Freight news – Page 111
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NewsEuro Cargo Rail restructuring on course
FRANCE: DB Cargo subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail announced on July 4 that restructuring had completed a key stage, with its redundancy programme agreed by the unions and approved on June 23 by the government regional office responsible for employment. ECR had begun negotiations with the unions in December 2016, originally ...
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NewsSaudi Arabia invites interest in operating its rail network
SAUDI ARABIA: The national Public Transport Authority has invited international railway operators and investors to express interest in forming a long-term partnership to operate the country’s rail network. The process forms part of the Saudi Vision 2030 programme, which aims to increase the role of the private sector in the ...
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NewsGreen Cargo orders Transmontana locomotives
SWEDEN: Green Cargo has ordered two Transmontana electric locomotives from Romanian company Softronic for delivery in mid-2018. The freight operator expects the new locomotives to be able to haul trains of up to 3 000 tonnes, twice the load of its Rc locomotives dating from the 1970s. Announcing the order ...
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NewsVTG to buy CIT Group’s European wagon leasing business
EUROPE: CIT Group Inc of the USA has reached a definitive agreement to sell its European wagon leasing business to Hamburg-based VTG AG. CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) SAS owns Paris-based NACCO, which according to VTG is the fourth largest private wagon leasing company in Europe with a ‘well-balanced portfolio’ ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The Port of Tilbury has set out plans to ‘reinvigorate‘ its rail connections including the introduction of regular intermodal services to the Midlands and Scotland, the creation of a dedicated bulk terminal, and establishing a rail connection into the planned Tilbury2 terminal. ‘Tilbury is making the most of its assets ...
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NewsBelgrano upgrade enters third phase
ARGENTINA: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich has announced the start of tendering for the third phase of the programme to upgrade the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network. Bids are being invited to undertake track renewals on 558 km in the provinces of Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy, including route C8 from ...
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NewsUnited Wagon Co opens Estonian wagon servicing centre
ESTONIA: Russian rolling stock manufacturer United Wagon Co has opened service centre at Skinest Rail’s Valga depot to provide warranty and post-warranty support for modern wagons operating in the Baltic States. UWC says its service centre ‘is unique in the Baltic States’, having specially trained staff and holding the documentation ...
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NewsVTG expands US and Russian wagon fleets
VTG: Leasing company VTG has strengthened its position in the US market and completed a ‘major strategic step’ in Russia through a series of wagon acquisitions. VTG Rail Inc has expanded its US fleet to around 5 200 vehicles with the acquisition of Redwood Rail’s 1 135 grain, cement, sand, ...
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NewsUralchem modernises ammonia wagon fleet
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash plant has supplied fertiliser producer Uralchem with a batch of ammonia tank wagons offering a capacity of 92·7 m3 and 60·2 tonnes, an increase of between 5% and 10% compared to older designs. Designed for loading ammonia at temperatures down to -33°C, the wagons incorporate ...
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NewsHŽ Cargo debt cancellation approved by European Commission
CROATIA: The European Commission announced on June 21 that it had approved the government’s provision of state aid worth 975m kuna to national freight operator HŽ Cargo. In May 2015 the government decided to convert HŽ Cargo’s debt to the state into equity, providing the operator with relief from repayment ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Lithuanian operator Lietuvos Geležinkeliai has ordered two type ES1000 battery shunting locomotives from Bulgarian company Express Service for use in Kaunas and Vilnius. Trinity Chemical has ordered 50 tank wagons from US manufacturer Vertex Railcar, with a letter of intent for up to 300 more to be supplied within two ...
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NewsEBRD agrees €290m loan for Egyptian locomotive order
EGYPT: A €290m loan agreement to support Egyptian National Railways’ planned acquisition of up to 100 diesel locomotives through a supply and maintenance contract was signed by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development on June 19. EBRD said the acquisition of new locomotives maintained by a private-sector partner would ...
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NewsPort rail access funding
SPAIN: A series of agreements that will see state-owned port authorities fund rail infrastructure upgrades were signed by ADIF on June 6. The total cost of the projects is €45∙5m, of which €11∙5m is being provided by the European Regional Development Fund via ADIF. The largest single project is a ...
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NewsHigh-capacity grain hoppers delivered
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co is supplying Sberbank Leasing with 100 grain hopper wagons of a new high-capacity design. The high-axleload wagons have a capacity of 76∙5 tonnes and 120 m3, which is 26 m3 more than standard grain wagons. They are designed for 800 000 km or eight years ...
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GE signs 'holistic' agreement to supply 100 locos to Egypt
EGYPT: The Ministry of Transport and Egyptian National Railways have signed a US$575m letter of intent for GE to supply 100 Evolution Series mixed-traffic locomotives. Training of more than 275 staff and the provision of 15 years of support and spare parts for the state railway’s existing and future GE ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Green Cargo has developed 25 m long wagons to accommodate the increase in the length of standard turnouts from 16 to 24 m. This will support Vossloh Nordic Switch Systems’ aim of increasing rail’s share of its track component delivery activities to 20% this year and more in the future. ...
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NewsSNCF Logistics’ investment in BLS Cargo approved
SWITZERLAND: SNCF Logistics’ planned acquisition of a 45% stake in BLS Cargo will come into effect at the beginning of July, BLS AG said on June 14. This follows Swiss and German regulatory approval for the planned acquisition, which had been announced by the companies on February 16. From July ...
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NewsBeer train launched
BELGIUM: Rail freight operator Lineas ran a pilot service carrying Jupiler beer from AB InBev’s brewery at Jupille near Liège to Delhaize’s warehouse in Ninove on June 13. The train is to run three times per week, and is expected to remove 5 000 lorry trips per year from the ...
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NewsHudson Bay Railway services to Churchill suspended after washouts
CANADA: Hudson Bay Railway services between Amery, 47 km northeast of Gillam, and Churchill have been suspended indefinitely owing to ‘unprecedented and catastrophic’ flood damage and are not expected to resume before the winter season, parent company OmniTRAX announced on June 9. HBR has been unable to operate to Churchill ...
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NewsUK rail freight traffic down
UK: According to statistics published by the UK’s Office of Rail & Road on June 8, a total of 17∙2 billion net tonne-km of freight were moved on the national network in 2016-17, a 3% decrease on the year before and the lowest recorded since 1997-98 when a 16∙9 billion ...