All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2024
All articles published this month.
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In depthJapan: Understanding when to replace electronic signalling equipment
Using estimates for the service life of electronic signalling components, Japan’s Railway Technical Research Institute has developed a method for choosing the ideal time to replace them.
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahn train delivered
SWITZERLAND: Berner Oberland-Bahnen has taken delivery of the first of 10 ABeh 4/8 electric multiple-units being supplied by Stadler. An initial six three-car sets were ordered for SFr66m in May 2022. The first was delivered on December 12, and they are to enter service on the ...
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In depthSoutheast Europe: Reforms offer a route to Georgian revival
After a long period of neglect, railways in Georgia are undergoing reform at a time when they stand to benefit from east-west trade moving via the Transcaucasian route between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
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Rail Business UKLow-emission depot shunters in services at steel works
UK: GB Railfreight has put three Zephir LOK 16.300 depot shunters into service moving steel billets from an electric arc furnace to rolling mills at Celsa Steel’s Cardiff site. They are leased from Porterbrook, which said shunters with EU Stage V compliant diesel engines and able ...
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NewsGovernment accelerates environmental licensing of major projects
BRAZIL: The Ministry of Transport has issued a directive to Infra SA to accelerate the licensing process for strategic rail projects. Signed by the National Secretariat for Rail Transport and the Secretariat of Sustainability, this provides for the federal government to take over the environmental licensing ...
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NewsEuropean Commission approves Dutch ETCS grants to promote modal shift
NETHERLANDS: The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a €41m Dutch scheme to promote the shift of freight from road to rail by providing direct grants for the installation of upgraded versions of ETCS onboard equipment. The scheme will run from January 1 2025 ...
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NewsEBRD loan for Ukrainian electric loco order
UKRAINE: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is lending €300m to finance the acquisition of electric locomotives by national railway Ukrzaliznytsia. The latest EBRD loan announced on December 18 will be co-financed by a parallel grant of up to US$190m from the USA, administered by ...
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Metro Report InternationalComplex custom tram junction produced for Bremen
GERMANY: Czech turnout manufacturer DTVS in Prostějov has completed a €2m six-month project to manufacture a custom-design complex junction 82 m long and weighing 162 tonnes for the Bremen tramway. ‘This particular project involves an enormous and complex structure with various combinations ...
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Rail Business UKRedundant coal wagons to be converted for construction traffic
UK: WH Davis is to convert coal wagons owned by leasing company Porterbrook for use by Freightliner to transport aggregates. ’This is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what can be achieved by giving redundant fleets a purpose for the next 30-plus years’, said WH Davis Managing ...
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NewsBrazilian government to assess flood-hit Malha Sul network
BRAZIL: The federal government has established a working party to review options for rehabilitation of the Malha Sul network currently operated by Rumo Logística, whose concession awarded in 1997 is due to expire in 2027. The 7 223 km Malha Sul network is located in the ...
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NewsFIOL-FICO integration proposed
BRAZIL: Formal consultation on a proposal to alter the planned route of the third stage of the Ferrovia de Integração Oeste-Leste project so that it connects directly with the Ferrovia de Integraçao Centro-Oeste scheme is to start at the end of January 2025. Announcing this in ...
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NewsTeresina suburban rail renewal makes progress
BRAZIL: The state of Piauí has reported progress on a series of investments to enhance the metre-gauge diesel suburban line in its capital, Teresina. On November 11, Governor Rafael Fonteles inaugurated a 2·5 km, one-station eastern branch from Boa Esperança to Colorado. The project included the ...
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NewsFrench night train fleet renewal tender expected
FRANCE: Tenders are to be called in early 2025 for the renewal of SNCF’s night train fleet. The plans were confirmed to local media by Pierre-Christophe Soncarrieu, the deputy director of the transport ministry’s Trains d’Équilibre du Territoire regional trains division responsible for overnight services. The ...
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Rail Business UKRail cyber-resilience collaboration
INTERNATIONAL: A memorandum of understanding to collaborate on enhancing the cyber-resilience of rail operations was signed by rail cybersecurity specialist RazorSecure, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Mitsubishi Electric Europe and EKE Electronics during the 18th UK-Japan Rail Working Group hosted by the Department for Transport in London on ...
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Metro Report InternationalWashington metro reinstates automatic train operation after 15 year hiatus
USA: Automatic train operation has resumed on the Washington DC metro after a 15 year gap. ATO was installed when the metro opened in 1976, but it was turned off following a fatal collision in June 2009. This was caused by a track circuit failure that ...
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Rail Business UKTrain driver psychometric assessment standard updated
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board has updated the standard related to psychometric assessments in train driver selection, to provide greater clarity on the process and validity of psychometric tests and to increase the number of attempts that can be made at passing from two ...
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Metro Report InternationalMore walk-through Subway cars in latest New York MTA procurement
USA: New York MTA has approved a $1·27bn firm order for a further 435 Kawasaki Rail Car R211 Subway cars, including 80 R211T cars with open gangways. This takes the total number of R211 cars ordered under the 2018 framework agreement to 1 610, of which ...
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NewsHungary mulls transfer of more services to GySEV
HUNGARY: The government is expected to transfer the operation of several services in the west of the country from the incumbent to GySEV in 2025 after it acquired a greater stake in the cross-border railway company earlier this year.
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Metro Report InternationalTyne & Wear Metro’s first Stadler train enters passenger service
UK: The first of the 46 custom-designed Class 555 trainsets that Stadler is supplying to replace the Tyne & Wear Metro fleet entered passenger service on December 18. ’We are now witnessing the first steps towards making Metro, once again, a world-class system the whole region ...