News – Page 392
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News
Qazvin – Rasht section of Asia to Europe link opened
IRAN: President Hassan Rouhani opened the 164 km Qazvin – Rasht railway with a ceremony on March 6. He said Iranian engineers had overcome many complexities since the project was launched in 2002. A 40 km branch from Rasht to the Caspian Sea port of Anzali is expected to be ...
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News
Modernised platskartny coach enters service
RUSSIA: The first platskartny coach to be modernised by the Vagonremmash factory in Tambov re-entered revenue service on March 18, following the completion of testing and certification. It is to be used on trains 19/20 Rostov-na-Donu – Moscow and 11/12 Anapa – Moscow. Platskartny coaches offer the most basic, and ...
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News
An academic route to train track specialists
ISRAEL: The first intake of students is expected to enrol in May at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa as ISR and the Ministry of Transport launch a programme to train more track engineers. Historically, the national railway was able to draw on a large community ...
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News
Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed tenders called
INDIA: Tenders for design, construction and commissioning of civil engineering works on around half of the planned Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed line were invited by the National High Speed Rail Corp Ltd on March 15. Covering a 237 km section in the state of Gujurat, running south from Vadodara ...
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News
World rail freight news round-up
Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije has ordered two CZ Loko EffiShunter 300 locomotives with 328 kW CAT C13 engines for use on shunting and light freight duties from 2020. RM Rail has obtained Customs Union certification for a modified version of its Type 19-1241 hopper car designed for transporting hot sinter, ...
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News
Tilting train service direct award planned
GERMANY: The Land of Thüringen has given advance notice of its intention to directly award incumbent DB Regio a new contract to continue to operate a group of regional passenger services which require the use of tilting diesel-multiple units to achieve the required timings. The Land said a direct award ...
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News
Station regeneration to create a gateway to Vilnius
LITHUANIA: The Vilnius Connect programme to revitalise the capital’s main station and its surroundings has been designated as a project of regional importance by the city council. Mayor Remigijus Šimašius said the project to create a modern European gateway to the city would be inspired by the ‘best examples of ...
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Rail Business UK
Overhead Line Electrification for Railways
Book Review Overhead Line Electrification for Railways By Garry Keenor Developed over several years by an experienced electrification engineer, this book is intended to provide ‘an approachable and reasonably comprehensive’ study of overhead electrification systems, setting out ‘the why as well as the what’ for readers with some basic engineering ...
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News
Algorithm could cut high speed rail energy use
CHINA: Researchers at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Suzhou campus have developed an algorithm intended to optimise the storage and reuse of braking energy. Currently, regenerative braking is used extensively across China’s 29 000 km high speed network. Typically, the energy is returned to the grid by trains under braking, and reused ...
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News
CAI International sells wagons
USA: CAI International has agreed to sell 2 146 wagons, approximately 30% of its North American lease fleet, for $200m. The sale of 1 946 wagons was completed on February 26, realising a gain of $7m, while the remaining 200 wagons are currently being manufactured and will be sold ...
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News
Lithuanian Railways restructuring underway
LITHUANIA: The restructuring of national railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai into a state-owned holding company with stand-alone passenger, freight and infrastructure business is underway, with completion planned for the second quarter of this year. LG said the change was intended to increase transparency and operational efficiency and to comply with the requirements ...
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News
Railway supply industry news round-up
DB’s long-distance passenger operating business has selected IVU Traffic Technologies software to gather and process information for vehicle planning, preparation and maintenance management. The first elements will be tested from the end of 2019, with full deployment from December 2020. ‘The new platform marks a big step forwards for us ...
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News
Edinburgh tram extension to Newhaven approved
UK: Edinburgh city council has approved an extension of the city’s tram line from York Place to Newhaven. Construction is due to commence following a six-month early contractor involvement period that is due to begin at the end of March. A joint venture of Sacyr, Farrans and Neopul has ...
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News
Melbourne airport rail link accord
AUSTRALIA: Development of the long-planned rail link to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport is set to move forward following the signing of Heads of Agreement between the federal government and the state of Victoria on March 13. Announced jointly by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, the agreement sets ...
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News
Jakarta metro trials carry passengers
INDONESIA: Passenger-carrying tests on the Jakarta metro began on March 12, ahead of the official opening scheduled for March 26. MRT Jakarta expects to carry 28 000 passengers a day during the trial period. Running from Bundaran HI in the city centre to Lebak Bulus in the south on ...
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News
DB unveils details of ECx Talgos
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has announced further details of the 23 push-pull trains that it ordered from Talgo for €550m in February as part of a framework contract for up to 100 trainsets. At an event in Berlin on March 13 attended by the government’s Commissioner for Rail and Parliamentary Secretary ...
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Rail Business UK
Cost of UK electrification could be cut by half
UK: Better planning of projects, wider adoption of best practice and a long-term commitment to a rolling programme could reduce the cost of overhead line electrification by between 33% and 50%, according to a report published by the UK’s Railway Industry Association on March 14. The Electrification Cost Challenge review ...
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Rail Business UK
UK railway news round-up
The Department for Transport has invited stakeholder views on the interoperability of the draft Control Command & Signalling, Energy, Noise, Operations & Traffic Management, Safety in Railway Tunnels and Rolling Stock - Wagons National Technical Specification Notices, which would replace the EU’s Technical Specifications for Interoperability in the event of ...
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News
Mayor inaugurates Eskişehir tram extension
TURKEY: Eskişehir mayor Yılmaz Büyükerşen inaugurated an extension of the city’s metre-gauge tram network on March 10 at a ceremony at the former eastern terminus of Açelya. The 3 km eastern extension to Sehir Hastanesi adds four stops. A further extension from Sehir Hastanesi to Sultandere is planned. ...
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News
Oil traffic to benefit from Kırıkkale electrification
TURKEY: Infrastructure manager TCDD announced on March 12 that it had awarded the contract for electrification of 231 km of single track on the Nenek - Şefaatli route to a consortium of domestic companies Ultra Teknoloji and Emeray Insaat Enerji. The contract is valued at TL69·9m. TCDD received two bids. ...