Latest news – Page 1227
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NewsTiger grants to boost urban rail
USA: Several urban rail investment projects will benefit from federal stimulus funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act as part of the TIGER grants package announced by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. In total, 51 projects have been selected for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery programme which is ...
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NewsDebrecen tram contracts
HUNGARY: On March 11 Mayor of Debrecen Lajos Kósa signed a 7·5bn forint contract with the ATK-Debrecen consortium for construction of the city’s second tram line, between Debrecen Plaza and Doberdo Street. The work is expected to take two years to complete. When the project was approved in April ...
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NewsCapital Metro opens at last
USA: Capital Metro’s Red Line commuter rail route between Austin and Leander opened for revenue service on March 22, two years later than originally anticipated. There was no formal inaugural ceremony or ribbon cutting at any of the nine stations. Running northwest from the Texas state capital, the line is ...
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NewsLGV Est contract awarded
FRANCE: The first contract for civil engineering work on the second phase of the Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne was approved by the board of Réseau Ferré de France on March 18. Under a package valued at €78·9m, a consortium of Guintoli, Maia Sonnier and NGE GC has been ...
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NewsSão Paulo metro still expanding
BRAZIL: The Inter-American Development Bank announced a US$481m loan to the state of São Paulo for improvements to metro Line 5 on March 10. The loan has a 25-year term, with a four and a half years grace period and a LIBOR-based interest rate.The IDB funds will be used to ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel working group investigates shorter trains
EUROPE: Eurotunnel is in discussions with the Intergovernmental Commission over amendments to the safety regulations which restrict the types of train permitted to use the tunnel, notably the requirement that trains should be capable of being split in an emergency and driven out separately. The company has now set up ...
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NewsVoith transmission plant inaugurated
GERMANY: Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Stefan Mappus, formally opened Voith's rail transmission factory in Heidenheim on March 3. The plant's initial order covers the supply of 2240 transmissions to Bombardier for 80 Zefiro high speed trains which are being built in China. The factory employs 230 people, and has been ...
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NewsHorizontal lift
AUSTRIA: JA Becker is to deliver 16 heavy lifting rigs to Wiener Linien's Simmering workshop by 2013 under its largest contract win in the rail sector. The first lift should be installed by the end of January 2011. Based around a steel superstructure, the 16 units consist of seven ...
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NewsStadler wins Belarus train contract
BELARUS: Stadler Rail signed its first contract in the former USSR on March 19, with a €60m deal to supply 10 Flirt electric multiple-units to Belarus Railways. Six units are intended for used on local services in Minsk, while four will have a more comfortable interior for longer-distance routes. The ...
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NewsLondon Underground PPP funding gap
UK: London Underground is considering its options, including 'legal remedies', after PPP Arbiter Chris Bolt directed on March 10 that work to maintain and upgrade the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines in the seven and half years of Review Period 2 from July 1 2010 should cost £4·46bn. LU ...
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NewsMidland Metro extension and new trams to be funded
UK: On March 18 Transport Minister Chris Mole announced initial approval for a 1·4 km extension of the Midland Metro light rail line into Birmingham city centre, and the procurement of 20 higher-capacity trams to replace the 16 Ansaldo cars which have been used on the 20 km Birmingham - ...
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NewsFirefighting stations to cut Eurotunnel costs
EUROPE: Following the completion of its 20th bi-national safety exercise in the Channel Tunnel on the night of March 13-14, Eurotunnel said this had 'confirmed the need to implement our Salamander project, which relates to the installation of four permanent fire suppression stations in the Tunnel'. The strategy has been ...
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NewsKolkata East-West metro civils contract awarded
INDIA: Kolkata Metro Rail Corp has awarded a Rs9·1bn contract for civil works on the Subhas Sarobar - Central underground section of the East-West metro line to ITD Cementation, a local subsidiary of Italian-Thai Development Public Co Ltd. The running tunnels will be constructed using tunnel boring machines and the ...
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NewsAll systems go as Gautrain prepares for World Cup opening
SOUTH AFRICA: Test running has started in earnest on the 20 km first phase of the Gautrain line between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport. Opening has been set for June 8, subject to a final technical 'go/no-go' decision in April. The original timescale would have seen the Bombela consortium ...
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NewsPartner buy out
AUSTRALIA: Project management, engineering and consultancy firm Calibre Global has acquired Engenium's 50% stake in the Calibre Engenium Rail joint venture, which is to be rebranded as Calibre Rail. Formed in 2005, the joint venture has been involved in heavy haul infrastructure projects in Western Australia. 'The Calibre Engenium JV ...
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NewsParsons Brinckerhoff awarded US high speed rail contracts
USA: Engineering consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded contracts to manage high speed and inter-city passenger rail development projects in Illinois, Ohio and Florida, parent company Balfour Beatty announced on March 16. Illinois Department of Transportation has appointed PB as programme manager for the project to introduce 176 km/h passenger ...
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NewsShanghai metro reaches Hongqiao Airport
CHINA: March 16 marked the simultaneous opening of the new Terminal 2 at Hongqiao International Airport and an 8 km extension of Shanghai metro Line 2 to serve the new hub. The extension runs from the former western terminus at Songhong Road to East Xujing via Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2. ...
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NewsFirst 14 km of Libyan rail network in place
LIBYA: The first 14 km of track has been laid for the 554 km Surt - Banghazi railway, Russian Railways has announced. RZD is building the line parallel to the Mediterranean coast under a €2·2bn contract signed in April 2008, and President Vladimir Yakunin visited the construction sites on ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market March 2010
Argentina: Emepa and Ferromel have dispatched the first 40 of 100 coal wagons for YCRT’s 760 mm gauge Río Turbio – Río Gallegos operation (RG 2.08 p73). Three second-hand diesel locos have been acquired from Bulgaria. Australia: QR has placed A$126m of orders to support Hunter Valley coal contracts. ...
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NewsWabtec buys signalling supplier Xorail
USA: Wabtec Corp announced its acquisition of signal engineering and design firm Xorail for $40m in cash on March 15. Founded in 1990 as Southwest Signal Engineering Company, Xorail now has annual sales of $40m. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, and has 275 employees at 10 satellite offices throughout ...