Latest news – Page 1216
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NewsNS wary of 'schizophrenia' in Washington
USA: 'The economic recovery in our business is well underway', reported Norfolk Southern Chairman, President & CEO Wick Moorman on May 13, addressing the company's Annual Meeting in Williamsburg. Noting that traffic volumes were growing back steadily, he said NS had been able to report financial results for 2009 which ...
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NewsMetrolinx exercises option for 182 light rail vehicles
CANADA: Greater Toronto transport agency Metrolinx awarded Bombardier Transportation a C$770m order for a 182 Flexity light rail vehicles in June 14, immediately after the provincial government announced approval of Metrolinx's C$8·1bn '5 in 10' revised programme to complete five major transport projects in 10 years rather than eight ...
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NewsWorld infrastructure market June 2010
Australia: John Holland and Aecom are to undertake the A$650m extension of Melbourne’s Epping commuter line by 3·5 km to South Morang. Austria: ÖBB Infrastruktur has appointed Frequentis to undertake outsourced systems integration for its ETCS Level 2 programme, with roll-out on several major routes scheduled for December ...
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NewsPointers June 2010
Argentina's Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi has signed an agreement with Vice-Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping that would see Chinese banks provide at least 85% of the funding for a US$18bn programme to electrify the Belgrano Norte and Belgrano Sur commuter networks in Buenos Aires. This ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Last month the European Commission formally warned Bulgaria that it must implement First Railway Package legislation on track access charges. Operations have resumed on Tanzania’s Central line after US$11m of emergency repairs to flood damage caused by heavy rain in December. Reviving electric traction on the 300 km Dabuka ...
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NewsRail welding plant opened in Libya
LIBYA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin took part in the ceremonial opening of a rail welding plant in Ras Lanuf on June 11. It was built on a turnkey basis by welding equipment specialist Pskovelectrosvar, and will support RZD's €2·2bn four-year contract signed in April 2008 for construction ...
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NewsWabtec awarded Tyne & Wear Metro refurbishment contract
UK: Tyne & Wear Metro operating contractor DB Regio has awarded Wabtec Rail a £25m contract to overhaul the network's 90 two-car trainsets on behalf of local transport authority Nexus. The 'three-quarter life refurbishment' will be undertaken at Doncaster and will run to 2015. It includes corrosion rectification, an ...
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NewsJapanese industry in export overdrive
JAPAN: Having been selected as preferred supplier for the next generation of trains on the Washington DC metro, with up to 748 vehicles potentially worth US$1·48bn, Kawasaki has now picked up an order to supply more cars for New York. And Hitachi has set itself the task of doubling exports ...
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NewsInterfleet buys Die Ingenieurwerkstatt
GERMANY: UK-based international rail consultancy Interfleet Technology has expanded its European operations with the acquisition of Die Ingenieurwerkstatt GmbH for an undisclosed sum. The Wiesbaden-based firm was established in 1996 and now has more than 30 staff providing consultancy services in the areas of safety engineering, maintenance optimisation and rail ...
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NewsFrance to Portugal high speed co-operation agreement
EUROPE: During a two-day conference of ministers and stakeholders held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza to discuss the Trans-European Transport Network programme, on June 8 French Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, Spanish Development Minister José Blanco and Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications António Mendonça ...
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NewsTren Urbano operating contract awarded
PUERTO RICO: Alternate Concepts Inc is to take sole responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Tren Urbano metro in San Juan under a five -year contract worth US$250m. The deal runs to June 2015, replacing the initial five-year contract with the Siemens Transit Team consortium which designed and built ...
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NewsTram-train on test at Crécy-la-Chapelle
FRANCE: A Siemens Avanto tram-train vehicle from the Bondy - Aulnay route T4 in Paris was tested by SNCF on the 10 km single-track Esbly - Crécy-la-Chapelle line east of the capital on June 2-4. The lack of a passing loop on the branch means it is not possible to ...
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NewsCutting track life-cycle costs
EUROPE: With the four-year Innotrack research project now approaching completion, the project partners now estimate that the life-cycle cost of track could be cut by 25% in the coming years. ‘That’s a lot of savings when you consider the extent of the rail network’, said UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, ...
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NewsPesa reveals details of low-floor EMU family
POLAND: Bydgoszcz-based manufacturer Pesa has revealed its ELF low-floor EMU design ahead of the planned exhibition of a prototype at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin in September. Speaking at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 9, a spokesman confirmed that two contracts had already been ...
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NewsAnsaldoBreda and Bombardier combine to offer V300 Zefiro
ITALY: Following Alstom's announcement of an addition to its high speed train range on June 8, Bombardier Transportation's Country President Italy, Roberto Tazzioli, has revealed further details of his company's response to Ferrovie dello Stato's tender for 50 very high speed trainsets. To boost the local content of the planned ...
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NewsGenesee & Wyoming buys Alice Springs - Darwin operator
AUSTRALIA: US-based short line operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc is to acquire FreightLink, the concessionaire for the 2 240 km Tarcoola - Darwin railway which went into receivership in November 2008. GWI has managed FreightLink's rail services since they began in 2004, and expects to make significant savings by ...
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NewsCrisis at Pakistan Railways
PAKISTAN: With growing interest in the development of Trans-Asian rail links, one might think that Pakistan Railways has a promising future. But an SOS reaches us from railway headquarters in Lahore warning that PR is on the verge of collapse, following years of ‘seething indifference’ by governments of all parties. ...
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NewsAlstom extends high speed train family
ITALY: Alstom Transport revealed a further addition to its portfolio of high speed trains at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 8. The design, which does not yet have a name, combines elements of all of the company’s existing products in the high speed sector, including the AGV ...
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NewsGautrain's World Cup kick-off
SOUTH AFRICA: The first phase of the Gautrain passenger railway opened between Sandton, Marlboro, Rhodesfield and OR Tambo International Airport on June 8, completion having been accelerated so it would be ready for the start of the FIFA World Cup on June 11. Inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremonies for invited ...
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NewsContracts June 2010
France: Parkeon is to supply a €21m ticketing system encompassing smart card and NFC phone technology for Lille’s metro, tram and bus services. Accor Group’s Grand Est Restauration subsidiary has a two-year contract to provide catering on Alleo TGV services from July 1. Russia: Bombardier has ...