Alstom Americas

Image Courtesy of Alstom

Transit Briefs: KDOT, Amtrak, Alstom, SacRT, CTA

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) gives an update on the proposed expansion of Amtrak’s Heartland Virtual Flyer line into Wichita. Also, renovation is complete on Amtrak’s Staples Mill Station; Alstom signs a contract with Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport for a modernization and replacement program for its Skylink automated people mover (APM) system; the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) celebrates its Light Rail Modernization Project and groundbreaking ceremony for Folsom 15-minute light rail service; and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) enhances rail station access with new Americans with Disabilities (ADA) faregates.

Image Courtesy of Alstom

Alstom Concludes Demonstration of Coradia iLint

Alstom announced on Oct. 10 that it has concluded the “successful demonstration” of the Coradia iLint, which carried more than 10,000 passengers, over 130 trips, spanning 10,660 kilometers (6,623 miles) in Quebec this summer from mid-June to the end of September.

Alstom’s Montreal Milestone

Alstom recently completed delivery on a major rapid transit railcar order for Société de Transport de Montréal (STM), which, like RATP in Paris and Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC) in Mexico City, uses rubber-tired vehicles. The 639 MPM-10 cars, configured in 71 carsets of nine and named “AZUR” (“Sky Blue”) by the public in 2012, were ordered from Bombardier and completed by Alstom. They entered service in 2016 and completely replaced the original MR-63 model. They feature an open gangway design similar to the Toronto Transit Commission’s Rocket cars, also built by Bombardier.

‘Every Region is Exciting’

RAILWAY AGE, SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE: We talk with Alstom Americas Region President Michael Keroullé on the Bombardier Transportation integration and the Western Hemisphere railway market.

For LIRR, a Potential First: Battery/Third-Rail ‘BEMU’

If all goes as planned, in about one year, MTA Long Island Rail Road will be testing a prototype “BEMU” (battery-electric multiple unit) that operates on third-rail power or batteries on the 13-mile, non-electrified Oyster Bay Branch. The program, a venture with Alstom, will be North America’s first test-of-concept of this application on commuter railcars.