Freight news – Page 152
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NewsGrant funds battery locomotive research
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded Pennsylvania State University and Norfolk Southern a $400 000 grant to continue research into building battery locomotives. NS is to contribute an additional $590 000. NS and Penn State began developing a prototype electric shunting locomotive in 2008. The new grant will allow ...
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NewsIndependent Transport Company selected for Freight One privatisation
RUSSIA: On October 16 Russian Railways announced the completion of competitive negotiations with potential buyers of the 25% plus one share stake in Freight One which was retained by RZD when this subsidiary was privatised last year. RZD said the best offer of 50bn roubles was received from Independent Transport ...
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NewsSalta - Antofagasta freight agreement
SOUTH AMERICA: Plans to resume regular freight services over the 700 km between Salta in Argentina and the Chilean port of Antofagasta took a major step forward on October 15 when an agreement was signed by Argentina's Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo, Governor of Salta province Juan ...
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NewsTurkish PowerHaul order expected as demonstrator arrives in UK
INTERNATIONAL: Turkish company Tülomsas is hoping to sign a contract by the end of this year to supply state railway TCDD with 20 European-profile GE Transportation PowerHaul locomotives. The first European-profile PH37ACai PowerHaul was the highlight of GE Transportation's presence at InnoTrans last month. It was assembled by Tülomsas from ...
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NewsJapan to fund four-tracking in West Java
INDONESIA: Work is expected to begin by the end of the month to increase capacity on a congested mixed-traffic corridor in the suburbs of Jakarta. Central to the project is the four tracking and resignalling of the current 32 route-km double-track alignment between Manggarai and Cikarang. State ...
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NewsAusAID pledges funding as Cambodian rehabilitation resumes
CAMBODIA: Australian overseas development agency AusAID has pledged further financial assistance to support the rehabilitation of Cambodia’s partly-modernised metre-gauge network. AusAID’s contribution of at least A$1m will support the relocation and compensation of families affected by the US$141m railway modernisation. The upgrading work is being co-ordinated by ...
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NewsChinese wagons for western Europe due to arrive
FRANCE: CNR Jinan has completed the first of a batch of wagons ordered by leasing company Atir-Rail in June last year. As well as marking CNR Jinan’s entry into the European market, it is thought to be the first European order for Chinese wagons since a build for Albania in ...
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NewsUnion Pacific acquires key link in western Oklahoma
USA: Union Pacific confirmed on October 8 that it had acquired complete ownership of a former Rock Island line which links Texas and Kansas through the western part of Oklahoma. The line has been acquired under a lease-purchase agreement signed on November 1 1982. After the Chicago, Rock Island & ...
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NewsQueensland to cut its stake in QR National
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland government is to reduce its stake in rail freight operator QR National from 34% to 16%, state Treasurer Tim Nicholls announced on October 8. The state had retained a one-third interest when the business was floated in November 2010. Responding to proposals presented by UBS, Nicholls said ...
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NewsDB Schenker launches second London – Poland service
EUROPE: DB Schenker Rail launched its second weekly service between the UK and Wroclaw in Poland on October 8, when a train loaded with ‘a range of manufactured goods’ departed from Barking in east London at 23.36. Having launched a weekly service in November 2011, DB Schenker has now doubled ...
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NewsAlstom unveils KZ8A freight locomotive
KAZAKHSTAN: The first of 200 KZ8A twin-section freight locomotives being supplied by an Alstom-led consortium to national railway KTZ was unveiled in Belfort, eastern France, on October 2. Under a contract valued at €1·3bn signed in March 2011, the EKZ joint venture of KTZ (50%), Transmashholding (25%) ...
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NewsRail America sale completed
USA: Genesee & Wyoming Inc confirmed on October 1 that it had completed the acquisition of RailAmerica from Fortress Investment Group, along with an associated financial restructuring. Rail America has a portfolio of 45 short line railroads totalling 12 000 km, a similar length to GWI’s 66 railways and ...
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NewsPrima II tested in the Channel Tunnel
EUROPE: An Alstom Prima II electric locomotive was tested in the Channel Tunnel on the night of September 29-30, with a view to enabling standard locomotives to be used on freight trains through the Tunnel. Freight trains are currently hauled by Class 92 locomotives built specifically for use through the ...
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NewsNatural gas fuelled locomotives on test
CANADA: Canadian National is testing two Electro-Motive Diesel locomotives which have been converted to use natural gas for 90% of their fuel needs, with diesel used for ignition. CN is also working on a long-term project to develop a natural gas locomotive and a standardised gas tender. The two 3000 ...
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NewsRebuilt Ådalsbanan officially reopened
SWEDEN: Minister for Infrastructure Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd officially opened the upgraded Ådalsbanan between Sundsvall and the southern end of the Botniabanan on September 14. The minister marked the event by inserting the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle map of the Stockholm – Umeå route. During the course of the SKr6·6bn ...
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NewsCasablanca – Kénitra upgrading starts
MOROCCO: A ceremony on September 25 attended by King Mohammed VI marked the start of modernisation of the Casablanca – Kénitra main line to increase capacity by around 50%. National railway ONCF has cited strong growth in passenger numbers on the Tanger – Marrakech axis in recent ...
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NewsTurkey - Luxembourg intermodal shuttle launched
EUROPE: In conjunction with Mars Logistics Group of Turkey, CFL Cargo and CFL Multimodal have launched an intermodal shuttle service between Trieste in Italy and Bettembourg in Luxembourg, operating three return trips a week. Aimed at 'mega trailers' arriving in Trieste by sea from Turkey, the new service is expected ...
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NewsRZD to acquire 75% of Gefco
EUROPE: Car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën announced on September 20 that it had entered into exclusive negotiations to sell a 75% interest in its logistics subsidiary Gefco to Russian Railways for €800m. According to RZD, the acquisition would enable it to ‘increase the attractiveness of transit cargo flows along the ...
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NewsBombardier to assemble EMD locomotives for southeast Asia
INDIA: An agreement for Bombardier Transportation’s Savli rolling stock factory in Vadodara to assemble diesel locomotives for Electro-Motive Diesel customers in southeast Asia and the Pacific region was announced at InnoTrans on September 19. Bombardier will produce components including underframes and bogies as well as assembling the locomotives. However, Bombardier ...
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NewsQR National becomes Aurizon
AUSTRALIA: Shareholders in freight operator QR National Ltd will be asked to approve changing the name of the company to Aurizon Ltd at its annual general meeting in Brisbane on November 7. Combining ‘Australia’ and ‘horizon’, the new name ‘conveys the geographical scope of our expanding operations, as well as ...