Latest news – Page 1296

  • News

    Shenzhen prepares for Line 5 construction

    2008-11-01T10:47:00Z

    CHINA: Shenzhen Metro has awarded a contract worth 9·3bn yuan to China Railway Group to construct Line 5 on a build and transfer basis. Linking Shenzen West with Longhua, Line 5 will be 41 km long with 27 stations and a rolling stock depot. It is due to open to ...

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    News

    French independent rail regulator to be created

    2008-11-01T10:37:00Z

    FRANCE: Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau presented a bill to cabinet on September 10 paving the way for the establishment of an independent rail regulator. Intended to ensure that there is no discrimination against operators wishing to gain access to the national network, the bill is due to ...

  • Money.
    News

    Tazara hopes rise on investment plan

    2008-11-01T08:00:00Z

    TANZANIA: Plans to invest US$950m to expand the country’s rail network were announced by Minister of Infrastructure Development Dr Shukuru Kawamba in August. He confirmed that consultants were working on a feasibility study in line with a strategy outlined in the East African Railway Master Plan. Kwambwa says development will ...

  • Impression of metro train proposal.
    News

    Sydney metro project 'deferred'

    2008-10-31T14:57:00Z

    AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Transport Minister David Campbell has announced that the proposed North West metro in Sydney is to be deferred because of 'the size of capital required and the current economic climate'. 'The Government is facing tough decisions as part of the mini-budget process', Campbell said on ...

  • Canadian Pacific locomotives.
    News

    CP completes Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern takeover

    2008-10-31T09:59:00Z

    USA: Canadian Pacific Railway marked its first day of operational control of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp and its subsidiaries Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad and Cedar American Rail Holdings on October 30. This followed the end of a 30-day regulatory standstill after the Surface Transport Board finally ...

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    News

    'We are very modest'

    2008-10-31T08:30:00Z

    CZECH REPUBLIC: Meeting the requirements of EU legislation whilst continuing to develop passenger and freight operations across the Czech Republic is a tough task. Nick Kingsley met Vojtech Kocourek, Minister with responsibility for railways, in Praha to discuss railway restructuring, the future of regional lines and relations with Brussels.

  • Green Cargo freight train.
    News

    Green Cargo orders Traxx locos for steel contract

    2008-10-30T16:18:00Z

    SWEDEN: Green Cargo has placed a €51m order with Bombardier for 16 Traxx F140AC electric locomotives. To be delivered between February and July 2010, they will be used on freight trains to be operated under a 10-year contract with steel sheet and plate producer SSAB. Green Cargo's SKr2·5bn transport ...

  • NS passenger train.
    News

    Room on the Rails

    2008-10-30T15:00:00Z

    NETHERLANDS: An ambitious vision for a massive increase in traffic on the national rail network by 2020 was unveiled by Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings on September 3. The government is projecting a 5% annual increase in rail patronage, as well as further growth in rail freight. HSL-Zuid and the Betuwe ...

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    News

    Estonia to join international traffic agreement

    2008-10-30T13:58:00Z

    ESTONIA: The Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) announced on October that 30 Estonia is to accede to the COTIF convention with effect from January 1 2009. COTIF established a uniform system of laws governing international rail freight (CIM) and passenger (CIV) transport. Estonia will be the ...

  • KZ4A locomotive.
    News

    China South awarded Kazak loco contract

    2008-10-30T12:00:00Z

    KAZAKHSTAN: The Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive subsidiary of China South announced a US$100m order to supply locomotives to Kazak state railway KTZ on October 23. The Chinese firm was selected from three international bidders. The 4·8 MW locos will have AC drives and a top speed of 200 km/h. CSR ...

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    News

    Iarnród Éireann to order 432 DART cars

    2008-10-30T09:00:00Z

    IRELAND: Despite the economic downturn and drastic cutbacks in public finances, Iarnród Éireann is going ahead with a plan to order 432 EMU cars for Dublin's DART suburban services at a cost of nearly €900m. This will be the largest order for coaches placed by the national railway, which has ...

  • Generic electrified railway.
    News

    Wires down, complaints up

    2008-10-30T08:00:00Z

    FRANCE: Leaving passengers stranded for hours on trains going nowhere is guaranteed to generate plenty of negative publicity, and a series of unfortunate catenary-related incidents last month in France was no exception. Trouble started during a peak holiday weekend when 400 m of overhead wires were ripped down at Aubagne ...

  • News

    Roller-coaster commute

    2008-10-29T16:45:00Z

    JAPAN: An experimental light metro using roller coaster-style technology is to be built at the Chiba test site of Tokyo University’s Institute of Industrial Science. The Eco Ride metro will use equipment supplied by theme park ride manufacturers Senyo Kogyo and Senyo Kiko. Track-mounted drive units will ...

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    News

    SNCB in the firing line

    2008-10-29T16:00:00Z

    BELGIUM: Early last month La Libre Belgique published excerpts from an interim report drawn up by the Audit Commission (Cour des Comptes) which said Belgian National Railways had broken European rules on public financing. Specifically, the newspaper highlighted a sum of €426m forming part of a €510m government grant ...

  • Photo: DB AG/Ralf Kranert
    News

    Study to look at Berlin - Moscow Talgo service

    2008-10-29T11:46:00Z

    RUSSIA: RZD and Patentes Talgo have signed a memorandum of intent to study the feasibility of using Talgo VII gauge-changing rolling stock on hotel train services between Moscow and Berlin. RZD will provide forecasts of future passenger volumes and the economic benefits of improved services between Moscow, Minsk and ...

  • DSB trains.
    News

    Capacity boost is needed

    2008-10-29T10:38:00Z

    DENMARK: September 22 saw the start of a public enquiry into plans by the national rail authority Trafikstyrelsen into ways of expanding capacity on the country’s busiest line between København and Ringsted. The project was launched in 1998, when the former rail infrastructure authority Banstyrelsen recognised that the existing main ...

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    News

    World rolling stock market October 2008

    2008-10-29T08:10:00Z

    Australia: Refurbishment of the 60-car CountryLink XPT fleet has been completed. This included modernising the seats, fitting new toilets and carpets, upgrading the air-conditioning and installing new equipment in the buffet cars. Stage two of the A$42m upgrade is the overhaul of the 19 XPT power cars, due for completion ...

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    News

    US$560m loan for Tikhvin wagon plant

    2008-10-28T16:46:00Z

    RUSSIA: Vnesheconombank, Eurasian Development Bank and Nomos-Bank have agreed a US$560m loan to ICT Group towards the US$800m development of Tikhvin Railway Car Building Plant, which is due to start production in 2010 on a former Transmash site in Leningrad oblast. Vnesheconombank and EDB are each proving US$215m for ...

  • ER20CF locomotive.
    News

    LG takes up option on 10 Eurorunners

    2008-10-28T10:00:00Z

    LITHUANIA: State railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai has exercised an option for a further 10 Siemens ER20CF freight locomotives, which will be delivered between May and September 2010 in a deal worth more than €35m including maintenance. The 120 km/h locomotives are an option on a €123m order for 34 placed ...

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    News

    Contracts October 2008

    2008-10-28T08:00:00Z

    Chile: Zenitel and Sometec are to supply and maintain communication links between train drivers and the control centre on two extensions to Santiago metro lines 1 and 5. China The Ministry of Railways has awarded HLS Systems and Hitachi a contract to provide control systems for the 105 km ...