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NewsČD Cargo back in the black
CZECH REPUBLICH: Reporting results for the four months of 2010, national rail freight operator ČD Cargo announced that its earnings were once again positive, following the losses in 2009 as a result of the economic recession. ČD Cargo achieved EBITDA of KC377m and earnings before tax of KC1m for the ...
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NewsPortuguese high speed concession signed
PORTUGAL: Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications António Mendoça participated in ceremonies on May 8 to mark the formal signing of the 40-year PPP concession contract covering construction of the country’s first high speed line. He was joined by Assistant Secretary of State Paulo Campas, Transport Secretary Correia da ...
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NewsCSX seeks a shorter route to Montréal
USA: Proposals seeking regulatory approval of a shared use agreement that would improve freight operations in the corridor linking New York City and Montréal have been filed with the Surface Transportation Board by CSX Transportation and Canadian Pacific subsidiary Delaware & Hudson. Under the proposed agreement, CSX would move its ...
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NewsLGV Bretagne negotiations move forward
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF announced on April 27 that it had invited final offers from the three consortia bidding for the contract to build and maintain LGV Bretagne-Pays-de-la-Loire, with a view to naming a preferred bidder by the end of this year. Expected to cost around €3·4bn at current prices, ...
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NewsRZD launches Moscow - St Petersburg high speed line project
RUSSIA: Proposals for the construction of a 660 km high speed line linking Moscow and St Petersburg were unveiled by Russian Railways at a high-level conference in St Petersburg on April 1. The event was attended by representatives from various state bodies, the Russian scientific and business sectors. According to ...
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NewsRFF selects Vinci to build Tours – Bordeaux LGV
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF has announced its intention to start exclusive negotiations with a Vinci-led consortium to build and maintain the 340 km Tours – Bordeaux high speed line under a PPP concession. The consortium, led by Vinci and including Caisse des Dépôts and Axa, was selected from a shortlist ...
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NewsNetanyahu’s rail expansion plans approved
ISRAEL: The Ministry of Transport & Road Safety announced on February 24 that the government had approved the US$7·2bn first phase of the ‘Israel Ways’ transport investment package, promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Yisrael Katz. The ambitious plan originally envisaged expenditure of US$14bn ...
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NewsWagonload alliance launched
EUROPE: Representatives from seven major rail freight operators signed an agreement in Zürich on February 18 to establish a new alliance for the operation of international wagonload traffic. The agreement was signed by the chief executives from CD Cargo, CFL Cargo, DB Schenker Rail, Green Cargo, Rail Cargo Austria, SBB ...
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NewsSCT tries north-south van trains
AUSTRALIA: Open access freight operator SCT Logistics confirmed on February 12 that it had started an experimental rail van service on the primary north-south interstate corridor linking Melbourne and Brisbane. The first trains began running on February 2. SCT specialises in running block trains of general merchandise using conventional wagons ...
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NewsKTX-II ready to enter service
SOUTH KOREA: Following a successful passenger-carrying preview run with its first KTX-II high speed trainset, Korail announced on February 10 that the trains will enter revenue service on March 2. Tickets for the new services are due to go on sale from February 23. The state-owned operator plans to introduce ...
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NewsSena Line trains return to Moatize
MOZAMBIQUE: The first train in more than two decades reached Moatize in the Tete province of western Mozambique on January 30. The train was received by members of the provincial and district governments and a large crowd of local residents. Moatize District Administrator Adelino Andissene said that the rehabilitated Sena ...
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NewsIFB expands intermodal operations
EUROPE: SNCB Logistics’ intermodal subsidiary IFB announced on January 21 that it was expanding its operations to the south of Europe in conjunction with partners in France, Spain and Italy. On February 1 IFB will open a new intermodal terminal at Bonneuil-sur-Marne, to the south of Paris. With two sidings ...
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NewsWuhan – Guangzhou line opens at 380 km/h
CHINA: Revenue services on the Wuhan – Guangzhou passenger-dedicated line began running on December 26, cutting the journey time between the capitals of Hubei and Guangdong provinces to under 3 h, compared with 10 h 30 min via the 1 068 km conventional route. The inaugural trains left the new ...
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NewsTransitio orders more Contessas
SWEDEN: Rolling stock leasing company AB Transitio announced on December 23 that it had ordered a further 11 three-car Contessa EMUs from Bombardier Transportation at a cost of €96m, with an option for a further five. To be leased by three regional authorities, Lanstrafiken Kronoberg, Kalmar Lans Trafik and Hallandstrafiken, ...
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NewsItalian north-south high speed line completed
ITALY: Celebrations were held in Milano on December 5 to mark the completion of the final sections of the north-south high speed rail corridor, which opens for revenue service with the timetable change on December 13. Completion of the Novara – Milano, Bologna – Firenze and Napoli – Salerno links ...
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NewsRFF to launch Perpignan – Montpellier study
FRANCE: Following a public consultation between March and July 2009, infrastructure manager RFF announced on November 26 that it is to launch formal design studies for the high speed line between Montpellier and Perpignan. According to RFF, the public consultation led to the emergence of a ‘preferred corridor’ in terms ...
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NewsNomad to supply inter-city wi-fi
NETHERLANDS: Train operator NS has awarded an initial five year contract to Nomad Digital and T-Mobile for the installation of 3G broadband services on its services. Under what the supplier describes as one of its largest transport awards, Nomad Digital will deploy its R3500 mobile broadband gateway on 187 inter-city ...
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NewsDobra gateway opens at last
SLOVAKIA: Russian intermodal operator Transcontainer announced on November 23 that it had successfully operated its first complete block train through the container transhipment terminal at Dobra in southeast Slovakia two days earlier. Last year the RZD subsidiary agreed to lease the 18 ha Dobra facility from ZSSK Cargo for 15 ...
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NewsHamburg-Köln Express to launch
GERMANY: A joint venture of US-based Railroad Development Corp, Locomore Rail GmbH and London-based investor Michael Schabas has announced that they have established an open-access inter-city passenger operation in Germany. Branded Hamburg-Köln Express, the venture will launch three train pairs between the two cities on August 15 2010. The trains ...
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NewsChina strengthens Russian ties
INTERNATIONAL: China’s Ministry of Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding to work with Russian Railways on the development and introduction of high speed trains in the Russian Federation. The MoU covers both the upgrading of existing lines for faster speeds and the construction of dedicated high speed lines. The ...