News – Page 223
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NewsBangladesh – India cross-border freight services revived
ASIA: Regular freight services on the 10 km cross-border line between Haldibari in India and Chilahati in Bangladesh restarted on August 1 after a hiatus of 56 years. Indian Railways dispatched a train loaded with aggregates from Damdim on the Northeast Frontier Railway for export to ...
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Rail Business UKCrossrail 2 and major infrastructure investment still required on South West Main Line despite Covid-19 effect, warns Network Rail
UK: A report issued by Network Rail indicates that the expected drop in commuter and business travel caused by Covid-19 will not be sufficient to remove the need for major infrastructure investment on the South West Main Line serving London Waterloo, including potential resumption of work on Crossrail 2.
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NewsVossloh awarded Norwegian turnout framework contract
NORWAY: Infrastructure manager Bane NOR has awarded Vossloh Nordic Switch Systems a framework agreement for the supply of switches and crossings, as well as spare parts for existing turnouts, and the development of a range of switches for heavy haul lines. The agreement includes the just-in-time ...
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NewsSiemens Mobility to buy booking software company Sqills
SQILLS: Siemens Mobility has signed a binding agreement to acquire Dutch public transport inventory management, reservation and ticketing software-as-a-service company Sqills for €550m. The transaction is expected to be completed in Q1 2022, after which Sqills would be managed as separate legal entity and wholly-owned subsidiary ...
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In depthEurasian rail freight growth is two years ahead of forecasts
INTERNATIONAL: Transit traffic to and from China and Europe by rail is growing faster than predicted, with Alexey Grom, CEO of the largest operator UTLC ERA, reporting that the company is ‘two years ahead of our forecasts’ and expecting to see a further 20% growth in the rest of this ...
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NewsETCS Level 2 goes live on Roskilde – Køge – Næstved line
DENMARK: All trains on the Roskilde – Køge – Næstved line in Sjælland began operating using ETCS Level 2 with effect from August 3, after infrastructure manager Banedanmark commissioned the next phase of its national Signalling Programme.
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Rail Business UKMaritime Intermodal to lease Mossend Euroterminal
UK: Maritime Transport’s Intermodal business is to lease the Mossend Euroterminal rail freight terminal in Scotland from DB Cargo UK with effect from October 1. Maritime took over the lease of DB Cargo UK’s intermodal freight facilities at Wakefield and Trafford Park two years ago, and ...
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NewsRENFE Mercancías orders Stadler locos to haul freight over the Pajares corridor
SPAIN: RENFE Mercancías has ordered 12 Euro 6000 high-power electric locomotives from Stadler Valencia to haul freight trains over the steeply graded Pajares pass and through the base tunnel now nearing completion.
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NewsHitachi to create a ‘global leader’ in signalling with acquisition of Thales rail business
INTERNATIONAL: Hitachi Rail has agreed to acquire Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems division, with the aim of positioning itself as a global leader in the signalling market and strengthening its position as provider of turnkey railway systems. The deal announced on August 4 has an enterprise value ...
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NewsSoft launch for Bangkok’s Red Line suburban services
THAILAND: State Railway of Thailand held a soft launch for Bangkok’s Red Line elevated metre-gauge suburban rail corridor on August 2, offering three months of free travel before the start of full commercial services in November. Services on the Red Line were inaugurated by Prime Minister ...
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NewsGerman associations seek more competition in second rail reform
GERMANY: An alliance of industry associations has called for a major reform of railway policy that would introduce full vertical separation of infrastructure and operations and foster more on-rail competition. In a position paper published on August 2, seven organisations assert that climate change objectives can only ...
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Rail Business UKSoutheastern Managing Director named
UK: The Go-Ahead Group has announced the appointment of Southeastern Managing Director David Statham as Strategy Director from October, overseeing business strategy across the group’s rail, bus and public transport activities including its response to climate change. David Statham Go-Ahead recently announced ...
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NewsHitachi East Coast EMU arrives at Hualien
TAIWAN: The first of 50 EMU3000 inter-city trainsets being built for Taiwan Railway Administration by Hitachi was delivered to the port of Hualien on July 29, and is expected to enter service by the end of this year.
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NewsUIC Extreme Weather taskforce gets to work
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways’ Taskforce on Extreme Weather Conditions has been launched, and will initially focus on addressing the impact of heavy rain and floods. Strong winds are proposed as a focus for next year, and earthquakes in 2023. UIC’s Safety Platform decided to ...
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Metro Report InternationalCBTC to use BlackBerry software
SOUTH KOREA: sTraffic is to use BlackBerry’s QNX OS for Safety software in its communications-based train control systems. ‘Both BlackBerry and its QNX OS for Safety have an unparalleled reputation and proven safety pedigree’, said sTraffic Project Manager KH Kim. ‘Thanks to the company’s broad portfolio ...
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NewsCPTM locomotive rolled out
BRAZIL: Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos has received the first of two diesel-electric locomotives that will be used for hauling maintenance trains on São Paulo’s 1 600 mm gauge suburban network.
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NewsKarawanken tunnel reopened
EUROPE: Cross-border rail services have resumed on the Villach – Ljubljana route between Austria and Slovenia, following the completion of a 10-month refurbishment of the Karawanken tunnel. Dating from 1906, the 7 975 m bore had been closed to all traffic from September 7 ...
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NewsFinland Bridge links Vladivostok and Helsinki
INTERNATIONAL: RZD Logistics, FESCO Transportation and Nurminen Logistics Services have launched a regular container service between Vladivostok and Vuosaari in Helsinki via the trans-Siberian route. The service has been branded Finland Bridge, and is expected to operate three or four times per month. ...
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NewsJapanese diesel railcar ready for dynamic testing
JAPAN: This month JR West is to begin dynamic testing of its prototype Kawasaki Heavy Industries DEC700 diesel railcar, which is designed for future conversion to battery-diesel hybrid operation.
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