Latest news – Page 1150
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NewsChongqing opens monorail and metro lines
CHINA: Chongqing Rail Transit has begun trial operations on its first conventional metro and second straddle monorail lines, expanding the city's urban rail network. The first route to be completed was Line 2, which opened in 2005 using straddle monorail technology from Hitachi. Monorail Line 3 services began running at ...
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NewsTurnout converter
UK: The Points Converter launched by Zonegreen enables hand-operated turnouts to be converted to powered and remote control, helping to streamline the operation of depots, reducing the need for stop-start operations and also reducing the risk of staff accidents. ‘The system is made up of two parts’, explains Technical Director ...
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NewsFreedom takes Flexity to the North American tram market
NORTH AMERICA: Bombardier Transportation President & CEO André Navarri launched the ‘Flexity Freedom’ as the company's tram platform for North America at APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans on October 4. The 100% low-floor car is a parallel development to the Flexity 2, launched in Blackpool last month and targeted ...
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NewsSNC Lavalin acquires Interfleet Technology
INTERNATIONAL: Montréal-based international infrastructure and engineering group SNC-Lavalin announced on October 4 that it had agreed to acquire the rolling stock engineering and rail operations consultancy Interfleet Technology under a deal signed on October 3. Formed in 1994 through a management buy-out of British Rail’s former inter-city train engineering services ...
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News
VDB elects new board members
Meeting in Kiel on September 30, the German Railway Industry Association VDB elected Dr Klaus Baur of Bombardier Transportation, as VDB President for 2011-14. He is joined on the nine-member board by Dr Ansgar Brockmeyer of Siemens Mobility as Vice-President with responsibility for rail vehicles, Andreas Becker of Ephy Mess ...
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NewsC4Ks start running to Larne
UK: Northern Ireland’s Transport Minister Danny Kennedy joined the celebrations on October 3 to mark the entry into service on the Belfast – Larne route of the first of Translink’s new Class 4000 DMUs. The 20 three-car units are being supplied by CAF under the operator’s £150m New Trains Programme, ...
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NewsEMD to produce passenger demonstrator loco
USA: Electro-Motive Diesel announced the development of a 200 km/h ‘next generation’ diesel passenger locomotive for the North American market at APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans on October 3. The design is being produced on a speculative basis, and a prototype is to be rolled out during 2014. The ...
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NewsNordic Rail: a meeting point for the region's railways
The railway industry of Scandinavia and Finland gathers on October 4-6 for the Nordic Rail exhibition. Organised by Elmia in the Swedish town of Jönköping every two years, Nordic Rail and the related Future Transport exhibitions are designed to act both as a showcase for new products and a 'meeting ...
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NewsBrookville to produce modern tram
USA: An expansion of tram manufacturing was announced by Brookville Equipment Corp on September 14. The company said it is developing an articulated tram with a low-floor section and the capability to run for short distances without overhead supply. Founded in 1918, Brookville's core business is the production of rail ...
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NewsČD closes Railjet deal
CZECH REPUBLIC: State-owned operator ČD finally signed a €200m deal with Austrian Federal Railways and Siemens Mobility on September 30 under which it will acquire 16 Viaggio Comfort (Railjet) push-pull trainsets using an option on ÖBB’s original contract with Siemens which was no longer required by the Austrians. Announced in ...
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NewsIJmeerlijn visions revealed
NETHERLANDS: Three feasibility studies for a direct metro line between Amsterdam and the growing satellite town of Almere across the IJmeer lake have been completed on behalf of development agency Werkmaatschappij Almere-Amsterdam. Two of the options will now be selected for further analysis, and the selected project could be completed ...
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NewsSkoda 109 E2 ready for trials
SLOVAKIA: This month Skoda Transportation will begin trials with the first of two Type 109 E2 three-voltage electric locomotives ordered by ZSSK for €4·8m. It is expected to enter regular service in December, with the second to follow in June 2012. The 6·4 MW Class 381 is derived from the ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
DB is testing a 300 m section of noise barrier just 760 mm high alongside tracks at Celle-Garßen, aiming to reduce noise in the immediate vicinity of the source. The results of a national programme to test methods of reducing noise are to be presented next year. Trelleborg Industrial ...
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NewsGPS tracking
EUROPE: During September freight operator Europorte began fitting its locomotives with GPS beacons linked to a movement monitoring system developed by Belgian firm Railnova in partnership with Kerlink. The Railster system will provide real-time location reporting for Europorte’s fleet. Automatic collection of temperature, average speed and distance covered data will ...
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NewsEuropean Commission launches Channel Tunnel infringement proceedings
EUROPE: The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against France and the UK over their 'failure to implement legislation to open the market for rail services in the Channel Fixed Link'. On September 29 the Commission said the countries have two months to respond before it requests full implementation of ...
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NewsDB Schenker to launch daily freight train to China
INTERNATIONAL: DB Schenker Rail Automotive is to launch a daily container train service between Germany and China in late November, carrying BMW automotive components from Leipzig to Shenyang. 'With a transit time of 23 days, the direct trains are more than twice as fast as maritime transport followed by transport ...
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NewsCamera helps spot overhead line defects
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has provided electrification equipment maintenance crews with 30 cameras which can be used to identify overhead line defects without needing to turn off the power. Supplied by Kongsberg Maritime Ltd, the cameras can be attached to the overhead cables, where they are held steady by ...
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NewsCeremony launches Tanger – Casablanca high speed project
MOROCCO: A foundation stone was laid in Tanger on September 29 to mark the start of construction of a high speed line to Casablanca. The ceremony was attended by King Mohammed VI and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reflecting the close relationship between the two countries which has underpinned the project ...
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NewsRegioJet launch brings inter-city competition
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access operator RegioJet launched services between Praha and Havírov on September 26, breaking Czech Railways' monopoly on long-distance passenger services by competing directly with CD's premium Pendolino service. RegioJet is initially running three trains each way per day, calling at nine intermediate stations including Ostrava-Hlavní, Olomouc and ...
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NewsElectrification and extension to boost Central Asian connections
ASIA: The Asian Development Bank has approved funding for electrification in Uzbekistan and construction of a 225 km line in northern Afghanistan. On September 28 the ADB board agreed a US$100m loan towards a US$176m modernisation of Uzbek national railway UTY's 140 km route between Marakand near Samarkand and Qarshi. ...