Latest news – Page 1376
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NewsPreferred bidder selected for CDG Express concession
FRANCE: Minister of State for Environment, Energy & Sustainable Development Jean-Louis Borloo and Transport Secretary Dominique Bussereau announced on July 1 that they had selected a preferred bidder to finance, build and manage the Charles de Gaulle Express airport rail link. Five consortia had been prequalified in January 2007 to ...
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NewsKiwiRail launch marks end of 'failed' privatisation
NEW ZEALAND: Prime Minister Helen Clark unveiled KiwiRail as the name for the rail and ferry operations which were transferred from Toll New Zealand into government ownership on July 1. Services will initially be unchanged, with KiwiRail controlled by an establishment board chaired by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger; ...
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People in the News - July 2008
Antonio Tajani was appointed Transport Commissioner for the European Union on June 16. The Italian MEP succeeds Jacques Barrot, who has taken over responsibility for justice and migration following the departure of Franco Frattini. Tajani has committed to continue with Barrot's rail policy initiatives, and to promote trans-European rail freight ...
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Brilliant orange
SWITZERLAND: The unprecedented invasion of Swiss cities by football fans attending the UEFA European Championship forced SBB into an unusual strategic re-think. The effervescent performances of the Netherlands team in the group stage of the tournament offered an additional incentive for thousands of Dutch supporters to travel with their team. ...
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Frankfurt LRV handed over
GERMANY: Frankfurt Transport Authority VGF has taken delivery of the first of 146 Flexity Swift light rail vehicles which are being built by Bombardier. A further 11 will be supplied from the Bautzen factory this year, with deliveries continuing until autumn 2015. The bi-directional vehicles have been custom designed for ...
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Tren Suburbano inaugurated
MEXICO: The first 20 km of a planned suburban rail network in Mexico City was inaugurated on June 2, following three weeks of fare-free trial operations. Known locally as El Tren Suburbano, the line links the former inter-city terminus at Buenavista with Cuautitlán in the north, using an existing right-of-way ...
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UIC training centre opens
SOUTH KOREA: The International Union of Railways officially inaugurated its training centre for the Asia region during the recent statutory meetings in Seoul. International Railway Training Centre Asia is located at Korail's Railway Human Resources Institute in Uiwang, close to the South Korean capital. The ceremony was followed by the ...
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NewsEIB funds Warszawa - Gdynia upgrade
POLAND: Infrastructure manage PKP PLK signed a €400m loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on June 30. The money will fund the modernisation of the main line between Warszawa, Gdansk and Gdynia to enable trains to run at up to 200 km/h. Current speed restrictions on the 350 ...
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NewsFunding boost for Manchester
UK: In a statement to the House of Commons on June 9, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly 'granted programme entry' to the first business case requesting support from the Transport Innovation Fund for a major programme of local transport enhancements. This was submitted in July 2007 by the Association of Greater ...
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NewsSiemens to supply PKP Intercity locos
POLAND: Siemens is to supply PKP Intercity with 10 Eurosprinter ES64U4 multi-system electric locomotives for 200 km/h passenger services, the Polish national operator announced on June 27. Siemens submitted the only bid in response to the call for tenders, pricing the locomotives at €44·5m. The purchase will be financed ...
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Library-a-Go-Go
USA: San Francisco metro operator BART and Costa County public libraries have launched Library-a-Go-Go, an automated book lending machine at Pittsburg/Bay Point station. Anyone with a library card can check out up to three books, returning them three weeks later. Four machines are planned, each offering 400 books selected ...
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NewsKei Rail revival will support regional development
SOUTH AFRICA The return of passenger and freight services on a 282 km branch line in Eastern Cape province is part of a balanced strategy; the railway is driving local economic development, which in turn generates enough traffic to keep the railway sustainable. Rollo Dickson reports
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NewsRoyal opening at Knorr-Bremse factory
SPAIN: A factory bringing two Spanish subsidies of Knorr-Bremse together on one site was formally opened in the presence of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and Princess Letizia on June 25. Situated at Getafe, 20 km south of Madrid, the factory houses Knorr-Bremse's braking and door systems subsidiary Frenos and ...
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NewsSBB announces Zürich double deck orders
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways announced major rolling stock contracts worth a total of SFr1·5bn on June 30. The competition to supply Zürich's third generation of double-deck coaches has been won by Stadler, which will supply 50 six-car EMUs worth SFr1·02bn. They will be the first double-deck trains to be ...
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Vossloh confirms sale of Infrastructure Services
EUROPE: On June 30 Vossloh Group announced its acceptance of a €150m bid for its Vossloh Infrastructure Services business unit from Vinci Group company Eurovia. Acquired as part of the Cogifer Group in 2002, Vossloh Infrastructure Services undertakes track and electrification construction and maintenance. It has a workforce of ...
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NewsVelaro sets Chinese speed record
CHINA: On June 24 a CRH3 trainset from the Siemens Velaro family of high speed trains set a Chinese steel-wheel rail speed record of 394·3 km/h.
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NewsEdmonton light rail vehicle unveiled
CANADA: The first of 37 Siemens SD160 cars ordered to double the fleet size in advance of the opening of Edmonton's South Line light rail extension was publicly unveiled on June 23. The €77m contract was awarded to Siemens in October 2005, partly funded through fuel taxes. The first ...
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NewsDB Schenker increases BLS Cargo stake
EUROPE: Swiss railway group BLS has sold a 25% stake in BLS Cargo to DB Schenker, which now holds 45% of the freight operator. The deal was an option on the 2002 agreement between DB and BLS to co-operate on north-south trans-Alpine freight traffic. The contracts were concluded on ...
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NewsSympathetic operator wanted
AUSTRALIA: Tasmania's Premier David Bartlett said on June 17 that the state government is keen to find a new train operator to secure the future of the island's rail network. The previous week, Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturgess confirmed that Pacific National was looking to sell its local rail freight ...
