Freight news – Page 59
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NewsMore ČD Cargo locomotives to be equipped with ETCS
CZECH REPUBLIC: State-owned freight operator ČD Cargo has awarded CZ Loko a €12·9m contract to install Bombardier Transportation ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 onboard equipment to 30 Class 753.7 diesel-electric locomotives by December 2022, under a deal co-funded from the EU’s Operational Programme Transport. ŽOS Vrútky ...
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NewsCRRC Tangshan unveils high speed freight train
CHINA: Rolling stock builder CRRC Tangshan has unveiled a prototype 350 km/h trainset aimed at the premium logistics market, derived from its China Standard passenger EMUs.
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NewsOptiFuel Systems announces natural gas freight locomotive
USA: Rail, marine and generator product supplier OptiFuel Systems has announced that it is ready to manufacture freight locomotives of 1 200 to 2 400 hp fuelled by biomethane and natural gas. The South Carolina company is using a proprietary EPA rail-certified KOFSG11.9400 engine based on the ...
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NewsAustralian freight link to be upgraded
AUSTRALIA: The Commonwealth government is to provide A$44·7m for Australian Rail Track Corp to renew 35 km of the Narrabri to Turrawan line between the Hunter Valley Coal Network and the Inland Rail route. Announcing the funding on December 17, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development ...
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NewsSlovenian rail freight joint venture targets the Balkans and beyond
SLOVENIA: National railway holding company Slovenske Železnice and the EP Logistic International subsidiary of Praha-based energy, infrastructure and logistics group EP Holding have signed an investment and shareholder agreement to form a strategic partnership to take over the state railway’s freight activities. The parties are to create ...
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NewsSmoothing intermodal flows through the Port of Gdynia
POLAND: The Port of Gdynia’s Baltic Container Terminal has joined the EU-backed COMODALCE initiative to upgrade intermodal operations, and will participate in a pilot for electronic exchange of wagon and freight handling activity data. The ‘Enhancing COordination in multiMODAL freight transport in Central Europe’ programme involves the ...
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NewsDB Cargo to test operation of long trains using distributed power with LTE
GERMANY: Final preparations are in hand for a programme of tests to determine the feasibility of regular operation of long freight trains with distributed power using LTE technology. To be carried out in February 2021 on the steeply graded line between Probstzella and Hochstadt-Marktzeuln near Lichtenfels, the ...
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NewsEIB loan to boost Czech freight operations
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Investment Bank has signed a KC3·43bn loan agreement with ČD Cargo to support the acquisition of 50 electric locomotives and 140 intermodal wagons as well as retrofitting around 310 older locomotives with ERTMS. The assets purchased as part of the project will be ...
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NewsCP to test hydrogen fuel cell freight locomotive
CANADA: Canadian Pacific has announced plans to develop what it says will be North Amercia’s first hydrogen-powered main line locomotive. This will involve retrofitting fuel cells and batteries to an existing locomotive, which will then be used for testing to evaluate the technology’s readiness for the rail ...
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Rail Business UKPort of Grangemouth to expand rail capacity
UK: Forth Ports Ltd has begun work this month on a £3m project to ‘significantly’ scale up and modernise rail capacity at the Port of Grangemouth. Two sidings are to be extended from 200 m to 775 m, so they are capable of handling the longest freight ...
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NewsTemporary rules to keep the Channel Tunnel open
EUROPE: The European Parliament has approved temporary measures designed to ensure that rail operations through the Channel Tunnel can continue once the Brexit transition period ends on January 1 2021. The European Parliament approved the temporary rules under an urgent procedure on December 17 with 684 votes ...
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NewsMission to rethink freight transport
FRANCE: The Senate’s Committee for Regional Planning & Sustainable Development has launched a fact-finding mission to examine the future of freight transport in the face of environmental concerns. The mission’s work is expected to take around six months, with hearings being held across France. The team of ...
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NewsAutomated locomotive completes first trip
FRANCE: ‘A semi-autonomous train’ has run ‘under real operating conditions’ on the 16 km Longwy – Longuyon line in eastern France, national operator SNCF announced on December 16.
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NewsStadler to supply freight locomotives to Uruguay
URUGUAY: Stadler has won its first contract in Uruguay, covering the supply of seven Euro4001 six-axle diesel locomotives which PORTREN will use to haul trains between UPM’s new pulp mill at Paso de los Toros and the port of Montevideo. PORTREN is a consortium of the Cointer ...
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NewsRDC takes over Sylt freight services
GERMANY: With effect from December 14, RDC Autozug Sylt has taken over from CFL Cargo as the operator of freight services across the causeway to the North Sea island of Sylt. RDC Autozug Sylt already runs car-carrying shuttle trains to and from the ...
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NewsRail to play a key role in EU strategy for ‘green, smart and affordable’ mobility
EUROPE: A trebling of high speed rail travel and doubling of rail freight’s market share are two of the priorities outlined in the European Commission’s Sustainable & Smart Mobility Strategy, which was unveiled in Brussels by Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean on December ...
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Rail Business UKDB Cargo UK tests hydrotreated vegetable oil locomotive fuel
UK: DB Cargo UK has successfully tested the use of 100% renewable hydrotreated vegetable oil to fuel a Class 67 diesel locomotive, and on-track trials are to follow with Class 67 and Class 66 locomotives, as well as testing with a Class 60. The testing, which ...
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NewsTX Logistik leases locos for Swiss transit traffic
EUROPE: The TX Logistik subsidiary of FS Group’s freight business Mercitalia is to lease seven Railpool-owned Bombardier Transportation Class 186 Traxx multi-system electric locomotives approved for operation in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, as well as two Class 187 locos with last mile engines and approval for ...