Easter weekend Tram & Light Rail news – Europe, Australia & the USA
Posted by Cardinal Fang on Thursday, April 21, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Light rail vehicle unveiled
http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/bielefeld-vamos-lrv-unveiled.html
21 April 2011
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GERMANY: The first of 16 high-floor light rail vehicles for Bielefeld city transport operator MoBiel was presented to a select audience at HeiterBlickai??i??s Leipzig plant on April 14.Ai??
MoBiel placed a ai??i??47m order for the cars with a consortium of Vossloh Kiepe and HeiterBlick on January 26 2009. Vossloh Kiepe has supplied the electrical equipment for the vehicles, which have been assembled by HeiterBlick. The contract includes options for a further 25 vehicles.
The three-section bi-directional vehicles, branded Vamos, are 34 m long, about 7 m longer than the existing M8C and M8D cars working Bielefeldai??i??s metre-gauge network. As the platforms are designed for 2 300 mm wide cars, the Vamos design widens to 2 650 mm above platform height, creating space for 230 passengers.Ai??Ai??
The first vehicle will be delivered to Bielefeld in June for testing before entering revenue service in the autumn.

Perth light rail gains momentum
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1522701/latest-from-wire/
http://www.perthlightrail.org/

A light rail system in Perth’s CBD seems inevitable with the state opposition putting forward its own proposal which would run east to west across the city.
Perth Light Rail to connect East to West
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-light-rail-to-connect-east-to-west-20110419-1dmkr.html?from=watoday_sb

On April 26, Federal Transit Administration and Minnesota state officials plan to sign a full-funding grant agreement that will commit millions of federal dollars to the Central Corridor Light-Rail Transit project, which will connect the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The agreement will require the federal government to reimburse the projectai??i??s funding partners for half the cost to build the $957 million line, which will link the two cities along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and University of Minnesota.
The Metropolitan Council will serve as the grantee of the federal funds. The regional agency is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Construction began in 2010 along the 11-mile line, which will connect with the Hiawatha light-rail line at the Metrodome station and the Northstar commuter-rail line at the new Target Field station in Minneapolis.
To date, $185 million has been spent on the projectai??i??s design, property acquisition and construction. The project is slated for completion in 2014.Ai??

Politicians should not be entrusted to be in charge of public transport in any sense!