News – Page 170
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NewsAurizon bulk freight locos enter service
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon has taken delivery of the first four of 10 diesel locomotives which UGL’s Newcastle factory is supplying for hauling copper, lead, zinc and grain trains in New South Wales and Western Australia. The first four locos are being used to haul minerals at Cobar ...
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NewsChemical train emergency simulated
GERMANY: A large-scale chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives emergency response training exercise has used disco fog and public volunteers to simulate a chemical leak from a freight train near a station. The exercise hosted by the Dortmund fire brigade enabled 130 ...
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NewsNational Railway Equipment Co’s CEO gets ready to make some noise
USA: Merritt Becker has been appointed as CEO of new and remanufactured locomotive, marine and power equipment supplier National Railway Equipment Co with effect from June 1. Becker succeeds Steven L Beal who died suddenly in 2020 at the age of 46, 10 years after having ...
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NewsWinner of 510-train framework contract confirmed
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Administrative Court has rejected Alstom’s challenge to the decision by Swiss Federal Railways, Thurbo and RegionAlps to award Stadler a framework contract for the supply of up to 510 electric multiple-units. The tendering process began in May 2020, with SBB and its two ...
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NewsTranshipment capacity doubles at Kazakh border rail terminal
KAZAKHSTAN: The second stage of the Dostyk TransTerminal container terminal at the break-of-gauge on Kazakhstan’s border with China has opened, doubling capacity.
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Rail Business UKAnalytics to improve rolling stock condition monitoring
UK: University of Strathclyde spin-off company Bellrock Technology is working with leasing company Angel Trains to provide a ‘proof of value’ showing how its Lumen analytics software can improve rolling stock condition monitoring. One four-week project will look at obtaining more meaningful data from door fault ...
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Rail Business UKIndustry responds to launch of cross-London Elizabeth Line
UK: Organisations from the across the rail sector have commented on the opening of London’s Elizabeth Line on May 24. Politics Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said ’the Elizabeth Line is a beacon of British success, not just for this marvel of engineering but ...
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Rail Business UKLondon’s Elizabeth Line opens at last
UK: Elizabeth Line services began running on the Crossrail core route across central London on May 24, with an initial 12 trains/h linking Paddington station in the west to Abbey Wood in the southeast.
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In depthFrance: Newcomers still face market entry hurdles
With France’s passenger market finally open to competition, a report from regulatory body ART finds that various barriers still hinder access for new entrants. Jérémie Anne asks ART President Bernard Roman what lessons have been learnt and what lies ahead.
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NewsTibet railway electrification announced
CHINA: Plans to electrify the 1 136 km Golmud – Lhasa section of the Qinghai – Tibet railway have been announced by the autonomous region’s Development & Reform Commission. Work is scheduled to start in June 2022 and take three years. The cost is estimated at ...
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Metro Report InternationalSão Paulo train door order
BRAZIL: Wabtec has announced its largest South American train door order, covering the supply of 2 304 doors for 36 eight-car Series 8900 Metropolis trains which Alstom is building for São Paulo suburban lines 8 (Diamante) and 9 (Esmeralda). The EMUs were ordered in July 2021 ...
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NewsAustralian government’s plans are positive for the rail industry, says ARA
AUSTRALIA: The Australasian Railway Association says the newly-elected federal government ‘is likely to be positive for the Australian rail industry’, given commitments which were announced in the lead-up to the election. The incoming Labor government’s National Rail Manufacturing Plan and National Reconstruction Fund would support ...
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In depthJapan: Facing a rural railway conundrum
Population decline, urban migration, rising car ownership and better local roads mean that traffic on many of Japan’s rural railways is falling. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism is addressing the issue and an action plan is to be drawn up by July. Mike Bent investigates.
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Metro Report InternationalSEPTA looks globally to inform Reimagining Regional Rail development strategy
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is seeking feedback on options for the long-term development of passenger services around Philadelphia, which it says are currently focused on traditional suburban commuters but could be used to create a ‘lifestyle transit network’ of frequent all-day and all-week rail and ...
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NewsVIA Rail President & CEO steps down
CANADA: Cynthia Garneau resigned as President & CEO of VIA Rail with effect from May 20. Chief Commercial Affairs Officer Martin Landry has been appointed to ‘ensure business continuity’ at the national passenger train operator. ‘After three wonderful years of diverse achievements, exciting challenges, and enriching ...
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NewsMérida – Sevilla route to get signalling and telecoms enhancements
SPAIN: ADIF has awarded Siemens Rail Automation and FCC Industrial e Infraestructuras Energéticas a contract to eliminate telephone block signalling on the only remaining section of the Mérida – Sevilla route which has not yet been upgraded.
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NewsComposite floors ordered for Danish EMUs
DENMARK: In its largest project to date, Portuguese company MCG Transportation is to manufacture the floors for the 100 five-car Coradia Stream electric multiple-units which Danish national operator DSB has ordered from Alstom. The composite floor units are being designed and produced to meet Alstom’s specific ...
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NewsStreet-running railway goes underground
SWITZERLAND: Chemin de fer Lausanne-Echallens-Bercher’s 1 km tunnel from the underground Lausanne-Flon terminus to Lausanne-Chauderon has been extended by 1·7 km to Union-Prilly, replacing a street-running section of single track line along Avenue d’Echallens. The double-track tunnel has been built to increase ...
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NewsMoldovan railway modernisation gets underway
MOLDOVA: National railway Calea Ferată din Moldova officially launched work to modernise the 233 km Bender (Tighina) – Basarabeasca – Giurgiulești line on May 18. This will remove weight and speed restrictions, increasing the line speed to 120 km/h for passenger trains and 90 km/h for ...