News – Page 532
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NewsSouth Western Railway brand launched in London
UK: The replacement South Western franchise, awarded to a joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR Europe, was formally launched at London Waterloo on September 4. The franchise had begun on August 20, but with Network Rail’s blockade at Waterloo still underway the launch was held back until platform extension work ...
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NewsABB India to install solar inverters at 750 Indian stations
INDIA: ABB India is to supply solar inverters for 750 stations in north India as part of an Indian Railways project to reduce dependence on electricity generated using coal, lower energy costs and meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Forming part of rooftop solar installations being set up by Azure ...
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NewsIHHA conference considers rail’s role in a changing world
INTERNATIONAL: ‘This is a journey, not just an event’, emphasised Transnet Freight Rail General Manager, Capital Projects, Brian Monakali, welcoming delegates to the 11th International Heavy Haul Association conference which began in Cape Town on September 4. Newly elected as IHHA Chairman for the next two years, Monakali said ...
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News6Dh locomotive delivered
POLAND: Budimex has taken delivery of a 6Dh diesel locomotive rebuilt from a Class SM42 by locomotive repair and wagon manufacturing company Tabor Dębica. This is the first commercial order for the 6Dh design, following the completion last year of a prototype which Tabor Dębica is using internally. The ...
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NewsCanadian government demands Manitoba railway repairs
CANADA: The federal government is seeking to restore rail services along the Hudson Bay Railway, which connects Churchill in northern Manitoba with the Canadian National network at Flin Flon Junction, near The Pas.Following what HBR owner OmniTRAX described in June as ‘catastrophic’ flood damage, trains have been unable to run ...
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NewsHitachi and DB test ScotRail EMUs in Germany
UK: Two Hitachi Rail Europe Class 385 EMUs have been moved from Britain to a base at Minden in Germany for a series of unpowered dynamic tests on the DB Netz network.Hitachi is supplying 70 Class 385 EMUs in three- and four-car formations for ScotRail from its production facility at ...
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NewsBergen tunnel breakthrough
NORWAY: A ceremony in the suburb of Fløen on August 29 marked the breakthrough of the 7·8 km Ulriken tunnel, which construction authority Bane NOR claims is the first main line railway tunnel in the country to be bored by tunnel boring machine.The bore will complement an existing single track ...
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NewsWien metro reaches Oberlaa
AUSTRIA: Chancellor Christian Kern, Wien Mayor Michael Häupl and Executive City Councillor for the Environment Ulli Sima attended a ceremony on September 2 to open an extension of Wien metro Line U1. The 4·6 km southern extension from Reumannplatz to Oberlaa adds five stations and brings Line U1 to ...
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Metro Report InternationalKolkata metro platform screen door contract awarded
INDIA: Kolkata Metro Rail Corp has awarded a contract to a consortium of Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric and Panasonic Manufacturing (Beijing) Co to supply platform screen doors for the 12 stations being built for the city’s future Line 2. The 16·3 km east-west route between Howrah Maidan and Salt ...
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NewsUi-Sinseol Light Rapid Transit line opens in Seoul
SOUTH KOREA: A ceremony on September 4 attended by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon marked the opening of the Ui-Sinseol Light Rapid Transit light metro line. Running north from Sinseol-dong to Ui-dong, the 11·4 km underground line serves 13 stations. Interchanges are provided with metro lines 1 and 2 at ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Leasing company GATX Rail Germany has awarded WBN Waggonbau Niesky a contract to supply 50 Moltrag modular wagons for use by BASF from April 2018, with an option for a further 100. The Gemeinschaft der Europäischen Transsibirien Operateure & Spediteure (Association of European Trans-Siberia Operators & Forwarders) has changed the ...
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NewsHazardous materials training academy for short lines
USA: The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has awarded the Short Line Safety Institute a $500 000 grant to create a Hazardous Materials Training Academy in Washington DC. ‘Small railroads will greatly benefit from the expertise and resources the Hazardous Materials Training Academy will provide’, said SLSI Executive Director ...
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News4Transit awarded C$300m Toronto RER contract
CANADA: The 4Transit joint venture of Hatch, Parsons, and WSP Canada has been awarded a C$300m contract to provide technical advisory services for two major work packages within transport agency Metrolinx’s Regional Express Rail programme to upgrade the rail network in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area. ‘This massive transformation ...
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NewsPoland – Ukraine rail connections expanded
EUROPE: Passenger links between Poland and Ukraine have been improved with the launch on August 24 of a Ukrainian Railways Intercity+ service from Przemyśl to Kyiv via Lviv, Ternopil and Vinnytsia. The second cross-border IC+ service follows the launch last December of a Przemyśl – Kyiv service via Lviv and ...
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News1 520 mm gauge Traxx locomotive to be certified this year
RUSSIA: The First Locomotive Co of Bombardier Transportation and local investors announced at Expo 1520 that is expects to obtain certification this autumn for its 1 520 mm gauge member of the Traxx locomotive family. The prototype 2EV120 Prince Vladimir twin-section locomotive built at the company’s Engels factory was exhibited ...
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NewsEurovia buys German contractor THG
GERMANY: Vinci subsidiary Eurovia announced on August 31 that it had become the majority shareholder in rail infrastructure contractor THG Baugesellschaft. Based in Nordrhein-Westfalen, THG has around 60 staff and generated revenue of €17m in 2016. It provides services including track and turnout renewals, subgrade construction and other civil engineering ...
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NewsBirmingham tram extension receives government funding
UK: The Department for Transport announced on September 1 that it is to provide £59·8m towards the construction of the Edgbaston extension of the Midland Metro tram route in Birmingham. The package means that the £149m project is now fully funded. Preliminary work started in the summer on the ...
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NewsTrams reach Tallinn airport
ESTONIA: Revenue service began on an extension of the Tallinn tram network to the airport on September 1, following an official inauguration ceremony two days earlier attended by Acting Mayor Taavi Aas and Estonia’s Rail Baltica project co-ordinator Kristjan Kaunissaare. The 700 m southern extension of Route 4 includes ...
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NewsLastochka Premium inter-regional EMU offers higher comfort
RUSSIA: The Ural Locomotives joint venture of Sinara Group and Siemens displayed a Lastochka Premium inter-regional version of their Desiro RUS electric multiple-unit family at the Expo 1520 trade fair at Shcherbinka. Russian Railways had previously used the Lastochka Premium brand to refer to some faster services operated using standard ...
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NewsBaghdad metro operator sought
IRAQ: The government is reported to be seeking an operator for two proposed underground metro lines in Baghdad. Both lines would be 23 km long. Line 1 would have 25 stations and Line 2 would have 22, with one interchange station serving both lines. The main maintenance ...