News – Page 237
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Rail Business UKGreat British Railways to provide ‘united, accountable leadership’ for the rail sector
UK: Replacing ‘a quarter-century of fragmentation’ with ‘single, accountable national leadership’ is at the core of the government’s Williams-Shapps Plan for reform of the railways in Great Britain, with passenger services to be provided by private sector concessionaires under contract to a new public body Great British ...
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Rail Business UKLIVE: Rail sector responds to the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail
Live blog with the latest updates and reactions to the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail published on May 20 2021, the UK government’s white paper based on the Williams Review of the future structure of the rail industry.
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NewsVictoria to buy updated X’Trapolis EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has announced plans to order 25 X’Trapolis 2.0 electric multiple-units from Alstom to continue the renewal of the Melbourne suburban fleet.
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NewsAgilis awarded expanded Regensburg/Donautal operating contract
GERMANY: Bayern railway agency BEG has awarded incumbent Agilis the next contract to operate Regensburg/Donautal passenger services. The contract covering the Ulm – Ingolstadt – Regensburg and Neumarkt – Regensburg – Plattling routes will run for 14 years from December 2022. It will see an increase ...
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NewsFirst MIKA trainsets enter service
SWITZERLAND: BLS has put the first of its Stadler MIKA electric multiple-units into revenue service on the Bern – Neuchâtel route. Stadler was named preferred bidder for the operator’s largest-ever rolling stock contract in May 2017, beating a rival offer from Bombardier Transportation. Two orders totalling ...
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Rail Business UKServices ramp up as 80x inter-city trainsets return to service
UK: Both LNER and Great Western Railway have been able to reinstate many of their inter-city services after the Office of Road & Rail reached agreement with Hitachi and the train operators over how the cracking problems with the Class 80x fleets are to be managed. Following ...
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NewsValle d’Aosta electrification included in Italian recovery plan
ITALY: Electrification of the 66·3 km Ivrea – Aosta section of the Chivasso – Aosta line by 2026 has been included in the National Recovery & Resilience Plan, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Giancarlo Cancelleri has announced. Infrastructure manager RFI estimates that electrification will cost ...
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NewsEurostar to increase services and complete Thalys merger as £250m refinancing agreement secured
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar has announced a £250m refinancing agreement with its shareholders and banks, which it said would enable it to continue to operate services and meet its short to mid-term financial obligations. The refinancing package announced on May 18 comprises £50m ...
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NewsTEE 2.0 Letter of Intent signed at third Rail Summit
GERMANY: Agreement to take forward plans for a European network of high speed day and overnight inter-city services was reached on May 17 when European transport ministers signed a Letter of Intent for the Trans-Europ-Express 2.0 programme at the third Rail Summit staged by Germany’s Federal Ministry ...
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NewsOperators target more wagonload freight
GERMANY: A group of 11 private freight operators and publicly-owned DB Cargo have announced plans to promote and foster the wagonload business. Unveiling the proposals on May 11, the founder members of Netzwerk Zukunft Einzelwagenverkehr (Network Future Wagonload Traffic) said co-operation would be needed if the ...
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Rail Business UKDrones undertake station surveys
UK: Contractor Osborne and digital twin specialist Sensat have completed fixed-wing drone surveys of South Western Railway’s Barnes, Isleworth, Stoneleigh and Wandsworth Town stations, collecting data need to plan accessibility works such as the installation of lifts and ramps under Network Rail’s Access for All programme. Sensat ...
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NewsVia Vindobona deal promises 4 h Berlin – Wien timing
GERMANY: Plans for a dramatic acceleration of inter-city passenger services between the capital cities of Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria were outlined at the third German Rail Summit held virtually on May 17. Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer highlighted plans agreed by the three countries in ...
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NewsBidders vie for Tren Maya rolling stock contract
MEXICO: National Tourism Fund Fonatur has confirmed that two groups have submitted tenders to supply up to 42 diesel, electro-diesel and electric trainsets for the Tren Maya project, with a winning bidder due to be announced on May 26. The contract covers maintenance of the fleet ...
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NewsResearch partnership targets low-carbon freight
USA: Wabtec has set up partnerships with Carnegie Mellon University and short line specialist Genesee & Wyoming with a view to developing a range of low-carbon technologies for freight railroads. At the heart of the proposals is the Freight Rail Innovation Institute, a research body that ...
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NewsRio Tinto to test Rail Vision collision-avoidance technology
AUSTRALIA: Mining company Rio Tinto is to undertake proof-of-concept testing of enhancements to the collision detection system on its AutoHaul autonomous trains, which would add the capability to identify hazards such as people or vehicles on or near the tracks. The nine-month project will have three ...
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NewsMinho line electrification completed
PORTUGAL: Infraestruturas de Portugal has completed the 25 kV 50 Hz electrification of its Minho line between Viana do Castelo and Valença in the far north of the country.
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NewsKCS favours revised CN proposal over CP merger plan
NORTH AMERICA: Kansas City Southern has given notice of its intention to terminate its merger agreement with Canadian Pacific, following the receipt of revised proposals from Canadian National.
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NewsUkraine signs framework agreement for 130 electric locomotives
UKRAINE: Alstom is on course to supply up to 130 electric freight locomotives to national railway Ukrzaliznytsia under one of four framework agreements signed by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and France’s Minister of the Economy, Finance & Recovery Bruno Le Maire in Kyiv on May 13. ...
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In depthTrack Maintenance: Sinara banks on a full-service model
Having built up its track maintenance division through a series of acquisitions in recent years and started developing a new range of high-performance machines for Russian Railways, Sinara Transport Machines is now targeting the export market, reports Vladmir Waldin.