News – Page 130
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NewsRailcoop makes progress with DMU fleet but passenger service launch remains elusive
FRANCE: Community interest open access operator Railcoop says that an initial audit by ACC-M of the X72500 diesel multiple-units it has acquired for its planned Lyon – Bordeaux service found that they are in good condition. Railcoop has taken on a fleet of nine DMUs from ...
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Metro Report InternationalLisboa – Cascais suburban line voltage conversion contract awarded
PORTUGAL: A €31·6m contract for the modernisation of the Lisboa Cais do Sodré – Cascais suburban line and the conversion of its electrification from 1·5 kV DC to 25 kV 50 Hz has been awarded to the Spanish-Portuguese Comsa/Fergrupo consortium. The re-electrification will make the line ...
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NewsOperail sells Ukrainian wagon fleet
UKRAINE: Estonian state-owned rail freight company Operail has sold 552 wagons located in Ukraine to a joint venture of local transport, infrastructure and agriculture investor Fortior Capital and Estonian wagon leasing company Teslar Trans for €6·51m Operail said the sale was ‘not related to the Russian ...
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NewsKlagenfurt – Weizelsdorf line electrified
AUSTRIA: A €50m 18-month project to modernise and electrify the 12·1 km Klagenfurt – Weizelsdorf line was completed when the route re-opened for revenue services with the December 11 timetable change. The line is Route S3 of the Kärnten S-Bahn network. According to operator ÖBB, the ...
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Rail Business UKMidlands Rail Hub upgrade package dubbed ‘biggest step possible in levelling-up the Midlands’
UK: Sub-national transport body Midlands Connect has published Going for Growth, proposing up to £1·5bn of new or improved infrastructure in 2025-30 to ‘transform east-west connections in the Midlands’ by facilitating the operation of more than 100 extra trains. The outline business case for the ‘biggest ...
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NewsŠkoda developing battery-electric multiple-unit
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Transportation is developing a battery-electric multiple-unit for national operator České Dráhy. The Type 15Ev3 BEMU is based on Škoda’s Class 650.2 RegioPanter two-car EMU, and will be capable of operating under 3 kV DC or 25 kV 50 Hz electrification, and by using ...
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NewsA Stucki recapitalisation completed
USA: Middle-market private equity firm Stellex Capital Management and investment company Eldridge have completed the recapitalisation of rolling stock component, remanufacturing and logistics services company A Stucki Co, which operates 21 facilities in the USA, Mexico and Brazil. ‘We believe Stucki is an exceptional business with ...
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NewsJade Dragon Snow Mountain railway opens
CHINA: A new railway has been opened to connect the UNESCO World Heritage listed Old Town of Lijiang with the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, offering a less congested and polluting alternative to the existing road. The 20·8 km Lijiang sightseeing railway was designed and ...
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NewsICE3neo enters passenger service
GERMANY: The first of 73 ICE3neo high speed trainsets that Siemens Mobility is supplying to Deutsche Bahn entered service on the Frankfurt – Köln line on December 5.
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Rail Business UKCompetition concerns over Hitachi’s planned acquisition of Thales signalling business
UK: The Competition & Markets Authority has expressed concern that Hitachi Rail’s planned acquisition of Thales’ Ground Transportation Business could eliminate a credible competitor for the supply of signalling systems, at a time when efforts are being made to increase competition in the UK market. Hitachi ...
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In depthIndia: Traction for a decarbonised future
As its ambitious electrification programme nears completion, Indian Railways has been adjusting its traction policies and revising its procurement strategies for the coming years, reports Raghu Dayal.
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Rail Business UKInterview: c2c focuses on climate and community
Sometimes misrepresented as a recently modernised operation, the c2c suburban business which runs trains between London and Essex is in need of investment. Managing Director Rob Mullen sets out his priorities to Nick Kingsley.
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NewsPPP investor Plenary targets Europe
UK: Infrastructure concession investor Plenary Group has opened a London office to support its plans for expansion in Europe. Plenary currently has 79 assets worth more than US$45bn under management in Australia, Canada, the USA and the UAE. Transport projects include Toronto’s Ontario Line and the ...
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Rail Business UKFunding available for rail construction innovation projects
UK: Innovators from across the UK are being invited to submit proposals for the Innovation in Railway Construction Competition, which is making £7·44m available for ideas which could be tested at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence in South Wales. The competition is being run by ...
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NewsAfrican Development Bank supports Uganda rail link renewals
UGANDA: The African Development Bank has approved a US$301m financing package to support the ongoing renovation of Uganda Railways Corp’s metre-gauge main line between Kampala and the Kenyan border at Malaba.
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NewsMOB to launch gauge-changing Montreux – Interlaken GoldenPass Express
SWITZERLAND: December 11 will mark the start of a long-awaited through service by luxury train between Interlaken and Montreux. Operated by Montreux-Oberland Bahn and BLS Lötschbergbahn, the gauge-changing GoldenPass Express service is expected to become a major attraction between the two lakeside resorts.
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NewsChina starts work on more high speed lines as 'eight by eight' network takes shape
CHINA: Construction has started on three more sections of high speed line totalling 923 km in central China, and on one 310 km line in the Shanghai area which includes a 29 km bridge across the Hangzhou Bay.
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Rail Business UKModernisation and efficiency improvements included in High Level Output Specification
UK: There is ‘an urgent need for continued modernisation and significant efficiency improvements to bear down on the cost of the railway’, according to the High Level Output Specification which sets out what the Secretary of State wants to be achieved from the management of rail ...