Latest news – Page 1025
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NewsStudying the smart train
SPAIN: Catalan regional operator FGC examined the concept of the ‘smart train’ at a one-day conference in Barcelona last month. Assisted by contributions from Comillas University in Madrid, Transport for London and Siemens, FGC used the ‘smart train day’ to examine a range of energy efficiency measures and learn about ...
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NewsCAF and Thales win Santiago metro contract
CHILE: Metro de Santiago announced on November 25 that it had awarded a consortium of CAF and Thales a US$451·9m contract to supply rolling stock and CBTC signalling for lines 3 and 6. CAF will supply and maintain 115 cars for Line 3 and 70 for Line 6. Metro de ...
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NewsAbellio unveils Coradia Lint for Wuppertal - Solingen route
GERMANY: The first of nine Coradia Lint 41/H diesel multiple-units which Alstom is supplying for use on the Wuppertal - Solingen route S7 was unveiled in front of 100 invited guests on November 22. 'The new Lints are the right choice for the Bergischen Land', said Ronald Lünser, Director of ...
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NewsLaboratory testing for Independently-Powered EMU battery
UK: Laboratory testing has confirmed that lithium iron magnesium phosphate batteries from US firm Valence Technology meet the requirements for use on the demonstration Independently-Powered Electric Multiple-Unit, which is being developed by infrastructure manager Network Rail, Bombardier and train operator Greater Anglia. It is envisaged that overhead/battery-powered IPEMUs could operate ...
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NewsSpanish rail spend continues
SPAIN: Presenting her department's 2014 budget to the lower house of parliament on November 12, Development Minister Ana Pastor said rail would account for €8·54bn of the €17·31bn to be spent next year. Total investment by the Ministry of Development would be €8·98bn, of which rail would receive €4·57bn or ...
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NewsAutomotive wagon launch
SOUTH AFRICA: Car-carrying wagons developed by Transnet Engineering's Uitenhage plant to meet the specifications of car manufacturers were officially launched by South Africa's President Zuma on November 5. Transnet is building 350 of the wagons by January 2014 as part of its R307bn seven-year infrastructure improvement programme. The new wagons ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Bombardier has selected Liebherr Transportation Systems to develop a compact and reliable cooling system for lithium ion batteries forming part of the Primove induction charging system to be used on light rail vehicles and buses. India’s Northern Railway is testing an Online Monitoring of Rolling Stock system. This combines ...
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NewsFeasibility study to assess Pavlodar tramway upgrade
KAZAKHSTAN: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has invited expressions of interest in a contract to undertake feasibility studies for a planned modernisation of the 86 km tram network in Pavlodar. The city's plans include infrastructure modernisation on the 1 524 mm gauge network, procurement of up to 20 ...
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NewsMoscow - Kyiv Talgo services to start next year
EUROPE: The Federal Passenger Co business of Russia Railways and Ukrainian national railway UZ have agreed to introduce Talgo rolling stock on two daily Moscow - Kyiv services from the fourth quarter of 2014. Patentes Talgo is currently finishing production of the first 20-car rake of coaches for RZD. This ...
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NewsAustralasian Centre for Rail Innovation launched
AUSTRALIA: The Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation was formally inaugurated at a VIP reception held in Sydney on November 25 to coincide with the opening of the 10th World Congress on Railway Research. To be headquartered in Canberra, ACRI is an independent organisation supported by both the Australasian Railway Association ...
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NewsNews in Brief
National Railways of Zimbabwe has withdrawn commuter trains serving Bulawayo and Harare. These were introduced when fuel shortages severely limited road public transport, but NRZ is short of motive power and locos were tied up working near-empty trains. Pakistan acceded to COTIF on September 1, as the 49th OTIF ...
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NewsState aid for automatic metro research approved
FRANCE: The European Commission has cleared the award of €15·2m of French state aid to support the Metrolab joint venture of Alstom and Paris transport operator RATP. Metrolab is undertaking the Metro of the Future project which aims to develop technology for unattended driverless train operation in large cities. The ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Passenger and freight services have resumed on the metre-gauge line between Dire Dawa in Ethiopia and the port of Djibouti following refurbishment of 100 km of route by Italian contractors. China’s Civil Engineering Construction Corp is also building a replacement line from Addis Abeba to standard gauge ...
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NewsBART orders an additional 365 metro cars
USA: On November 21 San Francisco’s BART ordered an additional 365 metro cars as an option on a contract with Bombardier Transportation signed in 2012 that has seen 410 cars ordered to date. An agreement with Bombardier to increase the rate of deliveries is expected to shorten the fleet ...
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NewsNomad Digital and EMEF create remote monitoring joint venture
EUROPE: UK-based wi-fi technology supplier Nomad Digital has acquired a majority stake in Portuguese national operator CP’s rolling stock maintenance subsidiary EMEF, and formed a joint venture to offer technology for remote condition-based fleet monitoring and energy efficiency management. The Nomad Tech joint venture will combine Nomad’s fleet connectivity technology ...
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NewsWorld rail market November 2013
Europe: Quintiq and Ab Ovo are to supply DB Schenker Rail with software to manage data on driver qualifications. Germany: Bombardier Transportation has appointed Tata Consultancy Services to manage the IT infrastructure for its newly-opened data centres. Hungary: Budapest transport authority BKK has appointed T-Systems Hungary and subcontractor ...
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NewsColas Rail orders 10 GE Transportation PowerHaul locomotives
UK: GE Transportation officially announced an order to supply 10 Class 70 PowerHaul locomotives to freight operator Colas Rail on November 21. The locomotives are to be assembled at GE Transportation's Erie plant for entry into service in 2014. Stephen Haynes, Managing Director of Colas Rail Services, said the order ...
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NewsEuropean Commission takes Germany to court over accounting separation
GERMANY: The European Commission announced on November 20 that it is to take Germany to the Court of Justice of the European Union, accusing it of failing to comply with rules on financial transparency in the rail sector. The Commission claims that Germany’s current arrangements do not exclude the possibility ...
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NewsAll-night services in London Underground vision
UK: A ‘vision for the future’ of the London Underground was set out by Mayor of London Boris Johnson and London Underground Managing Director Mike Brown on November 21. The proposals include running some services throughout the night on weekends and the redeployment of station staff. Transport for London ...
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NewsWatco invests in Michigan short line company
USA: Short line holding company Watco Transportation Services has announced a definitive agreement to make a preferred equity investment in Federated Capital Holdings, the parent company of Great Lakes Central Railroad and Federated Railcars. Class II railway GLCR operates a 640 km network in Michigan running from Ann Arbor north ...