News – Page 416
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Metro Report InternationalCrossrail opening likely to be delayed further
UK: Transport for London confirmed on December 10 that the Crossrail tunnels under central London are unlikely to open in autumn 2019, and that a new financing package had been agreed to meet the additional costs incurred through the delay. The tunnels that will form the central part of ...
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NewsSNCF to run fuel cell train in 2022
FRANCE: National operator SNCF expects to start testing hydrogen technology during 2021, and to run its first fuel cell powered train in the first quarter of the following year, according to Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Rail Systems & Technology, Pierre Izard. Addressing a meeting of regional government representatives on December ...
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NewsAlstom wins Israel Railways ETCS contract
ISRAEL: National railway ISR has awarded Alstom a €45m contract to design, supply, install and commission ETCS Level 2 onboard equipment across its fleet. The contract announced on December 10 covers 192 vehicles, with an option for a further 34. Design work is scheduled to start in January 2019, with ...
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NewsFlexity tram enters passenger service in Wien
AUSTRIA: The first Flexity Wien tram entered revenue service on December 6 on Route 67. Bombardier Transportation is delivering 119 trams from its factory in the city until 2025 under a €431m contract signed in 2015 that includes 24 years of maintenance support under the manufacturer’s FlexCare programme. There ...
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NewsSecond tram line opens in Ulm
GERMANY: The second tram line in Ulm was officially inaugurated on December 8 with a day of free travel. Line 2 links Science City in the northwest to Kuhberg in the southwest via a section that is shared with Line 1 between Theater and Ehinger Tor. A total of ...
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom wins Mumbai metro signalling contract
INDIA: Mumbai Metro Rail Corp has awarded Alstom a €100m contract to supply CBTC signalling for Mumbai metro Line 3, the supplier announced on December 10. Alstom is to supply its Urbalis 400 for unattended operation, as well as platform screen doors and SCADA systems. Earlier this year ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On December 3 United Wagon Company announced that it is to supply 75 high capacity flat wagons to wood processing company Kastamonu. The wagons are being supplied in two batches; the first batch now being delivered has a loading capacity of 122 m3 and the second, to be delivered during ...
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NewsRail grapple launched
TOOL: Rototilt has launched a 5 000 kg capacity grapple designed for heavier tasks such as working with rails and sleepers. ‘With the demand we’ve seen for a more powerful grapple module optimised for railway work, it feels good to be able to present the new grapple to our customers’, ...
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NewsRoof antenna offers train connectivity
ANTENNA: Huber+Suhner has launched the Sencity Rail MIMO 5 Port roof-top antenna designed to support onboard passenger connectivity and allow operators to boost their data transmission while using fewer antennas. Designed for 2G/3G/4G cellular applications, the antenna meets the EN 50155 railway standards, is fire retardant and works on non-metallic ...
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Metro Report InternationalTunnelling poised to start on Paris RER Line E extension
FRANCE: Construction of the main tunnel of the RER Line E extension between Courbevoie and Haussmann-Saint Lazare to the west of Paris will commence during the first quarter of 2019. This follows a traditional ceremony held at Courbevoie on November 28 to name the tunnel boring machine Virginie. Present at ...
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NewsBangkok Sukhumvit Line reaches Kheha
THAILAND: A 10 km extension of the elevated Sukhumvit Line in Bangkok was inaugurated on December 6. The southern metro extension runs from Samrong to Kheha, adding eight stations. A depot has been built 1·5 km southwest of Kheha, and Kheha features a 1 200-space park-and-ride site. Construction ...
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NewsConnection concerns raised as Ouigo expands
FRANCE: The European timetable change on December 9 marks a further expansion of SNCF’s low-cost high speed operation Ouigo. Routes to be added to the network include three daily return services between Paris-Lyon and Marseille, and three between Lille-Flandres and Marseille. When Ouigo was launched in April 2013, it operated ...
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NewsSiemens presents first Mireo EMU
GERMANY: Siemens presented the first Mireo electric multiple-unit at its Wildenrath test facility on December 6. The aluminium-bodied modular articulated EMU design is intended for commuter and regional services. DB Regio became the launch customer in February 2017 when it placed a firm order for 24 three-car units. These ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Vossloh AG announced on November 30 that it had successfully completed the acquisition of Australian concrete sleeper manufacturer Austrak Pty Ltd from Laing O'Rourke through its Vossloh Australia subsidiary. In future, Austrak will form part of Vossloh’s Tie Technologies business unit, within the Core Components division. Releasing its annual results ...
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Rail Business UKTranslink orders more CAF DMU cars
UK: Northern Ireland transport operator Translink has ordered a further 21 diesel multiple-unit cars from CAF to cope with increasing ridership on the Northern Ireland Railways network. Funded by £50m from the Department of Infrastructure, the intermediate vehicles have been ordered as an option on the contract under which CAF ...
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NewsRFI completes Adriatic Corridor gauge clearance work
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI opened the double-track Frentani tunnel near Ortona south of Pescara on December 2. Built at a cost of €25m, the tunnel is 523 m long and has been excavated 30 m south of the existing single-bore Castello tunnel. RFI now intends to close this bore ...
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NewsŠkoda presents Chemnitz tram
GERMANY: Škoda Transportation has officially presented the first of 14 trams that it is supplying to Chemnitz transport operator CVAG. CVAG and Škoda signed a €35m contract in 2016 for the supply of the bidirectional ForCity Classic trams. The first is expected to enter passenger service early next year, ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express trains are ready to roll
GERMANY: The first Desiro HC EMUs being built for Rhein-Ruhr Express services by Siemens Mobility are on course to enter service with the December 9 timetable change, following their formal approval by the Federal Railway Office using its new authorisation process. Under a €1·7bn contract from a consortium of local ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The parliamentary Transport Select Committee issued its formal report on December 4 examining the widespread disruption experienced across the network after the May 2018 timetable change. The committee makes a series of recommendations, including the ‘immediate priority’ of establishing national oversight for upcoming timetable changes with independent oversight of the ...
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NewsKorail-Supreme Railways merger plan back on
SOUTH KOREA: The government has revived plans to combine national passenger operator Korail with new entrant Supreme Railways, Korail’s Vice-President for Passenger Transport Hyungik Cho has told Railway Gazette. The Ministry of Land & Infrastructure has commissioned a feasibility study into the effects of the possible merger, and its conclusions ...