News – Page 187
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NewsAfrican passenger locos modified for freight haulage
AFRICA: Six Vossloh Afro4000 locomotives originally built for passenger services have been modified by leasing company Traxtion to enable them to haul freight trains. The locos were originally ordered by South Africa’s PRASA but never entered service, and the contract was terminated. ...
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NewsDetecting earthquakes with ADIF’s optic fibre network
SPAIN: ADIF has signed an agreement for the Instituto Geográfico Nacional to use its optic fibre network to gather and analyse data about earthquakes, which are relatively common in the Iberian Peninsula. To date, ADIF’s 16 000 km dark optic fibre network has not been made ...
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NewsFirst Delhi RRTS trainset under construction
INDIA: The first of the electric multiple-units ordered for the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System commuter rail project are being assembled at Alstom’s Savli factory in Gujarat, with delivery and testing planned to begin this year. Propulsion and ...
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NewsDisputed double-deck EMU contract awarded to Stadler again
AUSTRIA: Stadler has once again been named the winner of a disputed 10-year framework contract to supply Austria Federal Railways with up to 186 double-deck electric multiple-units worth €3bn.
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Rail Business UKAlstom awarded Cambridge area resignalling contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Alstom a £130m contract covering design, delivery and commissioning works for the £194m Cambridge area resignalling project. Alstom said the contract announced on February 22 is the largest to be awarded under the Major Signalling Framework Agreement during the current five-year ...
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In depthAzerbaijan: Developing a transit hub
After years of declining freight traffic, Azerbaijan’s national railway ADY is seeking to revive its fortunes by focusing on its potential as a hub for transit freight between Asia and Europe. It is also increasing investment in passenger services around Baku. Toma Bačić explains.
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Rail Business UKAccurate train location data trial underway
UK: Potential uses of very precise train location data are being assessed from a trial installation of Thales’ Robust Train Positioning System on a Great Western Railway Class 150 diesel multiple-unit. RTPS combines data from satellite positioning systems, inertial and radar velocity sensors and a digital ...
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NewsILSA to add a third partner
SPAIN: Intermodalidad de Levante, the high speed joint venture between Trenitalia and Air Nostrum, is poised to agree a deal with Globalvia under which it would become the third partner in the business. Globalvia, a motorway and urban transport infrastructure concessionaire owned by three investment funds, ...
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NewsEuropean Year of Rail raised awareness of sustainability credentials
EUROPE: ‘2021 was an extremely challenging year for railways’, European rail industry bodies said in a joint message marking the formal end of the European Year of Rail. ‘The Covid-19 pandemic hit the sector hard, and its impact is still felt today with more than €50bn ...
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NewsInternational rail links in Montenegro‘s national infrastructure plan
MONTENEGRO: Plans for international rail links and other long term improvements to the rail network are included a national infrastructure strategy for 2021-23 which has been adopted by the government. The proposed international links would run from Nikšić towards Bileća in Bosnia & Herzegovina and from ...
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NewsLatvia surveys interest in passenger rail tendering
LATVIA: The Road Transport Administration has launched a survey to gauge market interest in providing domestic passenger rail services. The RTA said this was the first survey of this type in Latvia, and would meet the requirements of EC Regulation 1370/2007 which sets out rules for ...
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NewsFRA compares global high speed rail noise mitigation standards
USA: Ricardo has completed a study for the Federal Railroad Administration which aims to improve the accuracy of comparisons of global high speed rail noise reduction standards and their costs. The report, High Speed Rail: Cost of Compliance for Noise Mitigation Procedures, has now been published ...
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NewsEurope’s Rail research initiative launched
EUROPE: The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking that will co-ordinate EU railway research over the next decade was formally launched in Paris on February 21, during an event organised by SNCF in conjunction with the French Presidency of the European Union.
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NewsPolish operators call for track access charge cut to stem loss of market share
POLAND: The ZNPK federation of independent train operators has called for a ‘serious debate’ on access charges and a ‘radical’ 50% cut in fees, saying infrastructure manager PKP PLK’s current charges for freight trains are amongst the highest in Europe. ZNPK says that PKP PLK’s draft ...
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NewsSpanish EMUs to have ABB traction batteries
SPAIN: Stadler has awarded ABB a US$80m contract to supply traction converters and roof-mounted lithium-ion batteries for 59 double-deck electric multiple-units which RENFE has ordered for use on Madrid and Barcelona commuter services. The EMUs will operate primarily using 3 kV DC overhead, but will be ...
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NewsOberweißbacher Bergbahn operating contract awarded
GERMANY: Thüringen’s Ministry of Infrastructure & Agriculture has directly awarded incumbent DB RegioNetz Verkehrs a contract to continue operating the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn funicular and electric train services for a further 10 years. A market survey determined that it would be impractical to hold a competitive tender ...
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NewsBattery trains on the Baltic coast
GERMANY: Having been named the winner of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Warnow II passenger train operating contract, DB Regio Nordost has ordered Stadler Flirt Akku battery-electric multiple-units to replace diesel multiple-units on two of the routes. The Land announced the award of the Warnow II contract to the incumbent ...
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NewsJR West to order tilting EMUs
JAPAN: West Japan Railway plans to order four 11-car Series 273 electric multiple-units to replace the Series 381 trainsets used on Yakumo Limited Express services on the Hakubi line.
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NewsEU pandemic relief measure for rail extended
EUROPE: Members of the European Parliament have voted to extend a Covid-19 relief measure that allows rail infrastructure access charges to be reduced, waived or deferred.