Latest news – Page 1279
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NewsObama boosts high speed rail and transit spending
USA: At a ceremony in Denver on February 17, President Barack Obama officially signed the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, a $787bn economic stimulus measure which provides nearly $50bn in direct funding for transport investment. The 1 100-page bill provides $8·4bn for transit, $1·3bn for Amtrak, $8·4bn for high ...
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NewsCoach donation prepares for Laos railway launch
LAOS: Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand is expected to inaugurate the cross-border rail connection on March 5, with public services beginning at 16.20 that day. From March 6 there will be two daily return trips across the Thai-Lao Friendship bridge, taking 15 min between Nong Khai and the ...
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NewsAutomating Brazil’s busiest metro lines
BRAZIL: Work is starting on the resignalling of lines 1, 2 and 3 of the São Paulo metro under a €280m contract awarded in July 2008, paving the way for the introduction of automatic train operation. Chris Jackson discusses the programme with Alstom Transport’s Customer Director Rosangela Tsuruda and Project ...
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NewsBombardier to announce second-generation Electrostar
UK: Bombardier Transportation will unveil design studies for its second generation of Electrostar EMU at the Railtex 2009 exhibition, which is to be held in London on March 10-12. The Electrostar family has become the most successful post-privatisation EMU in the British market, with more than 1 600 ...
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NewsJR East announces hybrid train fleet
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is to introduce a further 10 diesel-battery hybrid DMUs in autumn 2010. The announcement follows the success of three Kiha E200 single-car units developed with Hitachi and launched on the Koumi line in July 2007. The 10 additional DMUs will be used on services ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Japan’s Railway Technical Research Institute is assessing the feasibility of detecting faults in level crossing barrier mechanisms by measuring electrical currents during the raising and lowering of faulty barriers and comparing to normal values. Two types of barrier are being used, with the aim of developing a means of identifying ...
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NewsSuccessful tests on Bangkok airport line
THAILAND: Minister of Transport, Sophon Zarum, and State Railway of Thailand Chairman Youtdana Tupcharoen travelled on test run of Bangkok's Airport Express on February 12. In 2005 SRT awarded Siemens Mobility and Thai partners B Grimm and Sino Thai Engineering & Construction the contract to build a 28 km ...
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NewsFaster freight through MidAmerica
USA: Canadian National and Norfolk Southern have announced an initiative to share tracks to create a MidAmerica Corridor which will shorten their routes for traffic between Chicago, St Louis, Kentucky and Mississippi. The plan comprises three elements. Subject to regulatory approval and the signing of definitive agreements, NS will ...
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NewsTubes in the desert
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organisation has installed a 900 m section of Tubular Track on its main line between Harad and Al Tawdihiyah. The line carries containerised freight between the Gulf port of Dammam and Riyadh, but sand is a perennial problem and teams are on permanent standby to clear ...
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NewsSeries E5 design unveiled
JAPAN: East Japan Railway unveiled the exterior and designs for its next generation of Shinkansen trains on February 3. A pre-production Series E5 trainset is due to be rolled out in June for testing, as a precursor for the fleet to operate between Tokyo and Shin Aomori following the opening ...
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NewsEmissions rules change the landscape
ENGINES: At the end of 2008 Electro-Motive Diesel announced an order from Canadian National Railway for a further 40 SD70M-2 locomotives to be delivered in early 2010. These will use the 710 series diesel engine, which reached a milestone when the 7 500th engine was completed in late 2008. The ...
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NewsWires going up in Iran
IRAN: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin attended a ceremony marking the formal start of work to electrify the line from Tabriz to Azarshahr on February 9. The 46 km line linking central Tabriz to the university town of Azarshahr is being electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz under a ...
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NewsGSM-R preferred bidder named
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF announced on February 13 that it had selected a preferred bidder for the first major PPP project on the French rail network. The tDF consortium has been chosen to negotiate the final details of a 15-year concession to fund and install GSM-R across the network. The ...
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NewsTaking a fresh look at TEN-T
EUROPE: ‘We have come to the conclusion that the situation is in need of review’, confirmed Jonathan Scheele, Director of Transport Logistics & Trans-European Networks at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy & Transport. He was participating in a panel debate on European corridors at the fourth Eurailfreight conference organised ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Friction products manuafcturer Beijing Wabtec Huaxia Technology has been established as a joint venture of Wabtec and Beijing Huaxia United Friendship New Technology of Electrification Development Co. Iran’s Minister of Industries & Mines, opened the first phase of Iran Khodro Rail Industries’ rolling stock factory in Adhar ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market February 2009
Australia: Last month QR’s intermodal business placed a A$70m order with United Group for 12 C44Aci diesel locomotives for delivery from July to December this year. China: Faiveley has recived a €60m contract to supply Datong Locomotives with 489 sets of braking equipment over three years. Czech Republic: This ...
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NewsRhB studies Albula tunnel replacement
SWITZERLAND: Rhätische Bahn is developing proposals for a comprehensive renewal or replacement of the Albula tunnel on the Chur - St Moritz line. Opened in 1903, the 5 865 m tunnel is the highest transalpine bore at 1 800 m above sea level. A major examination in 2006 found ...
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NewsPutting the customer first
REFORM: Belgian national operator SNCB has undertaken a radical restructuring of its freight business to create a more commercially-focused business. But, as group co-ordinator Geert Pauwels explains, there is a lot still to do to ensure the incumbent keeps growing in an increasingly-competitive market.
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NewsAgility Trains to supply Super Express fleet
UK: Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced on February 12 that the Agility Trains consortium of Hitachi, John Laing and Barclays has been selected as preferred bidder for the supply of ‘up to 1 400’ vehicles as part of the government-led Intercity Express Programme. Under the £7·5bn train service provision ...
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NewsDedicated Freight Corridor construction launched
INDIA: Chairman of the United Progressive Alliance ruling coalition Sonia Gandhi formally launched the construction of the eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in a ceremony at Rohtas in Bihar on February 10 (RG 6.08 p383). The eastern DFC will run for 1 279 km from Ludhiana to Sonnagar via Kanpur ...