Latest news – Page 1253

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    News

    X-Ray specs cause problems for the railways

    2009-08-27T13:32:00Z

    EUROPE: We hear that broad-gauge trains are running again on the 1 520 mm-gauge cross-border line between Uzhgorod and Matovce, which carries iron ore and coal from Russia and Ukraine to the US Steel plant at Kosice. Up to 12 trains each way cross the border per day, but ...

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    News

    Wabtec wins US$9m Irish wagon order

    2009-08-27T08:00:00Z

    IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has awarded Wabtec Rail a US$9m contract to supply 24 high-output ballast wagons in 2010, Wabtec Corp announced on August 26. Doncaster-based Wabtec Rail has supplied more than 250 Autoballaster wagons for the UK market over the last decade. They feature radio-controlled ballast discharge, ...

  • Impression of high speed train.
    News

    Network Rail recommends high speed line to northwest and Scotland

    2009-08-26T14:37:00Z

    UK: A vision of journey times from London of just 2 h 16 min to Glasgow, 1 h 06 min to Manchester and 46 min to Birmingham was painted by Network Rail Chief Executive Iain Coucher on August 26, when he unveiled the findings of a study by the infrastructure ...

  • Freight train in Mongolia.
    News

    RZD takes stake in Ulaanbaatar Railway

    2009-08-26T09:35:00Z

    MONGOLIA: Russian Railways took control of 50% of the shares of Ulaanbaatar Railway (UBTZ) on August 25, when President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree transferring the Russian government's stake in UBTZ for five years. This follows a May 13 agreement that the Mongolian rail network will be managed by ...

  • Karlsruhe tram (Photo: Neil Pulling).
    News

    Ni-Cd batteries prove a success on tram-trains

    2009-08-26T04:00:00Z

    GERMANY: Successful initial tests are being followed up by a second phase of trials of nickel-cadmium batteries in place of wet cells on tram-trains in Karlsruhe. Operator Stadtbahn Karlsruhe will look at the reliability, performance and total cost of ownership of the Saft Matrics MRX 200 batteries, which are ...

  • Qingdao.
    News

    Qingdao metro enters first phase

    2009-08-25T13:37:00Z

    CHINA: Shandong state government approved the plan to construct a metro network in Qingdao on August 18. Phases I and II entail the construction of 54·7 km of route by 2016, at a cost of 29·2bn yuan. The first line to be built is likely to be M3, running from ...

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    News

    Crossrail tunnelling contracts advertised

    2009-08-25T12:16:00Z

    UK: Crossrail Ltd confirmed on August 25 that notices have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting expressions of interest for the project’s two principal tunnelling contracts - Package C300 for Tunnels West and Package C305 for Tunnels East - involving the construction of 18 km ...

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    News

    Denver receives the first of 55 LRVs from Siemens

    2009-08-25T11:39:00Z

    USA: On August 21 the first of 55 SD160 light rail vehicles ordered to supplement RTD’s FasTracks fleet was delivered to the Elati Light Rail maintenance facility from Siemens’ plant in Sacramento. The remainder will arrive over the next 18 months. The US$184m contract for 55 high-floor cars was placed ...

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    News

    Eurobahn signs operating contract

    2009-08-25T10:00:00Z

    GERMANY: On August 19 Eurorail signed a contract to operate Maas -Rhein-Lippe-Netz Regional-Express services from December 13. The Keolis subsidiary had been selected to operated the services in 2007, through an international tendering process managed by the Rhein-Ruhr and Ruhr-Lippe transport authorities. The contract covers the operation of ...

  • Impression of PowerHaul locomotive for continental Europe.
    News

    GE and EuroMaint announce train servicing alliance

    2009-08-25T04:00:00Z

    SWEDEN: An alliance to provide locomotive and rolling stock maintenance services in Europe was announced by GE Transportation and EuroMaint Rail on August 24. As well as serving existing fleets, the alliance will provide a regional service network to support future orders for PowerHaul locomotives in Europe. 'Combining ...

  • Dublin.
    News

    Container trains return to Dublin Port

    2009-08-24T11:21:00Z

    IRELAND: The first intermodal rail service to Dublin Port for six years began on August 20, with the launch of a twice-weekly service from Ballina. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann under a contract with International Warehousing & Transport, which sells space on the train. According to IÉ, initial ...

  • Conceptual design for North-South Railway passenger train.
    News

    Conceptual designs for North-South passenger trains

    2009-08-24T04:00:00Z

    SAUDI ARABIA: Interfleet Technology has completed initial designs for passenger trainsets to run on the future North-South Railway. The 200 km/h trainsets will have diesel-electric locomotives at each end, and must cope with sandstorms and temperatures of 50°C in the Great An-Nafud Desert. Executive, business and economy class accommodation ...

  • Tranzmetro seats.
    News

    Less waste

    2009-08-23T04:00:00Z

    SEATS: Four coaches used on KiwiRail’s Tranzmetro services in Wellington have been refurbished using an engineered leather derived from intimately rewoven tannery by-products. It is supplied as a continuous roll, which manufacturer E-Leather Ltd says has a 5% cutting wastage compared to up to 40% for traditional hides. ...

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    News

    Expanding expertise

    2009-08-22T04:00:00Z

    UK: Transport planning software and consultancy firm Tracsis plc has acquired Peeping Ltd, which has 80 staff providing demand, queuing and footfall research, primarily for UK train operators. Tracsis said the acquisition will strengthen its product offering through the addition of real demand data to its existing modelling expertise. ...

  • ONCFM Prima II locomotive (Photo: Kevin Staquet).
    News

    Moroccan Prima II sets off

    2009-08-21T11:50:00Z

    MOROCCO: The first two Alstom Prima II locomotives ordered by national railway ONCFM have left Alstom's Belfort factory in France. Locomotive 1401 has gone to the Wegberg-Wildenrath test centre in Germany for trials, while 1402 arrived at the Belgian port of Antwerpen on August 18 ready to embark for ...

  • Impression of tram in Montréal.
    News

    Montréal tram route announced

    2009-08-21T09:16:00Z

    CANADA: On August 14 the city of Montréal released a study into proposals for a new tram line which had been commissioned from a consortium of Genivar and Systra. The consultants recommend that the first line should begin in Old Montréal, then take a serpentine route following Peel, De ...

  • VR Cargo paper wagons (Photo: Leif Rosnel/VR).
    News

    VR Group restructures in the face of market changes

    2009-08-21T04:00:00Z

    FINLAND: National railway operating company VR Group announced a major corporate restructuring on August 20, as a response to the economic recession and 'sudden and partially permanent changes' in the markets it serves, particularly in the forest products sector. Freight traffic in the first six months of 2009 was 30% ...

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    News

    Three extensions approved for Chicago 'L'

    2009-08-20T11:57:00Z

    USA: Chicago Transit Authority board adopted locally preferred alternatives for three proposed ‘L’ extensions on August 3, a critical step in applying for federal funding. The projects include: Red Line: an 8·5 km expansion south from the existing 95th Street terminal to 130th Street with four new ...

  • Guage changer in Tarragona.
    News

    Faster to Extremadura

    2009-08-20T04:00:00Z

    SPAIN: Tenders are to be called in the last quarter of this year for the construction of a gauge-changing facility at Brazatortas-Veredas, enabling trains from Mérida and Badajoz to use the high speed line from Córdoba to reach Madrid. The work is expected to take 10 months ...

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    News

    Three locos replace five on 13 000 tonne coal haul

    2009-08-19T12:47:00Z

    AUSTRALIA: The first three of 23 Class 7100 25 kV electric locomotives being built for Pacific National by Siemens Mobility's München-Allach plant have entered service in Queensland. The 1 067 mm gauge locomotives were ordered in 2007, and deliveries will run to mid-2010. Three Class 7100s will replace five ...