Latest news – Page 1023
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NewsCHSRA supporting veterans
USA: California High Speed Rail Authority has signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with CalVet, the state's department which supports military veterans. CalVet and CHSRA have agreed to work together to identify opportunities where small businesses managed by disabled veterans could participate in the high speed rail programme. These efforts would ...
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NewsYou'll do better with us
GERMANY: Industry association VDB and its 180 members have launched a high-profile marketing, press and social media campaign to encourage more school-leavers and graduates to join the rail sector. Entitled 'You'll do better with us', the initial campaign features a series of adverts showing young people dressed in outlandish costumes ...
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NewsFleet renewal funded
FRANCE: Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier confirmed on December 4 that the government had agreed a funding package allowing SNCF to proceed with an order of 34 inter-city multiple-units. Funding worth €510m, with an option for further investment worth €100m, has been provided for the procurement of 34 Coradia Liner electro-diesel ...
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NewsVeolia wins replacement Öresundståg operating contract
SWEDEN: Veolia Transport Sverige has been awarded the contract to operate Øresund regional passenger services in southern Sweden for five years from December 2014, beating rival bids submitted by Arriva Tåg and SJ. The SKr530m/year contract awarded by the Öresundståg group of six local authorities covers the operation of around ...
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NewsFunding agreed for Belgrano upgrade
ARGENTINA: President Cristina Fernández and Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo met with China Machinery Engineering Corp President Zhang Chun on December 5, as the government signed a funding agreement for a US$2·47bn upgrade of the Belgrano Cargas network, comprising 7 347 route-km mostly in northern Argentina. CMEC ...
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NewsSpanish passenger market to open up in 2014
SPAIN: High speed and other long-distance passenger services on the national network are to be opened up to competition during the first half of 2014, Development Minister Ana Pastor announced on December 3. 'It cannot be done overnight because it would be inefficient for the new entrant and for ...
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NewsFull settlement for Railroad Development Corp in Guatemala dispute
GUATEMALA: US-based railway investment and management group Railroad Development Corp announced on December 4 that it had received the full US$14·6m awarded following a six-year arbitration case brought against the Republic of Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement. In 1997 RDC affiliate Ferrovías Guatemala was awarded a ...
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NewsSiemens awarded Gauteng signalling contract
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has awarded Siemens a €180m contract to complete the replacement of signalling and train control systems on lines around Johannesburg and Pretoria by 2018. In 2011 Siemens was awarded an initial €90m contract covering the replacement of around a quarter of the ...
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NewsUK government contemplates sale of LCR assets and Eurostar stake
UK: The possibility of the UK government selling London & Continental Railways' property assets and its stake in Eurostar International Ltd is raised in the National Infrastructure Plan 2013 published by the Treasury on December 4. Currently wholly-owned by the Department for Transport, LCR is included in the assets which ...
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NewsSamsun tram flown from China to Turkey
TURKEY: The first of five trams which Samsun Metropolitan Municipality ordered from CNR Tangshan Railway Vehicles has been delivered from China to Turkey onboard the world's largest heavy freight aircraft. The €7·5m contract signed on December 17 2012 required the first tram to be delivered by December this year, with ...
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NewsTianjin - Qinhuangdao high speed line opens
CHINA: The latest section of Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 1, linking the city of Tianjin east of Beijing with Qinhuangdao on the coast of the Bohai Sea to the northeast. The 287 km line cuts travel times between the cities by around a half to 1 h 11 min, ...
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NewsNetwork Rail to launch station parcel shops
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail is to test the concept of providing parcel collection and dispatch facilities at main stations to capitalise on the growing online retail market. The dedicated parcel shops would be open seven days a week, with customers notified by a mobile app, SMS and e-mail. The ...
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NewsStadler buys Voith Rail Services business
NETHERLANDS: Stadler Rail has announced the expansion of its rolling stock maintenance activities through the acquisition of Voith GmbH subsidiary Voith Rail Services, which will now operate under the name Stadler Netherlands BV. The business has around 100 staff at its office in Twello and workshops in Venlo, Leeuwarden and ...
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NewsBonatrans Group to acquire GHH
GERMANY: Czech wheelset manufacturer Bonatrans Group has agreed to acquire Oberhausen-based Gutehoffnungshütte Radsatz GmbH for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close at the end of December, subject to regulatory approval. The deal covers the German business, and does not include the GHH-Valdunes plants in France and Belgium. ...
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NewsRethinking queuing to smooth metro boarding
CHINA: From December 2 Hong Kong's MTR Corp is testing a revised queuing system at Prince Edward station which it hopes will facilitate smoother passenger flows at busy interchanges. Arrows on the platform currently guide waiting passengers to line up on the two sides of the platform screen doors and ...
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NewsColas Rail buys Amey's tamping business
UK: Colas Rail has expanded its on-track plant fleet which it says was already 'the largest and most advanced' in the UK, with the acquisition of Amey's on-track tamping machines business for £5m. The sale announced on November 29 'provides significant synergies with our existing extensive on-track plant business allowing ...
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NewsJR East unveils first Series E7 high speed train
JAPAN: The first Series E7 high speed trainset built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and JR East subsidiary J-TREC was unveiled on November 29. JR East has ordered 17 of the 260 km/h trainsets, while JR West has ordered 10 which it will designate Series W7. Following testing, the first trainsets ...
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NewsRussian support for construction of rolling stock plant in Vietnam
VIETNAM: Russian rolling stock, construction machinery and defence equipment supplier Uralvagonzavod could participate in the development of a rolling stock plant in Vietnam, following the signing of a memorandum of co-operation with Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank. The memorandum was signed in Hanoi on November 12 in the presence of national ...
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NewsTenerife launches smartphone ticketing
SPAIN: Tenerife tram operator Metropolitano de Tenerife has introduced a smartphone-based ticketing system. Vía-Móvil has been developed with local firm Avantic and has been implemented in six months. An Android or Apple iOS application allows tickets to be purchased through a secure internet connection, and validated by scanning QR ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - December 2013
The Polish city of Poznań is to separate tram infrastructure and operations from December, with infrastructure and rolling stock transferred from MPK Poznan to ZTM Poznan, which already manages tram stops and tracks modernised or built after 2008. The track will be leased to back to MPK Poznan for 15 ...