Latest news – Page 1016
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NewsNew Thameslink Class 700 train mock-up on show to public
UK: A mock-up of the future Class 700 Desiro City electric multiple-units which Siemens is building for Thameslink commuter services through London is to be displayed to the public this month. Siemens, the Department for Transport and current Thameslink/Great Northern franchisee First Capital Connect will be showing the mock-up ...
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NewsShenzhen plans metro extension and light rail
CHINA: On January 20 MTR Corp signed a strategic co-operation framework agreement with the Longhua New District Administration Commission for an extension of Shenzhen metro Line 4, which MTR operates, and construction of a light rail line. The proposed metro extension, intended to serve the growing population in Longhua ...
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NewsFirst Škoda tram enters service in Miskolc
HUNGARY: The first of 31 Škoda Transportation 26T trams has entered passenger service in Miskolc. City transport operator MVK and the Ganz-Škoda consortium signed a KC1·85bn contract for 31 trams in February 2012. This also includes an option for 10 years of servicing worth KC200m. The first vehicle ...
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NewsNews in Brief - January 2014
ADB is to provide $225 000 to support the creation of the Greater Mekong Railway Association, which will aim to develop railway institutional capacity and support connectivity and inter-operability in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. EIM has voted to revise its statutes to allow all European rail ...
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NewsProject Marathon tests long freight trains
EUROPE: Fret SNCF, Kombiverkehr and RFF ran their first 1·5 km long freight train between Sibelin yard near Lyon and Nîmes on January 18, marking the start of the demonstration phase of the Project Marathon research programme. Three of Kombiverkehr’s regular intermodal trains between Germany and Spain were reformed as ...
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NewsSNCF to expand Eurostar terminal in Lille
FRANCE: SNCF’s Gares et Connexions business unit has announced plans to double the capacity of the Eurostar terminal at Lille Europe station in a seven-month project valued at €3m. Work to expand both the waiting areas and security zone of the ‘Transmanche terminal’ will begin in March for completion by ...
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NewsWorld rail market January 2014
Finland: VR is to use Quintiq software supplied through distributor Ab Ovo for locomotive planning and dispatching. Poland: PKP Cargo has signed a 1·3bn złoty contract for PKP Energetyka to supply traction energy until December 2016. PKP IC has selected Kraft to develop apps for tablet computers it ...
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NewsGySEV orders Desiro Mainline EMUs
EUROPE: GySEV has awarded Siemens a contract to supply five Desiro Mainline electric multiple-units by May 2016. The EMUs are to be deployed on services across the border between Hungary and Austria, from Fertöszentmiklós to Neusiedl am See and from Deutschkreutz to Wulkaprodersdorf and Eisenstadt. Siemens was awarded ...
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NewsTasRail TR Class locomotives on test
AUSTRALIA: The first two of 17 TR Class freight locomotives which Tasmanian state operator TasRail ordered from Progress Rail Services and Downer Rail in December 2011 have started acceptance and commissioning trials ahead of entry into revenue service. The next four locomotives are expected to arrive shortly. Intended for use ...
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NewsSJ to refurbish and repower its SJ2000 fleet
SWEDEN: State-owned passenger operator SJ announced on January 16 that it is to invest SKr3·5bn in the modernisation and repowering of its 36 SJ2000 tilting trains. Originally designated X2000, the 200 km/h trains date from the late 1980s and SJ had been considering whether to refurbish or replace them. The ...
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NewsInterCity East Coast franchise shortlist announced
UK: The Department for Transport announced the shortlisted bidders for the InterCity East Coast passenger franchise on January 17. East Coast Trains Ltd (FirstGroup plc); Keolis/Eurostar East Coast Ltd (Keolis (UK) Ltd and Eurostar International Ltd); Inter City Railways Ltd (90% Stagecoach Transport Holdings Ltd, 10% Virgin Holdings Ltd). ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market January 2014
Austria: Linz Linien has exercised an option for a further seven Bombardier Cityrunner low-floor trams. The 900 mm gauge cars will be 40 m long and 2300 mm wide with 70 seats. Azerbaijan: Baku Metro expected to sign a contract by the end of 2013 with Transmashholding to buy ...
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NewsETCS goes live to Haparanda
SWEDEN: The ETCS Level 2 installation on Trafikverket's Haparandabanan leading to the Finnish border at Tornio was put into revenue service on December 16. The first Green Cargo freight train to run under ETCS departed from Boden at 04.10 that morning and arrived in Haparanda just over 2 h later. ...
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NewsAlstom to open Brazilian tram factory
BRAZIL: Alstom Transport is to open a tram factory at the group’s existing hydropower manufacturing site in Taubaté. The 16 000 m² plant, to be operational from December 2014, will manufacture trams for the Latin American market. Alstom is to invest €15m in the project. ‘The tramway is gaining ...
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NewsVareo diesel multiple-unit unveiled
GERMANY: The first of 56 Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units for Dieselnetz Köln services was unveiled at Köln Hauptbahnhof on January 15. The 140 km/h DMUs units have real-time information screens, at-seat power sockets, CCTV, an accessible toilet and multi-purpose spaces for bicycles and prams. The 390 kW MTU powerpacks ...
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NewsPolish regional train operator decentralised
POLAND: The local divisions of country-wide regional train operator Przewozy Regionalne gained autonomy with effect from January 1, giving them greater management freedom accompanied by decentralised accounting, cost allocation and debts. PR was originally formed by transferring the regional passenger activities of national railway PKP to the collective ownership of ...
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NewsMore freight to run on High Speed 1
UK: DB Schenker Rail (UK) introduced additional freight services on High Speed 1 from January 13, carrying automotive components and refrigerated containers of perishable foodstuffs from Spain to London via the Channel Tunnel. DB Schenker Rail (UK) has a track access contract with HS1 for an initial six months, and ...
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NewsAlstom delivers high-capacity EMU to SuperVia
BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro commuter operator SuperVia has taken delivery of an initial Alstom Metropolis electric multiple-unit for testing, a year after the €105m order for 10 eight-car units was placed in December 2012. Entry into service is planned by the end of March, with deliveries to be completed by ...
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NewsEngineering skills college to support High Speed 2
UK: A dedicated engineering training faculty for students aged 16 and over is to be opened by 2017 to support construction of the planned High Speed 2 network. According to the Department for Transport, the HS2 skills college will require a 'multi-million pound investment' to train 'a generation of world-class ...
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NewsNews in Brief - January 2014
Zhengzhou Railway Bureau has signed agreements with SF Express, China Post and UPS to carry express parcels on high speed trains, starting with the Beijing – Guangzhou line. Rail transport is expected to be 50% cheaper than by air. UK pension investor the Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd has increased ...