News – Page 402
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NewsSiemens Alstom merger blocked by European Commission
INTERNATIONAL: The European Commission has blocked the proposed merger of Siemens Mobility and Alstom, saying the companies had not offered sufficient remedies to address its concerns about the impact on competition in the signalling and very high speed train markets. ‘Siemens and Alstom are both champions in ...
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NewsHS2 announces London station construction partners
UK: The preferred bidders for the Construction Partner contracts to build High Speed 2’s two London stations were announced by project promoter HS2 Ltd on February 6. A joint venture of Mace and Dragados has been selected to undertake the rebuilding of the London Euston terminus, while the Old ...
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NewsČD to test battery-equipped EMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: National passenger operator ČD and Škoda Transportation are to retrofit two Class 650 RegioPanter electric multiple-units with battery packs to enable operation on non-electrified tracks. The two units will be tested on regional services around Brno from late 2019. The lithium-titanate batteries and a BMS control unit ...
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NewsDB orders Talgo 230 inter-city trainsets
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has selected Talgo to supply a new generation of push-pull trainsets to operate long-distance inter-city and international services, the national operator announced on February 5. Following an international tender, DB Fernverkehr has awarded Talgo a framework contract for up to 100 trainsets, placing a firm order for ...
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Metro Report InternationalSiemens to supply more light rail vehicles to Houston
USA: Houston Metro has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply 14 S70 low-floor light rail vehicles. The LRVs will be built to an updated design with wider gangways for better passenger flow. To meet Buy America requirements, they will be assembled at Siemens Mobility’s plant in Sacramento, California. ...
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Rail Business UKUK rail funding and expenditure data published
UK: The Office of Rail & Road’s annual report showing railway funding and spending between April 1 2017 and March 31 2018 was published on January 30. In 2017-18 the cost of running the railways rose 1·4% year-on-year to £20·6bn. Income was down 1·3% to £19·4bn, largely because passenger numbers ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2020 already 80% booked
INNOTRANS: Approximately 80% of the floor space at InnoTrans 2020 has already been booked, more than 18 months before the event takes place on September 22 to 25 2020. ‘In 2020 InnoTrans will once again be the hub for every aspect of mobility, in the form of ...
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NewsFyra V250 trainset on test in Italy
ITALY: Trenitalia has begun test running with one of the 17 AnsaldoBreda V250 trainsets which it acquired cheaply following their short and troubled life on Fyra services in the Netherlands and Belgium. The first test run left Milano Centrale for Bologna Centrale at 20:30 on February 4. The trainsets are ...
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NewsSpecialisation drives growth at United Wagon Co
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co produced a total of 19 700 wagons in 2018, a 3% increase on the previous year. A similar volume is expected in 2019, with growth continuing to be driven by an increase in the production of specialised vehicles. Hopper wagon production was up 108% year-on-year to ...
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Rail Business UKGrants to support low-carbon technology demonstrators
UK: The Department for Transport has awarded grants of around £350 000 to each of five projects which aim to develop technology to reduce the rail network’s carbon footprint. The projects were selected under the second round of the DfT’s First of a Kind competition, run by Innovate UK as ...
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NewsSaudi Railway Co to deploy track monitoring system
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railway Co has awarded Perpetuum a two-year contract to provide its vibration-based track condition monitoring system for use on the 1 242 km north–south route between Al-Qurrayat and Riyadh. Announcing its first contract win in the Middle East on February 5, Perpetuum said conditions ...
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Rail Business UKMaritime Transport to operate East Midlands freight interchange
UK: Maritime Transport has signed a 25-year lease to operate the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange which SEGRO is developing at its East Midlands Gateway logistics park in Castle Donington. The 9 ha terminal to be completed this year will be capable of handling 16 trains/day up to 775 m long, ...
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NewsLittle change in Indian railway results
INDIA: With parliamentary elections due to be held in around three months, the national budget presented on February 1 offered little prospect of significant steps being taken to address the structural deficiencies afflicting the national railway, reports Raghu Dayal. Presented by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal in the absence of ...
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NewsEl-Qantas tunnel to cut east-west journey times
ALGERIA: Trains have started running through the El-Qantas tunnel, which has been built as part of an ongoing programme to upgrade the Alger – Oran main line for faster speeds. Under construction since 2011, the 7·3 km twin-bore tunnel has been built for railway infrastructure authority ANESRIF by China Railway ...
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Metro Report InternationalExtra Stuttgart S-Bahn EMUs will support ATO project
GERMANY: The Stuttgart regional government has approved the purchase of 58 four-car Class 430 electric multiple-units and the installation of ETCS Level 2 and automatic train operation on the entire S-Bahn fleet. Trains from the €421·8m order are to be delivered by 2022. The Land of Baden-Württemberg is providing ...
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NewsLiège tram loan agreed
BELGIUM: The Tram’Ardent consortium, which is developing the Liège tram project, signed a €200m loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on January 31. The 30-year loan covers just under half of the total project cost and is guaranteed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments. ‘I am ...
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NewsProject company to support Finnish rail reforms
FINLAND: New line development, transparent access to infrastructure services and the provision of rolling stock for on-rail competition are to be facilitated by a state-owned special purpose company to be formed under plans unveiled by Minister of Transport & Communications Anne Berner on February 1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic ...
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NewsMetrowagonmash signs Baku metro train contract
AZERBAIJAN: Baku Metropoliten has signed a contract with Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash for the supply of six five-car metro trainsets, the manufacturer announced on January 31. The first train is scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of the year, with all six due to arrive in Baku by ...
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NewsPT Inka exports coaches to Bangladesh
BANGLADESH:· The first 15 of 250 coaches which Bangladesh Railway has ordered from Indonesian rolling stock manufacturer PT Inka were shipped from the Port of Tanjung Perak in Surabaya on January 20. The US$101m order placed in 2017 with financing from Indonesia Eximbank includes 50 coaches for BR’s 1 676 ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Transmashholding’s Bryansk plant has supplied a 2TE25KM twin-section diesel freight locomotive to Kazakh coal mining company Shubarkol Komir. The manufacturer said it was its first locomotive to be more than 90% assembled from components produced in Russia. The 2TE25KM design is used extensively by Russian Railways, and Siberian Coal Energy ...