Latest news – Page 992
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NewsDB orders multi-engine locos for Sylt Shuttle service
GERMANY: Deustche Bahn has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to supply seven Traxx Multi-Engine diesel-electric locomotives for use on the Sylt Shuttle car-carrying service across the 11 km Hindenburgdamm causeway which connects the North Sea island of Sylt with mainland Schleswig-Holstein. The contract announced on June 6 has been placed ...
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NewsAAE acquires majority stake in ZSSK Cargo wagon fleet
SLOVAKIA: European wagon leasing company AAE has been selected to acquire a majority stake in the Cargo Wagon fleet management subsidiary of state-owned freight operator ZSSK Cargo for €7m. In July 2013 the government approved a restructuring plan under which ZSSK Cargo is to concentrate on freight operations, with its ...
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NewsBNDES funds São Paulo Line 6
BRAZIL: On June 4 national development bank BNDES announced that it had agreed to provide R$4∙47bn to the São Paulo state government, 39∙2% of the cost of building metro Line 6 in the city of São Paulo. The state government is providing 13∙9% from its own resources, with the remaining ...
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NewsHefei and Hangzhou order metro trains
CHINA: Hefei Urban Rail Transit Co has awarded rolling stock supplier Nanjing SR Puzhen Rail Transport Co a 0·9bn yuan contract to deliver trainsets for Phases 1 and 2 of its Line 1 project in 2015-16. Hangzhou Metro Group has awarded NPRT a 1·1bn yuan contract to supply trainsets for ...
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NewsStockholm's first Lidingö light rail vehicle on test
SWEDEN: The first of seven Urbos Axle low-floor light rail vehicles which CAF is supplying to Stockholm's SL is now being tested at the Petite-Forêt test centre near Valenciennes in France. Designated A36 by SL, the 1 435 mm gauge cars are similar to 15 A35 cars which CAF has ...
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NewsColas Rail and TNT test express rail logistics
UK: On the night of June 4-5, Colas Rail and TNT Express operated a trial freight train from Rugby to London Euston, carrying express parcels and perishable products for distribution in central London. Organised by consultancy Intermodality, the train was intended to demonstrate the feasibility of using rail for ‘high-speed, ...
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NewsChinese firm MA Steel acquires Valdunes
FRANCE: The Commercial Court in Valenciennes has approved a bid by Chinese steel and railway wheel supplier MA Steel to take over the activities of wheelset manufacturer Valdunes, which had entered receivership in April. The deal includes the Valdunes plant in Dunkerque, which has the only dedicated wheel forge ...
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NewsKapsch CarrierCom to supply RFF with all-IP GSM-R core network
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF and its GSM-R installation and maintenance PPP concessionaire Synerail have awarded Kapsch CarrierCom a contract to modernise the GSM-R network with an all-IP core based on Kapsch’s R4 architecture. Kaspch says this will improve reliability and form the basis for new applications such as Railway ...
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NewsGreenbrier and Watco to combine wagon maintenance activities
USA: Wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies and short line and wagon repair group Watco are to combine their wagon repair, refurbishment and maintenance workshops through the formation of an equally-owned joint venture to be known as GBW Railcar Services. Announcing the plan on June 4, the companies said the ...
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NewsDB Schenker Rail opens European control centre
EUROPE: As part of its transition from being a German rail freight operator to a ‘truly European’ business, DB Schenker Rail inaugurated a new European Operations Centre in Frankfurt on June 2. At present, the company operates through 15 national companies, but its CEO Alexander Hedderich said the intention is ...
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NewsVR calls tenders for double-deck inter-city fleet
FINLAND: National operator VR Group has begun procurement of 46 double-deck coaches for 200 km/h inter-city services, with options for a further 185. These would replace the current Express coaches dating from the 1970s and 1980s which are nearing the end of their life. Announcing the European tender on June ...
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NewsĐuro Đaković and Newag sign locomotive manufacturing agreement
EUROPE: Croatian wagon manufacturer Đuro Đaković and Poland’s Newag Gliwice have signed a co-operation agreement which could see a 25 kV 50 Hz version of Newag’s Griffin E4ACU electric locomotive produced at Đuro Đaković’s Slavonski Brod plant for Croatian and other markets. Đuro Đaković formerly produced diesel locomotives, but now ...
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NewsDoncaster North Chord grade separation completed
UK: The 3·2 km Doncaster North Chord, built to carry east–west freight trains above the north–south East Coast Main Line on a new bridge, carried its first revenue freight trains on June 1. The grade separation project is designed to eliminate the need for slow-moving bulk freight trains from the ...
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NewsNingbo’s first metro line opens
CHINA: The initial section of Ningbo Rail Transit Line 1 opened to passengers at 10.00 on May 30. Line 1 is the first of five totalling 248 km which the port city in northeast Zhejiang province plans to open by 2020. Phase 1 of Line 1 runs 20·9 km west ...
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NewsILCAD 2014 targets professional drivers
INTERNATIONAL: Railway operators in more than 45 countries across the world are participating in the sixth International Level Crossing Awareness Day on June 3. The campaign is intended to raise public awareness of the safety risks surrounding level crossings, in order to change the behaviour of road users, including vehicle ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - June 2014
A public enquiry in June will consider plans to build the 10·3 km light rail route T9 between Porte de Choisy on Paris metro Line 7 and Orly Ville. Construction would begin in 2016 for opening in 2020. The line is estimated to cost €359m plus €71·5m for 22 trams. ...
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NewsThales wins Network Rail Traffic Management System contracts
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has formally confirmed Thales UK as the winner of the first two contracts for the deployment of the national Traffic Management System. Network Rail is planning to consolidate control of Great Britain’s rail network from more than 800 signalboxes into 12 rail operating centres ...
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NewsRapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad begins operations
USA: The newly-established Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad subsidiary of short line and regional railway group Genesee & Wyoming began operating freight trains on the west end of the former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern network on June 1. This follows the completion of a deal to acquire around 1 ...
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NewsEVRAZ ships its first 100 m rails
RUSSIA: Rail manufacturer EVRAZ ZSMK announced on June 2 that it had dispatched its first batch of 100 m long head-hardened rails for Russian Railways. This follows the completion of an 18bn rouble modernisation of its rail and beam mill which began in 2009. The upgrade has increased the plant’s ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
The New York subway has completed 12 months of testing with a compressed air dryer designed by Norgren, which it says will have an average service-free life of up to six years. Instead of a clay binder, the dryer uses adsorbent media tube technology to house the ...