Latest news – Page 1297
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NewsLausanne Line m2 opens
SWITZERLAND: Commercial services on Lausanne's automatic metro line m2 began on October 27 when the first train left Ouchy station at 05.26 bound for Croisettes. The 6 km route climbs 338 m during the 18 min journey, with gradients of up to 12%. Line m2 took 4½ years to build ...
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NewsPorterbrook Leasing sale agreed
UK: On October 27 Porterbrook Leasing confirmed reports that the company is being sold by its parent Abbey National. A consortium of three European banks has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the rolling stock leasing company, with completion expected by the end of this year subject ...
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NewsPilbara open access from November 20
AUSTRALIA: Three heavy haul iron ore railways in West Australia are to be 'declared' permitting third parties to negotiate open access with effect from November 19, Commonwealth Treasurer Wayne Swan announced on October 27. Swan will 'declare' BHP Billiton's Goldsworthy railway and Rio Tinto's Robe River and Hamersley lines ...
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NewsStreetcar operations are returning steadily
NEW ORLEANS: The first of the 24 Canal Street cars damaged by flooding after Hurricane Katrina returned to the tracks in August, although ridership remains well down, as David Lustig reports.
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NewsWorld infrastructure market October 2008
Australia: QR had awarded the Synergy Alliance joint venture of United Group and Ansaldo STS a A$250m signalling contract as part of a coal capacity upgrading programme. Bulgaria: The Ministry of Transport has awarded Pöyry contracts totalling €1·7m to undertake feasibility studies and design for the modernisation of the 53 ...
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NewsThings are going to get better
SUSTAINABILITY: The world is starting to understand the challenge of climate change, and the public transport sector is demonstrating that it can help to change people's perceptions about the impact of their mobility choices, believes Heather Allen.
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NewsRZD and RENFE sign co-operation agreement
RUSSIA: State railway RZD announced on October 24 that it had signed a six-year agreement with Spain's RENFE Operadora under which the organisations will co-operate to share their experiences in areas including the selection, production, operation and maintenance of high-speed trains. The companies will also discuss passenger and ...
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NewsBeNEX wins second Bayern contract
GERMANY: BeNEX has announced the award of its second passenger operating contract in Bayern this year, with the section of the partnership of Hamburger Hochbahn and Babcock & Brown to opertate Dieselnetz Oberfranken services from mid-2011 to 2023. The contract covers 4·5 million train-km a year. 'This success is ...
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NewsOpen access operator to take on ÖBB
AUSTRIA: Plans to run passenger services in competition with Austrian Federal Railways were unveiled in Wien on October 16. Starting in 2011, trains would run hourly between Wien and Salzburg, with Bratislava and München to follow if they are successful. The project is the brainchild of industrialist Hans-Peter Haselsteiner ...
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NewsSBB Cargo pulls potential partners
SWITZERLAND: Strong interest in SBB Cargo was evident when bids to work in partnership with the freight operator closed. As many as 25 organisations had submitted expressions of interest by September 22, and 14 of these had handed in firm offers by the October 15 deadline. Head of SBB ...
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NewsNorrström Tunnel contract placed
SWEDEN: Banverket has awarded NCC Construction the SKr1·5bn contract for the Norrström tunnel, the section of the Stockholm Citybanan project between Riddarholmen and Gamla Brogatan. The work will be carried out under a new partnership model with Banverket. The contract covers the construction of a two-platform City station beneath ...
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NewsCross-city high speed contract
SPAIN: Infrastructure authority ADIF has awarded a joint venture of Dragados, FCC, Copisa and Tecsa a €206m contract to build the third underground route connecting Atocha and Chamartín stations in Madrid, comprising two 1 435 mm gauge tracks for use by high speed services. The 7·3 km route will run ...
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NewsCourt decision favours heavy haul access
AUSTRALIA: A unanimous decision of the high court has ruled that BHP Billiton Iron Ore's Mount Newman and Goldsworthy railways are 'services', rather than part of the 'production process', and so the miner is obliged to negotiate third party access with competitor Fortescue Metals on a commercial basis. ...
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NewsMarmaray tunnel completed
TURKEY: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an joined ceremonies in Istanbul on October 13 to mark completion of the immersed-tube tunnel which will carry the Marmaray rail link under the Bosporus. After removing the last seal from the final segment, Erdo?an was able to walk through the tunnel ...
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NewsWinterised wider Flirt
FINLAND: The first 1 524 mm gauge EMU to be built by Stadler was rolled out at the Bussnang plant in Switzerland on October 7. The four-car Flirt is part of a €190m order for 32 units placed in August 2006 by Pääkaupunkiseudun Junakalusto, a body formed by state railway ...
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NewsKiwiRail structure finalised
NEW ZEALAND: The final structure of the renationalised rail industry came into effect on October 1. Operator KiwiRail and infrastructure manager Ontrack are now separate operating units of New Zealand Railways Corp, the legacy body which held remaining assets after the now-reversed privatisation in the 1990s. The previous NZ ...
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NewsDiesel-battery hybrid trial ends
UK: Brush Traction is to return the Class 43 HST power car used to test lithium ion battery hybrid traction technology to its original diesel-only specification. Developed with Hitachi and Porterbrook Leasing, the Hayabusa power car has been running as part of Network Rail’s New Measurement Train since 2007 (RG ...
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NewsDesiro design is evolving
UK: Siemens rolled out the first of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro EMUs for train operator London Midland in a ceremony at the Wildenrath test centre in Germany on October 8. The use of an existing design has allowed first unit to be completed within 15 months of the contract ...
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NewsAnsaldo STS wins in Turkish market
TURKEY: State railway TCDD has named a joint venture of Ansaldo STS subsidiaries Ansaldo Segnalamento Ferroviario and Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari as the preferred bidder to design, supply and commission signalling and telecommunications equipment on two routes. The €126m contract to be signed next month gives Ansaldo STS its ...
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NewsBangalore Metro programme gathers pace
INDIA: With tendering well underway for the first phase of the Bangalore metro, Delhi Metro Rail Corp has been appointed as consultant for Phase II. Phase I consists of two routes running north-south and east-west, intersecting at Majestic. The 33 km standard gauge line will have 35 stations. The 14·9 ...