News – Page 475
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NewsUnion Pacific orders low-emission shunters
USA: Union Pacific has ordered 10 EMD24B low-emission locomotives from Progress Rail for yard shunting work in California. Announced on May 1, the order is the first for the EMD24B design, following the testing of a demonstrator by Pacific Harbor Line at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. ...
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NewsGrand Paris selects supplier for up to 1 000 driverless train cars
FRANCE: Alstom has been selected as preferred bidder to supply up to 1 000 large-profile metro cars to operate three lines of the automated Grand Paris Express network, project promoter Société du Grand Paris announced on May 2. As part of its 2010 mandate to deliver the infrastructure for ...
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NewsGreat Northern Class 717 EMUs unveiled
UK: Siemens has unveiled the Class 717 Desiro City electric multiple-units which it is building for Govia Thameslink Railway. Being built at the Siemens plant at Krefeld in Germany, the 25 six-car units are scheduled to enter service from September on GTR’s Great Northern commuter services from Welwyn Garden City, ...
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NewsPKP PLK reinstates line for freight services
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has rehabilitated the 11 km Jełowa – Murów section of the Opole – Namysłów route to support an expansion of Stora Enso Wood Products’ plant at Murów. Passenger services were withdrawn form the route in 1992, and the line was taken out of use following ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Kenilworth station opened on April 30, served by West Midlands Railway. Rebuilt on the site of the former station closed in 1965, it was funded by Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Warwickshire County Council and a £4·9m grant from the Department for Transport’s New Stations Fund, as part of ...
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NewsAlstom trainset for Senegal on test
SENEGAL: The first of 15 four-car Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-units ordered for the Train Express Régional project in Dakar is now on test at Alstom’s plant at Reichshoffen in France. The Train Express Régional will link the centre of Dakar with the new Blaise Diagne international airport in Diass, serving ...
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NewsNo ‘ironing board’ seats, Greater Anglia promises
UK: With advice from consultancy Schoenemann Design, operator Greater Anglia has selected Italian company FISA's Lean seat design for used on its future Stadler trainsets, and has made adjustments to the shape of the base cushions, lumbar support and headrests. The Bombardier Transportation Aventra EMUs ordered for Greater Anglia's commuter ...
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NewsDortmund orders 24 light rail vehicles
GERMANY: Dortmund public transport authority DSW21 has awarded a €195m contract to a consortium of HeiterBlick and Kiepe Electric to supply 24 light rail vehicles and modernise 64 from the existing fleet. The first of the new high-floor bidirectional two-section LRVs is due to be delivered in 2020 and ...
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NewsHupac expands port hinterland network with ERS acquisition
EUROPE: Intermodal freight operator Hupac announced an agreement on May 2 to purchase ERS Railways from Genesee & Wyoming Inc. This includes ERS’s 47% stake in Hamburg-based operator boxXpress. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval. ERS would remain a ...
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail may open in August
SAUDI ARABIA: August 31 has been suggested as the new target date for the start of commercial services on the Haramain high speed line between Makkah and Madinah. Opening had previously been expected in mid-March, but it became clear in February that delays to the completion of five of the ...
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NewsTE Connectivity launches ruggedised data cable
GERMANY: TE Connectivity has introduced a Category 5e quad high speed data cable for railway rolling stock and infrastructure applications. Its halogen-free flame retardant polymer insulation complies with the EN45545-2 rolling stock fire standard, with the crosslinked outer jacketing providing high resistance to chemicals, mechanical stresses and extreme temperatures. ‘We ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransport for London awards long-term drone inspection licence
UK: Transport for London has granted approval for Lanes Rail to use drones to carry out of asset surveys. This is the first long-term drone licence that TfL has awarded, and comes after a 12-month testing and approval process. In addition to having a Civil Aviation Authority UAV licence, ...
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NewsDB Regio selected for operating contract
GERMANY: A group of four transport and local authorities in Germany and the Czech Republic have selected DB Regio subsidiary Start Ostsachsen as the winner of the Ostsachsen II passenger operating contract. The decision was announced on April 26, with formal award subject to the regulatory standstill period. Services ...
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NewsHigh speed services from London to Bordeaux, Frankfurt and Genève under discussion
EUROPE: ‘Advanced planning’ is being undertaken to facilitate the possible launch of a direct London – Bordeaux high speed rail service, HS1 Ltd confirmed on April 30. The manager of the high speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel also confirmed it was in very early stage discussions for ...
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NewsFlixTrain plans new routes
GERMANY: FlixMobility has applied for paths to operate open access services from Berlin to Köln and München from the December timetable change, the company confirmed on April 26 when its first FlixTrain-branded service ran on the Berlin – Stuttgart route. FlixBus has been handling ticketing for the Berlin – Stuttgart ...
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NewsInfrastructure specialists converge on Infrarail
The UK’s 12th biennial exhibition of railway infrastructure equipment and services returns to London’s Excel centre
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NewsIP targets Algarve electrification by 2020
PORTUGAL: National infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal has proposed electrification at 25 kV 50 Hz of the railway along the country’s south coast under the auspices of the Algarve Regional Co-ordination & Development Commission. The €57·9m project would cover electrification of the 45 km between Tunes and Lagos, and the ...
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NewsCAF to supply next generation of Amsterdam metro trains
NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam public transport authority GVB has selected CAF as preferred provider to supply up to 60 metro trainsets, it announced on April 30. A firm order for 30 type M7 trainsets would be used to replace older stock. GVB says that the S2 and S3 series trains are ...
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NewsNigerian railway modernisation agreement signed
NIGERIA: An agreement to proceed with the interim phase of a concession to upgrade the 1 067 mm gauge rail network was signed by federal government and an international consortium on April 27. The consortium is led by GE and includes Chinese construction company SinoHydro, South African transport and logistics ...
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NewsCambodia reinstates Sisophon – Battambang railway
CAMBODIA: The reopening of a further 69 km of main line railway was celebrated on April 29 when an inaugural train ran from Sisophon to Battambang carrying Transport Minister Sun Chanthol. The reopening of this section of the country’s northern main line between Phnom Penh and the Thai border marks ...