will add 15km and connect seven stations. At that point, the Dubai Metro will have a total network length of 90km and over 120 trains running at peak hours.
Serco first began operating and maintaining the initial ten stations on the Red Line from the official opening of the Dubai Metro in 2009. Expansion of the Metro has seen the Red Line grow to 29 stations, while the Green Line, opened in 2011, added an additional 20 stations.
HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, said: “Serco has delivered operational performance levels on the Dubai Metro with a high train service availability of 99.9% and a punctuality of 99.8%, achieving a record of 204 million journeys in 2018.”
Source: Serco press release
Metropolis for REM, Montreal – design (©
Alstom Design & Styling)
The Alstom-led consortium, Groupe des partenaires pour la mobilité des Montréalais (Groupe PMM), has revealed the design of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train.
The external livery, chosen by the public, was inspired by the new Samuel De Champlain Bridge in Montreal, with the vehicle’s headlights directly recalling the shrouds of the new bridge. The Metropolis offers wide doors and spaces to facilitate passenger flow, acoustic comfort, vibration mitigation and passenger information in real time.
Alstom will supply 212 Metropolis cars, or 106 trainsets, for the fully automated metro.
Awarded to the Groupe PMM consortium in early 2018, the project will be the largest transit project in Quebec’s history since the Montreal metro was built over 50 years ago. Upon completion, REM will be one of the world’s largest automated transport networks – 67 kilometres long with 26 stations – connecting downtown Montreal to the South Shore, the North Shore, the West Island and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
Source: Alstom press release
The planned Grand Paris express GoA4 metro network, with line 14 at its centre
In March Alstom received an order for 23 trains from Île-de-France Mobilités (the organising authority for the Paris area and the rest of the Île-de-France region) and the Société du Grand Paris. The vehicles, to be used on metro lines 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express, will consist of 3 cars each and together be worth approximately 100 million euros. Read more →
First test runs on Istanbul line M7 © Metro Istanbul
On March 19 Metro Istanbul started test runs on the fully automated metro Line M7. The 24.5km line will link Kabataş to Mahmutbey, serving 19 stations. Construction began in 2014.
M7 will use four-car Hyundai Rotem trains and Bombardier Cityflo 650 signalling.
This new line will be the second fully automated line in Istanbul after M5, which opened in 2017, and the first on the European side on the city.
Work on the projet’s second phase, from Mahmutbey to Esenyurt, is underway since 2017.
Source: Metro Istanbul
Map of L10 Sud featuring Provençana station (© TMB)
On 2 March Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona inaugurated a new intermediate station on the the automated Line 10 Sud, located in the neighborhood of Santa Eulàlia de l’Hospitalet.
Line L10 Sud runs from Foc (Barcelona) to Collblanc (Hospitalet), covering a journey of 4.5km and now has six stations.
This new station, located between Can Tries/Gornal and Foneria, has been built in a well format, with a lower and upper track, like the other stations on the same line.
Source: TMB
See more figures about the automated metro lines in Barcelona: http://metroautomation.org/barcelona-transports-metropolitans-de-barcelona-tmb/
Santiago Line 3 (© Metro de Santiago)
On 22 January Chilean President Sebastian Pinera inaugurated Santiago metro Line 3, the sixth line of the city’s metro network and the second to be fully automated.
Line 3, which like the other metro lines in the city is operated by Metro de Santiago, is 22 km long and comprises 18 stations. The technology used is the same as for Line 6, the other fully automated line, inaugurated in November 2017.
Stations on the line are equipped with platform screen doors. Passenger information systems indicate how full cars are in the arriving train, thanks to 10 cameras located inside each car, so that passengers can choose to board the one with most free space.
The new line has direct connections with all existing lines of the network.
Another feature of Line 3 is that 60% of its energy needs will be provided by renewable energy sources such as wind and sun.
Source: Metro de Santiago