LIMITED operation began on the first completed strech of Fortaleza’s diesel-operated light rail Purple Line on July 25, when the governor of the Brazilian state of Cerará Mr Camilo Santana joined local residents for a first trip on the 5km Parangaba - Borges de Melo section of the route.
THE first light rail line in the Algerian city of Sidi Bel Abbès was inaugurated on July 25 by minister of transport and public works Mr Abdelghani Zaalane.
THE state government of South Australia has awarded an $A 80m ($US 63.5m) contract for construction of Adelaide’s East End light rail extension to the Downer York joint venture of Downer EDI Works and South Australian partner York Civil.
ITALIAN design and engineering company Italdesign Giugiaro has been awarded a contract by CRRC Guangzhou Electric Locomotive, to design a new tram for Guangzhou.
HELSINKI Transport (HKL) has leased two of its Variotram low-floor LRVs to Rhine-Neckar Transport (RNV), which will evaluate the vehicles on its tram networks in Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, and Heidelberg.
RABAT-Salé Tramway Company (STRS) has awarded a consortium of Colas Rail and its Moroccan road construction subsidiary GTR a €29m contract to construct infrastructure on two extensions of light rail Line T2.
A federal appeal court has ruled that the state of Maryland can proceed with construction of the 25.8km light rail Purple Line north of Washington DC, despite a continuing lawsuit against the project.
LEIPZIG launched its new fleet of Solaris Tramino XL low-floor LRVs on July 13, when the first vehicle entered trial passenger service on Line 4 from Gohlis to Stötteritz.
KIEV tram operator Kyivpastrans has selected Pesa, Poland, for a Hryvnia 1.8bn ($US 70m) contract to supply 40 1524mm-gauge low-floor LRVs.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in the Shunyi district of Beijing on July 14 to mark the start of construction on light rail Line T2.
