News – Page 331
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NewsEmergency window-breaking hammer updated
HAMMER: EMKA has introduced an updated design of emergency hammer which passengers can use to break tempered and laminated glass if they need to escape through a train window. The hammer is made of glass fibre reinforced plastic with a hardened steel tip, and complies with relevant ...
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NewsGuangzhou linked to Shenzhen airport
CHINA: The 74 km central section of the 140 km/h Guangzhou – Shenzhen inter-city railway opened on December 15. The new infrastructure starts at Xintang Bei station in the east of Guangzhou and runs to Shenzhen airport in the west of the Shenzhen urban area, via Dongguan ...
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Metro Report InternationalSt Petersburg passenger rail investment agreement
RUSSIA: Governor Alexander Beglov has announced that the government of St Petersburg and Russian Railways have confirmed their intention to invest 500bn roubles developing passenger rail services in and around the city by 2030. This would include spending of 90bn roubles in 2020-25. The plans include the ...
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen electro-diesel locomotives delivered
SWITZERLAND: Appenzeller Bahnen has taken delivery of two Stadler Gem 2/2 electro-diesel locomotives for use on its infrastructure maintenance trains. The two-axle metre-gauge locomotives were ordered at cost of SFr5·3m in March 2018 to replace 50-year old diesel-only locos. The 28 tonne loocs ...
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NewsNext section of western China link completed
CHINA: The 173 km Subei – Mahai section of the line which is being built between Dunhuang and Golmud opened on December 18, adding six stations. Construction of the 671 km Dunhuang – Golmud line was officially launched in 2012, to connect the line running west to ...
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NewsCRRC trainset enters service in Sri Lanka
SRI LANKA: The first of nine S14 diesel trainsets being supplied by CRRC Qingdao Sifang has entered revenue service on the Colombo Fort – Badulla line, which has a journey time of 8 h 43 min. Sri Lankan Railways ordered the 120 ...
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Metro Report InternationalAbidjan metro package approved
CÔTE D’IVOIRE: The government has formally approved the technical and funding proposals for construction of an elevated metro line in Abidjan, which is to be developed by a consortium of French companies.
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NewsSignalling supplier reopens upgraded branch line
CZECH REPUBLIC: Regular passenger services returned to the so-called Plum Railway in the Ústí nad Labem region with effect from the December 15 timetable change, after signalling company AŽD Praha reached agreement with the local government to restore services on the Litoměřice horní nádraží – Most line U10.
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News‘Landmark’ $3·7bn deal paves way for passenger rail expansion in Virginia
The Virginia Railway Express commuter rail service is operated under contract by Keolis. USA: The state of Virginia announced on December 19 that it had reached agreement to acquire more than 360 km of railway from Class I railroad CSX Corp for $3·7bn. Under what governor ...
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NewsOpenings expand Chinese high speed rail network
CHINA: The 313 km Xuzhou – Yancheng Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 16. It has nine stations and is designed for 250 km/h operation, reducing the fastest journey times from 3 h 51 min on the conventional line to 1 h 31 min on the PDL. The ...
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NewsCroatian cut-off line opened
CROATIA: Prime Minister Andrej Plenković inaugurated the 12·2 km Gradec – Sveti Ivan Žabno cut-off line with a ceremony on December 16, the day after the start of revenue services on the first new line to be built in Croatia for 52 years. ...
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NewsVinkovci – Vukovar electrification contract signed
CROATIA: The contract for modernisation, resignalling, electrification, level crossing upgrading and station modernisation on the Vinkovci – Vukovar line was signed by HŽ Infra, Comsa SA and Comsa Instalaciones Y Sistemas Industriales SA in Vukovar on December 20. The 18·7 km line connects the Zagreb – Vinkovci ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail and Strukton Rail to co-operate on R&D
UK: Dutch engineering company Strukton Rail has signed a memorandum of understanding to support the delivery of Network Rail’s £245m research and development portfolio during Control Period 6 (2019-24). The collaboration will build on work undertaken through the European Shift2Rail partnership’s Innovation Programme 3 covering the cost-efficient ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
TX Logistik changed the Italian terminal of its Leipzig – Verona service from Quadrante Europa to Sommacampagna-Sona from December 15. ‘In Sommacampagna-Sona we are the sole customer for intermodal traffic’, said Norbert Rekers, Regional Director, Central Intermodal Europe. ‘We expect short waiting times and optimised parking spaces.’ ...
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NewsTrenitalia signs Calabria operating contract
ITALY: A passenger operating contract running to 2032 was signed by the Calabria region and national operator Trenitalia on December 11. The agreement provides for expenditure of €300m in the region during the contract period. This includes the €210·2m purchase of 27 Alstom Coradia Stream Pop multiple-units ...
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NewsUnion Pacific completes Positive Train Control implementation
USA: Union Pacific has completed the implementation of Positive Train Control on all sections of its network where federal rules require the safety system to be deployed. ‘PTC is one of the biggest rail industry breakthroughs, designed to keep our crews and communities safer through technology’, said ...
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NewsPopular Landscape Railway In Switzerland rack EMUs ordered
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge railway group BVZ Holding has awarded Stadler a SFr45m contract to supply five two-car Abt rack EMUs for use on its 9·4 km Gornergrat mountain railway from 2021. The units will be branded Polaris, derived from POpular LAndscape Railway In Switzerland. The follows the ...
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NewsYibin – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opens
CHINA: The 372 km Yibin – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 16. It has 11 stations and is designed for 250 km/h operation. This completes the 648 km Chengdu – Guiyang line, following the opening of the initial Chengdu – Leshan section ...
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NewsFreight coalition publishes Contingency Management handbook
EUROPE: In a bid to avoid the widespread disruption to international rail traffic which occurred following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt in August 2017, and to provide greater resilience for commercially sensitive traffic, a coalition of rail freight operators and industry associations has put together a Contingency ...
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NewsTenders called to rebuild San Sebastián station
SPAIN: Tenders were issued on December 12 for reconstruction of the main line station in San Sebastián as part of the ‘Basque Y’ high speed programme. The result will be the partial integration of the existing station with the adjacent, underground, bus station, and the incorporation in the finished complex ...