Latest news – Page 1133
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NewsSJ 3000 inter-city train enters service
SWEDEN: National inter-city operator SJ AB put its next generation of train into commercial service on February 6, after the first of the 20 four-car EMUs was formally handed over on January 26. Designated X55 by SJ, the Bombardier Regina Alfa EMUs are marketed as SJ 3000 to follow the ...
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NewsClassroom in a tank wagon
ROMANIA: A tank wagon is being used as a training vehicle by open access freight operator Grup Feroviar Roman and oil company Petrom. Converted at a cost of €40 000, the wagon is stabled at GFR’s Brazi depot, where it is used to train drivers, shunters, terminal staff and the ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
With the backing of German rail industry association VBG, a ‘milestone’ agreement to standardise signalling and safety equipment interfaces was signed in December by infrastructure manager DB Netz and Alstom Transport, Ansaldo STS, Bombardier Transportation, Funkwerk, PintschBamag, Scheidt & Bachmann, Siemens and Thales. Guangzhou CSR Times Electric opened a ...
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NewsLonger platforms in Guadalajara
MEXICO: Work will begin this year on a programme to extend platforms on Line 1 of the Guadalajara light rail network from 60 m to 90 m, in order to accommodate three-car trains. According to Jalisco Governor Emilio González, studies for Line 3 to Zapopan, Tlaquepaque and ...
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NewsProgress Rail closes EMD plant in London
CANADA: Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail announced on February 3 that it was closing the Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive assembly plant at London, Ontario, with immediate effect. Approximately 450 employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union will be affected, along with non-union management grades. Staff at Electro-Motive Canada had been locked ...
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NewsAlister bound for Bremerhaven
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded a contract to Funkwerk IT for resignalling its Bremen – Bremerhaven line using electronic interlockings. Partly double-track, the 63 km mixed traffic line with a maximum speed of 160 km/h is being upgraded to accommodate a projected doubling of traffic by 2015. Valued at around ...
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NewsSingapore chooses Alstom for metro upgrades
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority has awarded a €240m contract to Alstom covering the supply of 34 driverless Metropolis trainsets for the Circle and North East lines, as well as signalling upgrades for both routes.NEL will receive 18 six-car trainsets and another 16 three-car sets will be supplied to CCL. ...
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NewsContracts signed for Danish national ETCS deployment
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark signed two contracts on January 31 covering the installation of ETCS infrastructure across its entire main line network as part of its DKr18bn Signalling Programme. The Fjernbane West and East contracts have a total value of DKr5·8bn. Banedanmark had announced in December the preferred bidders for ...
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NewsAfghan railway starts commercial traffic
AFGHANISTAN: Celebrations were held at Naibabad freight terminal at 12.00 on February 3, when ‘a substantial reception party’ greeted the arrival of the first train carrying commercial traffic on the 75 km rail link between Hairatan and Mazar-i-Sharif. The inaugural load comprised nine wagons of flour from Kazakhstan and ...
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NewsManaus monorail contract signed
BRAZIL: The Infrastructure Secretariat of Amazonas signed a contract with a consortium of Scomi Engineering, CR Almedia, Mendes Junior and Serveng, on January 20 to build a 20 km straddle monorail in the city of Manaus. Total value of the contract is put at R$1∙45bn. Scomi Engineering’s share is worth ...
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NewsTrain driver distraction study awarded funding
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a grant worth $250000 to commuter rail operator Veolia Transportation to fund a study into the causes of train driver distraction. The study is to be conducted at the Volpe Institute of Transportation Studies in Massachusetts. It will be co-ordinated by George Elsmore, ...
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NewsPutin opens factory to produce a wagon every 24 min
RUSSIA: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin officially launched production of wagons at the Tikhvin Railway Car Building Plant in Leningrad oblast on January 30. Industrial investment business ICT Group has designed the TVSZ factory around the latest production processes from the automotive, aerospace and rail sectors. According to ICT, it ...
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NewsCAF named preferred bidder to supply new Midland Metro trams
UK: Having received bids submitted from 'all over the world, not just Europe', on February 2 West Midlands transport authority Centro named CAF as preferred bidder to supply new trams to replace the existing Midland Metro fleet and provide additional capacity on the 21 km light rail route linking Birmingham ...
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News
Joseph Lhota
Joseph Lhota has been appointed Chairman & CEO of New York MTA, having held the post in an acting capacity since November. He succeeds Jay Walder, who left in October to become CEO of Hong Kong’s MTR Corp.
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NewsThales to upgrade Turkish high speed line to ETCS Level 2
TURKEY: National railway TCDD has awarded Thales a €20m contract to install ETCS Level 2 and GSM-R communications on the existing 251 km high speed section of the Ankara - Istanbul route. Deployment of Level 2 in place of the present Level 1 supervision is expected to increase capacity on ...
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NewsSystra to take over SNCF and RATP engineering businesses
FRANCE: Engineering consultancy Systra, which is owned jointly by main line operator SNCF and urban operator RATP, is to take over the engineering businesses of its two shareholders with a view to enhancing its prospects on the international market. A draft agreement covering the proposals was announced on January 11. ...
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NewsSingapore offers loyalty prizes to encourage off-peak metro travel
SINGAPORE: 'Incentives for Singapore's Commuters' has been launched by Land Transport Authority as part of a programme to examine methods for spreading peak travel demand. Metro commuters participating in the Insinc study are awarded credits proportional to the distance they travel, with the credits entered into a lottery with cash ...
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NewsAnother €1bn to fund DB enhancement programme
GERMANY: Federal Transport Minister Minister Dr Peter Ramsauer confirmed on January 31 that another €1bn of federal funding would be made available for infrastructure improvements across the DB network by 2015, following the completion of a three-year programme funded by a €1·4bn ‘stimulus package’ and €100m from DB’s own resources. ...
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NewsUkrainian Railways orders 300 electric locomotives
UKRAINE: Transmashholding is to supply state railway UZ with 230 Type 2ES4K electric freight locomotives for 3 kV DC routes and 70 Type 2ES5K locomotives for AC routes. Last August the government approved a 28·7bn hryvnia renewal programme which would see 509 locomotives ordered in 2012-16. A preliminary agreement was ...
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News
Vijaya Kanth
Vijaya Kanth, formerly General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (Construction), has been appointed Financial Commissioner of the Indian Ministry of Railways.