News – Page 424
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NewsKončar selected for Liepaja tram contract
LATVIA: Liepaja tram operator Liepājas Tramvajs has selected Končar to supply six meter-gauge trams. Končar’s €8·8m bid was lower than that of Modertrans. Railvec UAB had also bid with an offer of trams made by Belkommunmash, but was disqualified. The contract is expected to be signed after a ...
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NewsTransdev announces EMU order as Hannover S-Bahn operating contract confirmed
GERMANY: Transdev announced an order for 64 Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units on November 7, after its NordWestBahn subsidiary was confirmed as the winner of the contract to operate Hannover S-Bahn services from December 2021 until June 2034. There had been four bids for the operating contract tendered by the Hannover ...
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NewsCalais – Torino rail motorway service launched
EUROPE: A 'rail motorway' service carrying unaccompanied lorry trailers between Calais and Torino was inaugurated with a ceremony at the Channel port on November 6. This is the fourth route to be launched by SNCF’s rail motorway subsidiary VIIA. There are initially three round trips per week on the new ...
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NewsAssociations welcome Green Deal declaration
EUROPE: Rail sector associations CER, EIM, ERFA, UIP, UIRR and UNIFE have welcomed a political initiative to encourage the evolution of environmentally-friendly transport, following an informal meeting of Transport and Environment ministers in Graz, organised by the current Austrian Presidency of the EU Council. During the meeting on October 29-30, ...
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NewsMercitalia launches high speed freight service
ITALY: FS Group freight subsidiary Mercitalia is to launch its first high speed freight service on November 7. FS says the Mercitalia Fast service is designed to meet the needs of express courier companies, logistics operators, producers and distributors. Operated by a converted ETR500 trainset, the Mercitalia Fast overnight service ...
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NewsBattery trolleybuses ordered for Russian cities
RUSSIA: Three cities have recently ordered battery trolleybuses. Vostokavtotrans beat Trolza Market Trading House to win a 111·9m rouble contract to supply 10 vehicles to Almetyevsk transport operator Almetyevskoe Transportnoe Upravlenie. The model to be supplied is the Gorozhanin, based on a bodyshell from KamAZ Group subsidiary NefAZ ...
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NewsGerman rail projects added to implementation list
GERMANY: Following detailed studies, 29 rail projects included in the 2030 federal transport infrastructure plan have been added to the priority list for implementation, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer announced on November 6. The decision follows examination of the cost-effectiveness of 44 potential projects, some of which could be added ...
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NewsGE Transportation wins Moldovan locomotive contract
MOLDOVA: National railway CFM has named GE Transportation as the winner of a contract to supply 12 locomotives for use on passenger and freight services. The 2 982 kW diesel locomotives are scheduled to be delivered from early 2020. The order announced November 6 is worth €45m, including modernisation ...
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NewsHeavy lifting for Buenos Aires viaduct project
ARGENTINA: Specialist heavy lifting contractor ALE has used its TLG1000 telescopic hydraulic gantry for the first time to position concrete girders for the construction of a 5 km railway viaduct in Buenos Aires. The viaduct is being built to elevate the San Martín commuter line above street level between Palermo ...
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NewsNS to test faster train to the north
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS plans to run a one-off test train to assess what infrastructure and operational changes would be needed to provide a 15 min reduction in journey times between Groningen, Zwolle and the Randstad region. The trial planned for next year would use a Bombardier Transportation Traxx ...
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Metro Report InternationalPowerful LED lights to illuminate Elizabeth Line stations
UK: Office lighting specialist Future Designs has designed and supplied three types of bespoke lighting units to illuminate the passenger areas of stations on the underground section of London’s future Elizabeth Line. The lighting concept for the station concourse, escalator and platform areas aims to emphasise the spatial envelope rather ...
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NewsGreenbrier announces 'solid results'
GREENBRIER: Wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has announced net earnings of $151·8m on revenue of $2·5bn for the year to August 31 2018, with adjusted net earnings of $133·9m and adjusted EBITDA of $318·2m, or 12·6% of revenue. A total of 20 900 wagon units were delivered, and orders received ...
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Rail Business UKSiemens’ Lincoln Bogie Service Centre obtains RISAS certification
UK: Siemens has received its first certification under the RISAS assurance scheme, covering work on wheelsets, bogies and suspension components undertaken at its site in Lincoln. Run by safety and standards body RSSB on behalf of the rail industry, RISAS aims to provide economies of scale through a single assessment ...
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Metro Report InternationalBattery buses ordered for San Diego
USA: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has awarded New Flyer of America a contract to supply six battery buses. The 12 m long Xcelsior Charge vehicles expected to arrive in 2019 will be equipped with CCTV and air-conditioning. The 480 kW batteries will be charged overnight at the ...
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Metro Report InternationalMilwaukee welcomes The Hop
USA: The first phase of The Hop tram network in Milwaukee was inaugurated on November 2. Travel on the 3·4 route-km route linking Burns Commons and Clybourne Street is free for a year as part of a sponsorship deal with Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Kiewit Infrastructure acted as ...
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Metro Report InternationalBombardier tests Eglinton Crosstown LRV
CANADA: Bombardier Transportation has presented the first Flexity light rail vehicle for the Eglinton Crosstown line in Toronto. Testing is taking place at Bombardier’s Kingston facility. Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area transport authority Metrolinx ordered 182 LRVs from Bombardier in 2010 for routes including Eglinton Crosstown. Metrolinx later ...
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NewsDiesel-battery hybrid locos ordered for SBB Cargo
SWITZERLAND: Investment group Reichmuth Infrastruktur Schweiz’s leasing business LokRoll 2 has awarded Alstom a €40m contract to supply 12 Prima H3 diesel-battery hybrid shunting locomotives, which it will lease to SBB Cargo for 10 years. The three-axle locomotives are to be delivered from Alstom’s Stendal plant from October 2020. ...
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NewsVossloh acquires Strabag Rail milling business
GERMANY: Vossloh announced on November 5 that it had agreed a deal to acquire Strabag Rail GmbH’s rail milling business, which comprises four milling machines and around 30 employees. Vossloh said the purchase price and expected sales were in the ‘low double-digit million’ range. The transaction is expected to be ...
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NewsGreek rolling stock maintenance privatisation deal signed
GREECE: The share transfer agreement for the sale of 100% of rolling stock maintenance business EESSTY to the Trainose train operating subsidiary of FS Group for €22m was signed by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency on October 29. EESSTY was spun out of the former state railway ...
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NewsMelbourne High Capacity Metro Trains on test
AUSTRALIA: Testing has started of the High Capacity Metro Trains that Evolution Rail is supplying to operate Melbourne’s suburban network. The Evolution Rail consortium of Plenary, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles and Downer Group has a PPP contract to supply 65 electric multiple-units for use on the 1 600 mm ...