Latest news – Page 1215
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NewsPilbara iron ore line approved
AUSTRALIA: Plans to build another 300 km rail link to serve the Pilbara iron ore mining region in Western Australia were approved by the state government on June 24. Premier Colin Barnett said the signing of an agreement with Roy Hill Infrastructure Pty Ltd was ‘a major step forward for ...
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NewsCoupling up
CHINA: The Wabtec Golden Bridge Transportation Technology Co joint venture formed by Wabtec Corp and Hangzhou Golden Bridge Railway Equipment Co to manufacture metro couplings in China has won its first contract. The US$7m order announced on June 22 covers the supply of couplers for Hangzhou Metro cars. 'With this ...
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NewsLowering the bar to London
EUROPE: On June 17 the European Commission cleared the transformation of Eurostar from a co-operative arrangement between SNCF, SNCB and London & Continental Railways into a stand-alone joint venture controlled by SNCF and LCR with SNCB holding a non-controlling stake. Approval was subject to conditions which are intended to lower ...
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NewsFuel cell tram trial
SPAIN: Metre-gauge operator FEVE is planning to start trials with fuel cell traction between Ribadesella and Llovio on its non-electrified Santander - Oviedo route by the end of this year. A hydrogen fuel cell is to be installed in a 1970s tramcar to power four traction motors, capable of ...
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NewsGood business case for Dublin interconnector
IRELAND: With responses to the prequalification tender for the public-private partnership to build Dublin’s cross-city rail link due by July 20, Iarnród Éireann announced on June 22 that a new business assessment had confirmed a ‘strong’ economic case for the Interconnector project, now officially known as DART Underground. The 7·6 ...
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NewsBybanen light rail line opens in Bergen
NORWAY: A fanfare by Bergen’s FMKV Military Band greeted the inauguration of the city’s first tram line by Queen Sonja on June 22. Accompanied by government ministers, the Queen travelled on one of the fleet of 18 orange and white Variobahn trams from Nesttun to Kaigaten, where she alighted and ...
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NewsDelhi Metro opens Gurgaon extension
INDIA: The section of Delhi Metro Line 2 south from Qutub Minar to HUDA City Centre in the satellite town of Gurgaon opened at 08.00 on June 21 with simultaneous train departures from each end. The opening adds 14·5 km and nine stations to the Delhi Metro network, taking ...
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NewsNewag unveils remanufactured shunting locomotive
POLAND: Newag has unveiled a prototype Type 15D shunting locomotive based on a rebuilt Soviet-built TEM2, known as the SM48 in Poland. The underframe, bogies and original traction motors have been retained, but a new generator and 1·5 MW Caterpillar engine fitted to give both more economical operation and ...
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NewsHigh Speed 1 goes on sale
UK: Transport Secretary Philip Hammond invited bids to buy HS1 Ltd on June 21. Currently a wholly -owned subsidiary of the state-owned London & Continental Railways Ltd, HS1 Ltd has a 30 year concession to manage the 109 km high speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel. The ...
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NewsLevel crossing safety campaign
INTERNATIONAL: Rail and road operators in more than 45 countries, together with international associations including UIC, CER and EIM, are stepping up their campaign to improve safety at level crossings, with June 22 designated as International Level Crossing Awareness Day. Many road users and pedestrians are killed or injured at ...
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NewsSkoda Class 380 in service
CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Transportation's Type 109E triple-voltage 200 km/h locomotives have begun trial operations, starting with No 380.007 which hauled a 100 km/h CD Cargo freight train from Plzen to Beroun on May 27. Initial 160 km/h passenger operations are expected to begin on routes from Praha to Brno and ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market June 2010
Australia: UGL has announced orders worth A$100m to supply QR with four C44ACi locomotives and 160 QHBH wagons for use in the Hunter Valley, and 200 VCB wagons for the Bowen Basin. Brazil: Singapore’s ST Electronics has won a S$4·6m contract to supply passenger information systems for 19 six-car ...
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NewsService centre for private operators
GERMANY: A rolling stock maintenance centre is being developed at a former locomotive workshop at Braunschweig in Germany to meet the growing demand for servicing vehicles on behalf of private operators, which now carry around 20% of regional passenger traffic. Opening in 2011, the 15 200 m2 site will specialise ...
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NewsArriva shareholders back sale
UK: Shareholders of Sunderland-based international bus and rail operator Arriva voted overwhelmingly at a special General Meeting on June 17 to support the proposed takeover of the company by Deutsche Bahn. The Arriva board had recommended acceptance of DB's cash bid announced on April 22, under which the state-owned ...
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NewsAsian locomotive rejuvenation
THAILAND: Five Alstom locomotives operated by State Railway of Thailand have been fitted with MTU 16V 4000 R41 R engines to cut their fuel consumption and increase availability. MTU said repowering will prolong the life of a locomotive by up to one complete life-cycle at 60% of the price ...
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NewsPreferred bidder chosen for Denver commuter rail PPP
USA: Denver Regional Transportation District selected Denver Transit Partners as preferred bidder for the Eagle P3 commuter rail public-private partnership on June 15. The 46-year design build, finance, operate and maintain contract is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, with the $2·085bn price coming in $300m ...
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NewsGE signalling for Tvärbanan expansion
SWEDEN: Stockholm Transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has awarded GE Transportation a €36m contract for signalling work as part of the expansion of the Tvärbanan orbital light rail line in the southern suburbs of the capital. The contract announced on June 8 covers the provision of a traffic control centre, lineside ...
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NewsAECOM acquires high speed rail expertise with Inocsa
SPAIN: AECOM Technology Corp has acquired transport and environmental consultancy Inocsa Ingeniería, in a deal which AECOM President & CEO John M Dionisio said would benefit both companies and increase the US firm's expertise in the high speed rail sector. 'Inocsa gains access to the depth and breadth AECOM can ...
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NewsKiel - Lübeck upgrade
GERMANY: DB Regio launched an enhanced service between Kiel and Lübeck on June 13, following a €32m programme of investment in the 81 km route which included infrastructure modernisation, more accessible platforms and a new station at Kiel-Elmschenhagen. The federal government provided two-thirds of the cost with the rest coming ...
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NewsSingapore metro depot design contract awarded
SINGAPORE: Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract to provide architectural and engineering design services for a new depot at Tuas, as part of the 7·5 km western extension of the East -West metro line which is under construction for opening in 2015. The depot will have the capacity to ...