News – Page 519
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News
Izmir suburban rolling stock order planned
TURKEY: Izmir suburban rail operator Izban is planning to purchase the first double-deck rolling stock in Turkey, it announced on October 28. Izban intends to purchase 25 three-car electric multiple-units, of which nine would have a double-deck centre car. The EMUs are expected to be delivered in two years, ...
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TasRail selects freight planning software
AUSTRALIA: TasRail has awarded Biarri Rail a contract to supply its Boss MP cloud-based operations planning and scheduling software in a three-stage process which will run until early 2019. ‘If for example we have a new customer that wants to move several million tonnes of freight via rail, we ...
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News
Solaris to supply electric buses to Rzeszów
POLAND: The city of Rzeszów signed a contract with Solaris Bus & Coach on October 30 for the supply of 10 electric and 30 diesel buses. Solaris will supply 10 of its Urbino 12 buses under a 30·2m złoty contract that includes charging infrastructure. The 12 m long vehicles ...
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World rail freight news round-up
Next month GB Railfreight will begin taking delivery of 50 Astra Rail hopper wagons which it is to lease from Nacco to support a contract to haul biomass for Lynemouth Power. The new wagons will have a payload of 70 tonnes, compared to the 53 tonnes of existing vehicles. ...
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EC confirms Croatian electrification funding
CROATIA: Financial support worth €80·8m for a project to modernise and electrify the 23·8 km line from Zaprešić to Zabok to support an expansion of suburban services northwest of Zagreb was approved by the European Commission on October 19. The project includes the construction of several sections of new alignment, ...
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World rolling stock market - October 2017
Brazil: CRRC Sifang is to supply eight eight-car EMUs for use on the future Line 13 of the São Paulo suburban network operated by CPTM. The 1 600 mm gauge trainsets based on CRRC’s Type A metro design are to be delivered from 2019. China: Chengdu Metro ...
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Metro Report International
Fuel cell tram enters service in Tangshan
CHINA: A hydrogen fuel tram entered commercial service in Tangshan on October 26. Built by CRRC Tangshan, the low-floor tram runs along an 13·8 km route that includes part of the Tang Xu railway. The tram can run up to 40 km between refuelling, which takes 15 min. ...
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Prince Vladimir broad gauge Traxx locomotive certified
RUSSIA: The federal railway certification body granted type approval on October 13 enabling First Locomotive Co to begin series production of its 2EV120 Prince Vladimir 1520 mm gauge locomotive design. The First Locomotive Co joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and local investors was formed to manufacture locomotives at a factory ...
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CAF to supply more trams to Stockholm
SWEDEN: CAF has won a further tram order from Stockholm transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, the company announced on October 25. The €37m contract for 12 trams includes 10 three-section trams for the Tvärbana line, which is due to be extended in 2021, and two four-section trams for the Lidingöbanan ...
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Metro Report International
Class 345 testing starts in Crossrail core
UK: The Crossrail commissioning programme has reached a further milestone, with the first gauging run of a Class 345 trainset through part of the cross-London tunnels scheduled to take place on the night of October 27-28. Engineering trains have been operating through the tunnels since the completion of tracklaying earlier ...
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Alstom to supply more trams to Rabat
MOROCCO: Société des Transports de Rabat-Salé has signed a €45m contract with Alstom for the supply of 22 Citadis trams, the manufacturer announced on October 26. The 32 m long low-floor vehicles will run in coupled pairs and will augment the fleet of 44 Citadis trams that Alstom supplied ...
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Surferlab to develop augmented vehicle technology
FRANCE: On October 25 Bombardier Transportation, Prosyst and the University of Valenciennes & Hainaut-Cambrésis inaugurated Surferlab, a joint facility which will develop embedded digital technology for safer and more intelligent rail, road, air and maritime transport. The three priority areas for Surferlab are connected and predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence, and ...
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Deutsche Bahn launches driverless shuttle
GERMANY: National railway Deutsche Bahn launched an electric driverless shuttle service in the town of Bad Birnbach in Bayern on October 25. DB said it aims to use the multi-year project to become better acquainted with the technology, and test the acceptance of driverless shuttles among passengers. ‘Our ...
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West Midlands Trains announces London Northwestern brand
UK: Services on the West Coast Main Line to be operated as part of the next West Midlands franchise are to be branded London Northwestern, the West Midlands Trains Ltd consortium of Abellio, East Japan Railway and Mitsui & Co announced on October 27. The new West Midlands franchise is ...
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Railway supply industry news round-up
Stadler signed its first Flirt EMU maintenance contract in Norway on October 26, a three-year extendable deal with NSB Gjøvikbanen which runs from January 1 and covers 10 units. The existing Lodalen maintenance facility in Oslo will be adapted for the contract, which is modelled on a similar agreement with ...
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Traxtion Group targets African rail market
AFRICA: The Sheltam group has been rebranded as Traxtion Group, following a 30% investment from Harith General Partners’ Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund 2. Traxtion Group aims to partner with locomotive and wagon manufacturers, track construction companies, consulting engineers and project developers in the African rail market. Chairman Brian ...
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VDL to supply electric minibuses to Noord-Holland
NETHERLANDS: Transdev subsidiary Connexxion has placed an order with VDL Bus & Coach for 62 electric minibuses to be used for services that are part of the Noord-Holland Noord concession from next year. The 8 m long MidCity Electric buses will be fitted with 87 kWh batteries. The order ...
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Metro do Porto operating concession awarded
PORTUGAL: Barraqueiro SGPS has been selected for a contract to operate and maintain the Metro do Porto light rail network in 2018-25. The contract was awarded on the basis of the lowest bid following an international tender, with Barraqueiro’s offer of €204m coming in below the reference value of ...
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Swiss long-distance concession delayed
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Transport Office, BAV, has decided to postpone the award of new concessions to operate long-distance passenger services on the national network, and to directly award SBB a two-year extension to its existing contract until the December 2019 timetable change. SBB had been in negotiation with regional operators ...
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Metro Report International
Transport for London consults on Holborn capacity upgrade
UK: Transport for London is undertaking public consultation until November 17 on proposals to increase capacity at Holborn station on London Underground’s Central and Piccadilly lines. Handling 63 million passengers a year, Holborn is currently the 11th-busiest station on the LU network, and TfL estimates that by 2031 demand ...