News – Page 535
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NewsBLS bids to take over Simplon car shuttle
SWITZERLAND: BLS has applied to the Valais canton to take over the car-carrier shuttle service between Brig and Iselle currently run by Swiss Federal Railways, which is not seeking to renew its concession when it expires in December. If its application succeeds, BLS would operate the service from the December ...
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NewsBalfour Beatty wins Bristol – Cardiff electrification contract
UK: Balfour Beatty announced on August 22 that it had been awarded a contract by Network Rail to electrify 64 route-km of the Great Western Main Line between Bristol Parkway and Cardiff. Main works are due to start this month with completion expected towards the end of 2018. Contract award ...
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NewsDB Netz orders RailRoadRunner ultrasonic rail inspection systems
GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz has awarded Vossloh Rail Services subsidiary Gleistechnik Süd a framework contract for the supply of RailRoadRunner manually-guided ultrasonic rail inspection systems. The inspection components and a weatherproof tablet computer are integrated into a lightweight but sturdy trolley suitable for inspecting rail over short distances, such ...
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NewsTexas-Mexico rail border facility upgraded
NORTH AMERICA: Kansas City Southern, US Customs & Border Protection and Mexican customs agency SAT inaugurated a joint rail freight processing facility at the Laredo border crossing in Texas on August 17. The facility enables Mexican export processing to be undertaken at the US railhead, with equipment ...
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NewsFirst Doha metro trains arrive in Qatar
QATAR: The first four trains for the Doha metro arrived at Hamad Port on August 19, following a 21-day journey from the Port of Kobe in Japan. Their arrival is two months ahead of schedule, and they will be transferred to the Al Wakra Depot shortly. Kinki Sharyo is building ...
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NewsIndian government approves new metro policy
INDIA: The government has made private-sector participation a mandatory requirement for metro projects that are to receive a national funding contribution. A new metro policy approved on August 16 ‘seeks to enable realisation of growing metro rail aspirations of a large number of cities but in a responsible manner’, ...
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NewsFreight operators reschedule to avoid Rastatt tunnel collapse
EUROPE: Rail freight operators are working to implement diversionary routes for north-south intermodal traffic, after German infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed that the key Karlsruhe – Basel section of Rhine-Alpine Rail Freight Corridor 1 would remain closed for an estimated six weeks following a tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August ...
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NewsSolaris to supply electric buses to Kristiansand
NORWAY: Solaris has won a contract to supply five Urbino 12 electric buses to operator Boreal Norge for use on two routes in Kristiansand, the supplier announced on August 21. The buses are due to enter service on routes 10 and 13 in mid-2018. The 12 m long buses ...
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NewsRailways prepare for total solar eclipse
USA: Amtrak is to run a special train on August 21 to enable people to reach one of the best locations for viewing the first total solar eclipse to be visible from the continental USA since 1979, and the first to be visible coast-to-coast since 1918. The Eclipse ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The Canadian government is providing C$250 000 to support the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in assessing real-time information on the performance of rail freight to and from the Port of Vancouver. A concept phase will focus on the grain and fertiliser sectors, and address data quality issues. ‘This project will ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market - August 2017
Argentina: Trenes Argentinos Infraestructura has completed a 17m pesos refurbishment of San Nicolás and San Pedro stations on the Buenos Aires - Rosario route, building new platforms and improving accessibility. Australia: The NSW government has awarded a A$2·81bn civil works contract for the construction of the Sydney Metro cross-harbour ...
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NewsBenguela railway handover
ANGOLA: Construction company China Railway 20 Bureau Group has formally handed over further sections of the 1 301 km Benguela Railway to the government of Angola. Events marking the transfer of ownership were held on June 29 in Kuito and on July 27 at Luau, close to the border with ...
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NewsKishon Port rail link inaugurated
ISRAEL: A rail connection to the Kishon area at the eastern end of Haifa Port was inaugurated on August 17, enabling freight trains to run directly to destinations across the Israel Railways network. The 2km link was built in around a year as part of a programme of co-operation between ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Stadler has announced SMILE (Schneller Mehrsystemfähiger Innovativer Leichter Expresszug, or fast multi-system innovative light express train) as the brand name for its EC250 high speed train design. It is known as Giruno by launch customer Swiss Federal Railways, which has ordered 29 of the trainsets for services through the Gotthard ...
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NewsElectro-diesel units ordered for Benidorm – Dénia line
SPAIN: Regional operator Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana has awarded Stadler Rail Valencia a €35·8m contract to supply six electro-diesel multiple-units for the metre gauge railway between Benidorm and Dénia. This forms a part of a €72m programme to upgrade the 50 km Benidorm – Dénia Line 9 to match ...
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NewsPenguin specialist supports rail infrastructure project
AUSTRALIA: TasRail has appointed a penguin specialist from BirdLife Tasmania to provide advice on the protection of habitats during coastal erosion and landslip prevention works which are expected to get underway in November. The request for tenders requires the contractors to consider environmental constraints and bird life during the work ...
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NewsHIMA signs Indonesia signalling technology contract
INDONESIA: HIMA has signed a €1·74m contract to provide signalling equipment supplier PT Len with SIL4-certified commercial-off-the-shelf HiMatrix and HiMax safety controllers. HIMA said a major factor in winning the contract was its use of an open architecture which would enable PT Len to integrate HIMA’s technology with its legacy ...
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NewsHiroshima Rapid Transit orders MHI trainsets
JAPAN: Hiroshima Rapid Transit Co has awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a contract to supply 11 six-car Automated Guideway Transit rubber-tyre trainsets for New Transit Line 1, the Astram Line. They are scheduled to enter service in 2019-25, to replace the vehicles which were delivered for the opening of the line ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Govia Thameslink Railway has offered jobs to 10 young people from Luton, Cambridge, Stevenage, Brixton and Bedford after they completed the Prince's Trust‘s four-week Get into Railways course. This included including first-hand experience working as customer service assistants. Network Rail is seeking to discuss procurement options for the overhaul of ...
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Metro Report InternationalBolzano Metrobus project gets underway
ITALY: Work on the Bolzano Metrobus project has got underway, with new stops being built in Pianizza di Sotto and San Paolo d’Appiano. Work to begin building stops in Caldaro has been approved. Metrobus services will run on a partly segregated alignment between the centre of Bolzano and Caldaro ...