News – Page 280
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NewsShort Line Safety Institute offers assessment model to commuter operators
USA: The Short Line Safety Institute says its FRA-recognised multi-method Safety Culture Assessment process for freight railways could be easily transferable to commuter train operators. The institute said on September 17 that a recently-published study looking at the methodology and results of a safety assessment for a ...
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NewsJR Hokkaido unveils updated Series 261 DMU
JAPAN: The first of two Series 261-5000 DMUs being built for JR Hokkaido by Kawasaki Heavy Industries was unveiled on September 20, ahead of a public launch in Sapporo on September 26. Being built at a cost of around ¥4bn, the two five-car DMUs will be used ...
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NewsSNCF sets green targets to cut TER emissions
FRANCE: National operator SNCF has launched an ambitious programme designed to reduce the environmental impact of its TER regional services as a contribution towards combatting climate change. The PlaneTER programme is also intended to help win passengers back to rail and attract customers from new markets after ...
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NewsBowen Rail prepares to haul Carmichael coal
AUSTRALIA: Queensland-based Bowen Rail Company has applied to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator for accreditation as a train operating company, having already started the procurement of locomotives and wagons. Describing itself as a ‘next-generation rail business, created to transport Queensland’s high quality resources ...
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NewsVectron locomotives approved for operation in Denmark
DENMARK: The first three of 42 Siemens Mobility Vectron AC electric locomotives ordered by national passenger operator DSB are expected to be delivered this month, after the Transport, Construction & Housing Authority granted approval for operation in Denmark on September 15. The 6·4 ...
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Metro Report InternationalContactless payment introduced on Málaga suburban network
SPAIN: Indra has deployed contactless EMV bank card payment on RENFE’s Málaga suburban services. Passengers pass through the entry and exit gates by holding their bank card or suitable mobile device over the sensor. Indra’s Mova Collect fare collection system then charges the appropriate single fare for ...
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NewsFRA approvals pave way for Texas high speed line construction
USA: Construction of the Texas Central high speed line linking Houston with Dallas is expected to start in the coming months following completion of the regulatory approval process. This concluded on September 21 when the Federal Railroad Administration released a pre-publication version of its final Rule ...
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Rail Business UKRail Delivery Group announces restructuring and leadership changes
UK: The Rail Delivery Group has announced leadership changes, and a restructuring which it said is designed to make it better placed to support the reform of the rail industry. Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of FirstGroup’s First Rail business, becomes RDG Chair, succeeding Chris Burchell who is ...
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NewsOuigo España sets date to launch Falbalá
SPAIN: High speed open access services between Madrid and Barcelona under the Falbalá brand are now expected to be launched on March 15 2021. The launch had originally been planned for December this year, but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the new date on September ...
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NewsLegal dispute over aborted NRZ investment plan
ZIMBABWE: National Railways of Zimbabwe’s decision to terminate a US$400m recapitalisation agreement is being challenged in court by the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group, which is seeking damages worth US$236m. In mid-September, DIDG instructed its lawyers to sue NRZ and Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza following the termination ...
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NewsSighișoara – Brașov route modernisation contract awarded
ROMANIA: National railway CFR SA has awarded the Asocierea RailWorks consortium of Alstom and civil and railway works partners Aktor, Arcada and Euroconstruct the Lot 2 Caţa – Apaţa contract to modernise a 28 km section of the 128 km Sighișoara – Brașov route. Consortium leader Alstom’s ...
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NewsEU ministers commit to foster freight corridors
EUROPE: EU transport ministers endorsed a formal declaration in Berlin on September 21 committing them to ‘support international rail freight and further strengthen the Rail Freight Corridors’. Acknowledging that the Rail Freight Corridors had ‘proven to be very effective in developing common measures facilitating the enhancement of ...
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NewsEffiShunter 1600 broad gauge fleet expands
UKRAINE: Czech manufacturer CZ Loko has unveiled the first of four 1 520 mm gauge EffiShunter 1600 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives which were ordered by steelmaker ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in July 2019. The 123-tonne centre-cab locomotives are heavily rebuilt from ČKD-built CME3 locos, have 1 000 kW CAT ...
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NewsInnoTrans goes digital with 2021 event preview
INNOTRANS: A virtual foretaste of the InnoTrans 2021 trade fair is being offered by the InnoTrans Preview, which organiser Messe Berlin is holding during the week when the global railway industry’s biggest event would normally have been happening. The Preview includes more than 60 company and product ...
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Metro Report InternationalDenver opens North Metro Rail
USA: Denver’s Regional Transportation District formally inaugurated the first phase of its North Metro Rail commuter service to Thornton on September 21, with a ceremony attended by RTD General Manager & CEO Paul Ballard, Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede and local authority representatives. Developed by ...
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NewsTrans-Europ-Express renaissance proposed
EUROPE: A network of international long-distance high speed passenger services spanning much of western Europe could be launched by 2025 if proposals announced by Germany’s Federal Minister for Transport Andreas Scheuer at a virtual conference of Europe’s transport ministers on September 21 are taken forward. The proposals ...
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NewsLNVG orders more double-deck coaches
GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has awarded Bombardier Transportation an contract to supply a further 12 Twindexx Vario double-deck intermediate coaches and two driving cars. Scheduled to enter service on routes to Hamburg from autumn 2022, the coaches will be equipped with CCTV, ...
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NewsSerbia – Montenegro line upgrade planning agreement
SERBIA: A €21m agreement to develop conceptual designs and prepare documentation for the planned modernisation of the 210 km line from Valjevo to Vrbnica and the border with Montenegro was signed by infrastructure manager Infra ZS and Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International on September 21. Trains on ...
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NewsEuropean digital automatic coupler deployment planned by 2030
EUROPE: A memorandum of understanding committing to the EU-wide deployment of a digital automatic coupler by 2030 was signed by representatives of the European rail freight sector on September 18. The signatories said Europe was ‘trailing the world’ as ‘the last continent to use standard manual couplers’. ...