News from the Cities
 
            
    Financial agreement for Berlin new airport
Berlin Brandenbourg International airport funding has been approved by the airport authority; by private and public stakeholders, including the Federal State, the Länder of Berlin and Brandenbourg, the European Union. This €2bn project, located on the property of Schönenfeld current airport could open in 2010 and will provide an extra capacity of 20m passengers a
 
            
    London experiences new streets for the 21st Century
Exhibition Road, in South Kensington District is one of the most attractive place in London in term of cultural interest. However, transportation is a huge concern since a major road link crosses the district implying foot tunnels for pedestrians, underground station is not easily accessible and bus connections with the rest of the city are
 
            
    Rome third metro line on the tracks
Rome has 2 projects of metro lines (C and D). The line C project consists in a 39 kilometers line with 42 stops, linking the north west (Tor di Quinto-Vigna Clara) and the south west (University Comprensorio of Tor Vergata) and also serving the historical city center. The first section of this line is about
 
            
    Greece steps up in public transport
– After the success of Olympics, Greek national government announced further extensions of Athens’ metro and the beginning of works for Thessaloniki’s metro. Athens’ metro is a 135 km network serving 45 stations, recently extended thanks to the games, which will grow by 23 kilometers – 12 stations by 2009 and by 20,8 more kilometers
 
            
    Transport for London evaluates impacts of Jubilee Line Extension (JLE)
The findings are described in a report prepared by the Transport Studies Group of the University of Westminster for TfL and the Department for Transport. The JLE has been initiated in order to improve the accessibility of the Docklands area and to overcome the capacity limits of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). The line provides
 
            
    Manchester supports its Metrolink project
In July, the British Secretary of State for Transport announced that funding for a three-line expansion of Greater Manchester’s light rail network, Metrolink, was “not approved” due to rising costs. A major lobbying campaign was launched to get this decision reversed backed by Greater Manchester MPs and councillors, the business community, local people and the
 
            
    Public transport and car sharing synergies in Geneva
The public transport operating company in Geneva has found an innovative solution for a better use of its fleet: off peak hours, light vehicles are made available to customers of Mobility, a car sharing company independent from public transport operators, offering 24h services in the whole country. Fares agreements had been proposed in order to
 
            
    Light rail works have started in Nice
Nice has been for a long time the largest French city without metro or light rail infrastructure, since the end of its tramway, sixty years ago. A tramway scheme has been designed and the main road works started in September. The scheme consists of three lines. The first line serves mainly the city itself, providing
 
            
    Free transport by train for Belgian employees
The Belgian Government decided in 2003 that the trip to work by train will be free for employees of the public sector as of 1st March 2004. This decision, whose cost for 2004 is estimated at €15 million, will be extended to private companies in 2005. Companies that will pay for the transport costs of
 
            
    First « Passenger day » in Berlin-Brandeburg
VBB, the regional transport authority in Berlin- Brandenburg (6 million inhabitants on a 30,000km2 territory) held on 20th June the first “Passenger Day” for users of public transport systems. This initiative aimed to foster the exchange of information between the population, transport companies and public authorities, so as to promote the use of public transport


































