Latest news – Page 1184
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NewsLow-floor trams in service as Istanbul extension testing begins
TURKEY: The Mayor of Istanbul attended a ceremony on February 3 marking the entry into service of the first 14 of 37 Citadis trams being supplied by Alstom Transport. The remainder will enter traffic in the coming weeks. The €73m contract for the trams was awarded by operator Istanbul Ulasim ...
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NewsSix-year US high speed rail programme proposed
USA: Vice-President Joseph Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled an ambitious $53bn six-year high speed and inter-city passenger rail programme on February 8. Biden said that clarifying the role of federal funding would provide states and cities with the certainty needed to make long-term plans, however the proposal ...
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NewsSouthern LGV projects make progress
FRANCE: Visiting Montpellier on February 7, Transport Secretary Thierry Mariani signed an agreement with local authority representatives covering the programme for construction of the planned Contournement Nîmes - Montpellier bypass line which will carry high speed and freight trains around the two cities as an extension to the Nîmes branch ...
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NewsAlstom unveils Paris RER Line A double-deck train
FRANCE: The first MI09 double-deck electric multiple-unit for Paris RER Line A was officially unveiled on February 8. Certification testing is underway with three MI09 trainsets, ready for entry into passenger service by the end of the year. A consortium of Alstom and Bombardier signed a contract to supply ...
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NewsBNSF announces $3·5bn 2011 capital programme
USA: BNSF announced a $3·5bn capital programme for 2011 on February 7, with the largest element being $2bn allocated to investment in the core network and related assets. BNSF will spend $450m acquiring 227 locomotives and $350m on wagons and other equipment. The federally-mandated PTC programme will require $300m, and ...
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NewsCSR Zhuzhou to supply Ningbo metro cars
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a contract to provide 22 six-car metro trains for the first metro line in Ningbo on January 27. The 21 km east-west Line 1 with 20 stations is expected to open in 2014, the initial phase of a planned six-line network in the port city in ...
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NewsEurotunnel demonstrates €20m fire suppression system
Eurotunnel has completed installation of the first of two pairs of SAFE fire-fighting points designed to suppress fires on lorry shuttles. Richard Hope reports from inside the Channel Tunnel.
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NewsDelcan launches Rail & Transit group
CANADA: Transport, water and IT consultancy Delcan Corp launched a Rail & Transit group headed by Vice-President Alan Rumsey on February 1, bringing together in one business unit its activities in rolling stock, track, signalling, communications, controls, traction power, systems integration, commissioning and safety assurance. Delcan was founded in 1953 ...
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NewsBrenner Base Tunnel boring to start this year
AUSTRIA: Excavation of the main bores of the Brenner Base Tunnel is set to start this year, after the government gave the formal go-ahead as part of the 2011-16 railway investment framework approved on February 1. Work on the 55 km twin-bore tunnel will be launched from Innsbruck in the ...
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NewsGovernment confirms local transport project funding
UK: Following a review which has brought a 14% reduction in the total cost, on February 4 the Department for Transport confirmed the allocation of funding that will enable nine rail and other local transport projects to go ahead. Additional schemes have been invited to bid for funding which is ...
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NewsCSX to invest $2bn in 2011
USA: CSX Corp is to invest $2bn in its network during 2011, with two-thirds going on infrastructure and rolling stock and the rest split between strategic and regulatory investments. This is up from $1·8bn in 2010. On January 24 CSX announced 2010 operating income of $3·1bn, up 35% on 2009. ...
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NewsLGV Rhin-Rhône tracklaying completed
FRANCE: Prime Minister François Fillon marked the completion of tracklaying on the first phase of LGV Rhin-Rhône, with a symbolic final weld ceremony at Villiers-les-Pots on January 31. He was accompanied by Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Transport Sectretary Thierry Mariani, Minister of Co-operation Henri de Raincourt and Minister for ...
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NewsMilano metro M5 extension contract signed
ITALY: The city of Milano and the Metro 5 SpA special purpose vehicle signed a concession agreement on February 2 to build and operate the second phase of the automated metro Line M5. Metro 5 SpA began construction of the 6 km first phase of M5 in 2007. Linking ...
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NewsGovernment commits to ÖBB infrastructure investment
AUSTRIA: The government approved a €12·8bn five-year investment framework for Austrian Federal Railways on February 1. Spending in 2011-16 will be targeted at the main West, South and Brenner corridors, as well as suburban transport, station modernisation and a programme to remove temporary speed restrictions by 2014. The government has ...
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NewsZhengzhou metro Line 1 train contract awarded
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a 900m yuan contract to supply 25 trains for Zhengzhou metro Line 1 on January 18. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in June 2012 for opening during the first half of 2013. The aluminium-bodied Type B metro cars will be 19 m long ...
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NewsRZD’s first 2ES10 locomotive unveiled
RUSSIA: The Ural Locomotives joint venture of Sinara Transport Machines and Siemens Mobility has completed production of the first of two prototype 2ES10 electric locomotives at the Verkhnyaya Pyshma plant near Yekaterinburg.While Sinara has been using Siemens components and design input to produce 83 2ES6 DC locomotives for RZD’s Sverdlovsk ...
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NewsSNCB Logistics gains independence
BELGIUM: A major step in the restructuring of SNCB's freight activities came into effect on February 1, when SNCB Logistics began operating as an autonomous subsidiary owned 93·14% by SNCB and 6·86% by parent group SNCB Holding. Management and some supervisory staff have transferred to SNCB Logistics, with central services ...
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NewsHudson-Bergen extension opens in New Jersey
USA: A 1·6 km extension of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line south from the former terminus at 22nd Street to a new stop at Eighth Street in Bayonne opened on January 31. The ribbon-cutting was attended by US Senator Robert Menendez, Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith and New Jersey Transit Executive ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
At the end of December Kirow bought Leipzig transport operator LVB’s remaining 49% stake in HeiterBlick, a company formed in 2004 to build Leoliner trams. LVB has ordered 48 cars, Halberstadt five and Bielefeld 16, but LVB has adopted a policy of disposing of non-core activities. Russia’s Federal Agency ...
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NewsLondon Tramlink seeks bids for additional trams
UK: Transport for London subsidiary Tramtrack Croydon Ltd is seeking bids for the lease of 10 new or second-hand trams to increase capacity on the light rail network in south London from the end of summer 2011. A new service is planned to run between Therapia Lane and Elmers End ...