Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific North-West of the US has a population of approximately 641 000 and is well renowned for its eco-friendliness. To best serve the local population’s transit needs, the city operates separate tramway and light rail systems. Portland Street car spans 3.9 miles (6.3km) and serves the city centre. Served by low-floor trams, this system first opened in 2001. Portland MAX (Metropolitan Area Express), which opened in 1986, is a five -line 59.7 mile (96.1km) light rail system which extends into the suburbs of the city on reserved tracks, though, like the tramway, it runs ..read more

Plans are progressing on the proposed ‘KenEx’ express tramway line which would see South Essex connected to North Kent under the River Thames. The initial plans for this £800m project were submitted to the Department of Transport back in June 2023 and these plans have now been accepted. Thames Gateway Tramlink Ltd (who promote the scheme) are expected to to submit their final business case by the end of 2023. The only existing link between Essex and Kent are the Dartford Tunnel and the Queen Elizabeth II bridge – which both suffer from heavy congestion. This tramway would then release pressure ..read more

DB ESG, the largest rolling stock technology consultant in Europe, and Sella Controls, the market-leader for ‘engineered solutions’ for safety, control, automation and telecommunication applications in a range of industries, are the first to receive a Safety Intregrity Level 2 (SIL2) certification in the UK for their Tracklink III system with a PPOS controller. In 2019, DB ESG were selected by Transport for London to develop, design, install and commission a device to physically prevent the over-speeding (PPOS) of light rail vehicles operated by London Trams in the Croydon area. In collaborati ..read more

Austin, Texas, is the 11th largest city in the US (population 965 000) and is without rail transit (apart from a  51km (32-mile)diesel light rail line to the suburban city of Leander). The modal split is 72.7% for private cars and just 5% for transit and it has been ranked as having the worst traffic congestion in Texas despite having a bus service which is provided by Capital Metro. In November 2020 voters approved a property tax to finance a USD 10bn transit expansion plan called Project Connect, that proposed a USD 5.8bn three-line 45km (28-mile) light rail network to serve the ci ..read more

The first of 36 Stadler-built class 398 bi-mode tram-trains were delivered to Transport for Wales’ Taff’s Well depot during the night of 21-22 March. These Spanish-built cars are destined for South Wales Metro and their use will significantly increase capacity and transform the travelling experience of its customers. The tram-trains had previously been undergoing extensive testing  at the Network Rail Innovation and Development Centre in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and form part of the Transport for Wales £800 million investment project into providing better trains and services for th ..read more

On 7 February the Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag published a consultation document called Plan Toekomstvaast Tramnet 2030  (Plan for the future tramway network 2030) for Rotterdam. Intended to meet the needs of residents as the city reshapes with new housing areas to accommodate planned population growth, the plan took some commentators by surprise in recommending some tramway closures on sections of route where passengers numbers are relatively low or where tracks cannot be segregated, in addition to putting forward new lines. Trams are to be speeded up by reducing the number of stops ..read more

The US Department of Transportation is requesting USD 4.45bn to be allocated 18 transit projects in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. This is the first step in the federal budget process that needs Congressional approval before Full Funding Agreements (FFA) can be executed. Amongst the nine projects recommended to receive funding for the first time is USD 350M for the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line rapid transit extension. Five projects that were given partial funding in previous budgets are also included: USD 500M for BART Silicon Valley extension phase II in San Jose; USD 167M for the East ..read more

In mid-December 2022, the newest extension of the Brno tram system opened after three years of construction, thus taking the entire network in the Czech Republic’s second largest city to roughly 72 km. The 900 m long branch line in the west of the city is used by line 8 and runs from the junction station Osová to the Bohunice hospital. The key part of the new route is a 650 m long tram tunnel, the longest such structure in the Czech Republic, including the country’s first underground tram stop at the intermediate calling point Západní brána. At the surface level terminus at Campus Bohunice, sp ..read more

Testing on the Newhaven extension of Edinburgh Trams started on the evening of 13 March and was the first tram to be seen on Leith Walk for some 67 years (November 1956). The test from Picardy Place to Newhaven (4.7km) was low speed but from 17 March 20mph testing starts, prior to a dummy timetable in May and passenger service from 21 June.   Council leader Cammy Day said, ‘It’s a momentous night to see the tram coming down Leith Walk to Newhaven. It’s probably the largest infrastructure project we have done in the city for a long time, and we apologise for the disruption. But as you can ..read more

Uraltransmash of Yekaterinburg (a subsidiary of Russian industrial group Uralvagonzavod) have developed a new low-floor tram prototype which uses only Russian components. The 71-415M has entered trial service in Yekaterinburg (Russia’s fourth largest city) and, it is hoped, will achieve the certification needed to permit it being sold more widely in Russia. With a history in the manufacturing industry spanning over two hundred years, Uraltransmash is one of the oldest enterprises in the Urals. The main focus on the company is in the production of military equipment, however since 1999 has deli ..read more