News – Page 539
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NewsInner Mongolia high speed line opens
CHINA: Revenue services on the 126 km Hohhot – Ulanqab section of the future Hohhot – Zhangjiakou high speed line in Inner Mongolia began on August 3. Trial running had begun on June 29. Construction of the 287 km Hohhot –Zhangjiakou line started in April 2014, and revenue services on ...
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NewsZSSK awards Mravec DMU conversion contract
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK has awarded ŽOS Zvolen a €11m contract to convert Class 810/011 railcars and non-powered trailers into eight Class 813/913.1 two-car diesel multiple-units for use on regional services in central Slovakia. Deliveries are scheduled by the end of 2017. To be branded Mravec (‘ant’), each DMU ...
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NewsCRRC and Siemens consortium to supply Kuala Lumpur light metro trains
MALAYSIA: Project promoter Prasarana announced on August 2 that it had awarded a consortium of CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co, Siemens China and Tegap Dinamik a 1·56bn ringgit contract for the supply of 42 six-car driverless light metro trainsets for the LRT3 project in Kuala Lumpur. Each air-conditioned trainset would have ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
The contracts to design and build the civil works including bridges, tunnels, embankments and viaducts for High Speed 2 Phase 1 from London to Birmingham and a junction with the West Coast Main Line near Handsacre were formally signed on August 1. The signatories were HS2 Ltd and the SCS ...
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Metro Report InternationalPalermo rail project restarts
ITALY: Work on the Anello rail line in Palermo restarted on July 29 following the government allocating an additional €50m to the project in April. The project to create a circular line around the city centre is now 80% complete. This will use a former freight branch to the ...
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NewsFrench regions prepare for market opening
FRANCE: Plans for the progressive introduction of competitive tendering in the regional passenger market have been confirmed by the government, and the proposals will be included in transport legislation due to be published in the first half of 2018. The organisation which represents the regions of France has told the ...
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Metro Report InternationalMexico City studies airport rail link
MEXICO: Metro operator STC has begun tendering for studies of an express rail link to Mexico City’s new airport, which will include defining route options to make the best use of existing rights-of-way and minimise disruption to the urban fabric. The preferred bidder will also consider the civil engineering and ...
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NewsChina to reinstate 350 km/h operation
CHINA: Test running at speeds up to 350 km/h is underway on the Beijing – Shanghai line, as part of China Railway Corp’s plan to reinstate the previous national maximum speed six years after it was reduced to 300 km/h in the wake of the Wenzhou collision in July 2011. ...
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NewsFirst electric buses ordered for Brussels
BELGIUM: Brussels city transport operator STIB has ordered seven Urbino 8,9 LE electric buses from Solaris Bus & Coach. These are expected to enter service at the beginning of 2018 on the new Citybus route. The buses will be equipped with a 160 kW traction motor and a Medcom ...
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NewsFeature articles in the August 2017 issue of Railway Gazette International
Feature articles in the latest issue of Railway Gazette International, the leading business journal for railway operators and suppliers, read in 140 countries. Subscribe to Railway Gazette International today. Comment An African awakening News Main Line Urban Rail Market Industry Innovations Pointers ...
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NewsKramatorsk tram network closes
UKRAINE: Trams ceased running in Kramatorsk on August 1 with the closure of the last remaining route. The city intends to buy three buses to serve the 14·6 km route, with fares kept the same. The main reason given for the closure was the high cost of fleet replacement. ...
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NewsSingapore – Malaysia Rapid Transit System agreement to be signed this year
ASIA: The bilateral agreement enabling the construction of the Johor Bahru – Singapore Rapid Transit System is expected to be signed by December 2017 and passenger services are planned to start by December 31 2024, the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia said after its 13th meeting on July ...
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NewsDMUs modernised for ‘state-of-the-art ambience and contemporary comfort’
GERMANY: The first of 26 Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units which Alstom is modernising for Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG is expected to return to service with EVB this month. By December 2019 there will be 15 upgraded DMUs in use on EVB’s Elbe-Weser services and 11 on Nordwestbahn’s Weser-/Lammetalbahn route. ...
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NewsBelgrano upgrade completes first 100 km
ARGENTINA: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich announced on July 26 the completion of the first 100 km of track renewals under the programme to upgrade the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network for freight traffic. Under the first phase of the programme, track renewals are being undertaken on 535 km. The ...
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NewsTransmashholding to form Iranian rolling stock joint venture
IRAN: An agreement to establish a joint venture to produce rolling stock in Iran was signed on July 31 by Transmashholding and Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran. The companies plan to form a joint venture owned 80% by Transmashholding and 20% by IDRO. This would use the Wagon ...
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NewsSaudi Railway Co traffic grows
SAUDI ARABIA: North–South Railway operator Saudi Railway Co reports that it carried 4·06 million tonnes of phosphate and bauxite in the first half of 2017, a 27% increase on the same period in 2016. Each SAR freight train comprises three EMD locomotives and more than 160 wagons supplied by The ...
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NewsPesa sole bidder in Częstochowa tram tender
POLAND: Pesa was the sole bidder in a tender to supply up to 15 trams to Częstochowa. Pesa bid 89·9m złoty for the base order of 10 trams, deliveries of which are due to be completed in 2020. MPK Częstochowa currently has seven 2010N trams from Pesa’s Twist family ...
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NewsCarlos Gomes Nogueira
Portuguese national operator Comboios de Portugal has named Carlos Gomes Nogueira as President, while Sérgio Abrantes Machado and Ana dos Santos Malho join him on the CP board.
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NewsFashion is in rail freight
EUROPE: Transmec Group is expanding its rail freight services to meet growing demand, particularly from the fashion sector, and is investing €6m in 160 trailers, 100 swap bodies and 40 box containers for moving hanging garments. In addition to increasing capacity and frequencies on existing routes, this will enable ...
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NewsNetwork Rail announces ‘sweeping’ reform to attract private sector participation
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced ‘sweeping new reforms’ on July 31 which are intended to enable third parties to become ‘heavily involved’ in delivering railway investment projects. At the same time it published the Unlocking rail investment – building confidence, reducing costs report commissioned from Professor Peter Hansford in ...