News – Page 118
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NewsIrún station rebuilding contract awarded
SPAIN: Infrastructure manager ADIF has awarded OHLA and Construcciones Adolfo Sobrino a €55m contract to build a replacement station building at Irún on the French border. This will support an expected increase in traffic when the station ceases to be a break-of-gauge with 1 435 mm ...
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Rail Business UKArriva calls for open access summit
UK: Arriva has called for an ‘open access summit’ to enable the rail industry to ’collectively work through the barriers and agree practical steps for unleashing more of these innovative services, including through making best use of unused capacity on the network’. In the George Bradshaw ...
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In depthFrance: Developing concepts to revive rural lines
France’s policy of abandoning rural lines has been halted and the stage is set for a revival of lightly used or closed routes. Driven partly by efforts to decarbonise the economy, several low-cost operating and maintenance concepts are being developed with state support, reports Reinhard Christeller.
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NewsErfurter Bahn DMU refurbishment financed
GERMANY: Commercial bank Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen has arranged financing for the overhaul and refurbishment of 29 Erfurter Bahn RegioShuttle diesel multiple-units. Following an international tender, in November 2022, the Land of Thüringen awarded incumbent Erfurter Bahn the Ostthüringennetz contract to operate passenger services around Erfurt, Weimar, ...
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NewsInland Rail construction underway in Victoria
AUSTRALIA: A groundbreaking ceremony in Glenrowan on February 1 marked start of main construction works for the section of the 1 700 km Melbourne - Brisbane Inland Rail freight corridor in the state of Victoria. The Inland Rail route will follow the existing North East Rail ...
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NewsState aid for wagonload traffic must not distort the market, says ERFA
EUROPE: Financial support for single wagon traffic could play an important role in achieving EU modal shift targets, but it must be focused on last-mile services and avoid distorting the market for services which are viable without support, according to the European Rail Freight Association. ‘The ...
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Rail Business UKWest Coast Main Line electro-diesels on test
UK: The first two of 13 Hitachi Class 805 electro-diesel trainsets ordered for Avanti West Coast services are undergoing testing on the West Coast Main Line ahead of entry into service later this year. This follows two months of dynamic testing at Network Rail’s Rail Innovation ...
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NewsDB proposes high performance network
GERMANY: A preliminary plan for a programme of 40 short, medium and long-term infrastructure projects to improve the performance and capacity of the rail network has been produced by Deutsche Bahn as a basis for discussion with the government. The proposals cover 4 200 route-km, with ...
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NewsEgyptian coach maintenance agreement signed
EGYPT: Chairman of Egyptian National Railways Mohamed Amer and Transmashholding Vice-President Sergo Kurbanov have signed a €430m, 12-year agreement for the maintenance of the coaches which are being supplied under a contract agreed in 2018. So far 725 of the 1 350 ordered coaches have been ...
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NewsTCDD starts work on first solar traction power plant
TURKEY: Infrastructure manager TCDD has begun construction of a 100 MW solar power plant at Boğazlıyan southeast of Ankara at a cost of TL780m. The plant is the largest of 10 that TCDD is taking forward as part of efforts to generate 75% of its power ...
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NewsFinnish dry port opens
FINLAND: The Kouvola Rail & Road Terminal has been completed, roughly equidistant from the Russian border and the port of Helsinki and near to the ports of Hamina and Kotka. The terminal has been developed by the city of Kouvola, which says it is Finland’s first ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Western Railway operating contract extended
UK: The Department for Transport has exercised an option to extend South Western Railway’s National Rail Contract for a further two years. Directly-awarded NRCs are intended as an interim step between the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements which were put in place during the pandemic, and the ...
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Rail Business UKAlstom opens national training academy in Derby
UK: Local Member of Parliament Dame Margaret Beckett opened Alstom’s £250 000 National Training Centre at its Litchurch Lane factory in Derby on February 7. The company plans to take on 120 apprentices and graduates in the UK this year, with all spending time at the ...
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NewsRegioJet orders 13 electric locomotives
EUROPE: Czech open access operator RegioJet has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 13 Traxx MS3 electric locomotives equipped with ETCS and national signalling systems for use in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Germany. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2024. ‘We currently ...
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In depthFrance: Start-ups energise the passenger market
Open access passenger operators have so far had limited success in penetrating the French market, but a medley of ambitious entrepreneurs is now tackling the task. Jérémie Anne reports.
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NewsRENFE to create French subsidiary
FRANCE: The board of Spain’s national operator RENFE is to seek Spanish government approval for the formation of a French subsidiary to take advantage of the ongoing liberalisation of that market. Announcing its plan to set up a French business on February 2, RENFE said it ...
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NewsDowner selected for Queensland rolling stock contract
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the selection of Downer as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 65 six-car trains for use in the southeast of the state as part of the Queensland Train Manufacturing Programme. The 1 067 mm gauge trains are to ...
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NewsFranco-Swiss TGV partnership extended for five more years
EUROPE: The TGV Lyria cross-border passenger train partnership of France’s SNCF Voyageurs (74%) and Switzerland’s SBB (26%) has been extended for a further five years. The co-operation dates back 30 years. There are 17 return trips per day across the Genève – Paris, Lausanne – Paris ...