News – Page 553
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NewsThalys aims for full trains and happy customers
EUROPE: High speed operator Thalys is to introduce a new fares structure and onboard service proposition on September 12. The current Comfort 1 and Comfort 2 classes of travel are to be replaced with Standard, Comfort and Premium, improving flexibility and increasing the proportion of discounted fares on offer from ...
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NewsLong-distance Lastochka agreed
RUSSIA: An agreement to develop a long-distance variant of the successful Lastochka electric multiple-unit family has been reached between Russian Railways and the Urals Locomotive joint venture of Sinara and Siemens. The accord to draft revised technical specifications was signed during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum by the head ...
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NewsNew metro line in Izmir approved
TURKEY: The Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs & Communications has approved a new metro line in Izmir following the completion of an environmental impact assessment. The 4·5 km route would run east from Halkapınar metro and Izban suburban railway station, which would also be the terminus of the future ...
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NewsGabon takes delivery of refurbished DB Regio coaches
GABON: Coaches formerly used by DB Regio in Germany are being refurbished by Electroputere VFU Pașcani in Romania for use on Libreville – Franceville overnight services operated by Sociéte d'Exploitation du Transgabonais. The first batch of nine vehicles was shipped at the end of May and is expected to arrive ...
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NewsFrançoise Bertrand
Canadian Minister of Transport Marc Garneau has appointed Françoise Bertrand as Chair of the Board of Directors at VIA Rail Canada for a five-year term.
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
On June 1 The Greenbrier Companies and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co finalised agreements for the expansion of their commercial relationship which had been announced in April. MUL is to obtain its new wagons exclusively from Greenbrier until 2023, with a commitment to buy an initial 6 000 over ...
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NewsRotterdam railway rerouting approved
NETHERLANDS: State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment Sharon Dijksma has approved plans by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and ProRail to reroute 4·5 km of the harbour railway serving Europoort to avoid the Caland Bridge. This would avoid delays to freight trains when the vertical lift ...
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Metro Report InternationalVariable headways based on real-time passenger numbers to be tested
DENMARK: København metro authority Metroselskabet has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ansaldo STS to develop a proof-of-concept dynamic headway technology for the city’s metro. Sensors at stations would detect passenger numbers and use this to adjust the frequency of trains in real-time. Ansaldo STS sees this as particularly ...
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NewsStadler locomotives to support Medway’s expansion
PORTUGAL: Leasing company Alpha Trains has taken delivery of six Euro 4000 diesel locomotives from Stadler’s Valencia plant. Two of the locos are for Iberocargo, while four are to be used by Medway on cross-border freight services between Spain and Portugal under the Portuguese operator’s first leasing agreement with Alpha ...
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NewsSMBC Rail acquires American Railcar Leasing
USA: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp’s wagon leasing and fleet management business SMBC Rail Services completed the $2·78bn acquisition of American Railcar Leasing from investment group Icahn Enterprises on June 1. Chicago-based SMBC Rail said the transaction would produce a ‘premier’ full service lessor of ‘long-lived’ rolling stock for the North ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
A mock-up of the Stadler Flirt multiple-units which are to enter service with Greater Anglia from 2019 has been set up at the operator’s Norwich Crown Point depot to enable staff, customers and stakeholders to provide feedback on the design. It includes first and standard class seating, the café bar, ...
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NewsPakistan Railways orders GE locomotives for the north
PAKISTAN: GE Transportation announced an agreement to supply 20 FDL C20EMP diesel locomotives to Pakistan Railways on June 7. The 1 676 mm gauge C20EMP locomotives are to be supplied from Erie in the USA by the end of 2018. They will be a lightweight 2 000 hp mixed ...
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NewsChizhik tram for St Petersburg nears completion
RUSSIA: The first trams for the privately operated fast tram route being developed in St Petersburg are nearing completion at Stadler’s factory in Minsk. The first tram is due to begin dynamic testing on the Minsk network shortly. Future operator Transportnaya Koncessionnaya Kompanya has branded the tram Chizhik, the ...
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NewsStadler receives ‘record-breaking’ orders in a successful year
SWITZERLAND: Stadler says its expansion into new geographical markets and industry sectors paid off in 2016, when it received a ‘record-breaking’ number of orders with a total value of SFr4·9bn, more than double the 2015 figure. Turnover and profit were ‘in line with the long-term average’, the company said on ...
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NewsMongolian coal railway co-operation agreement
MONGOLIA: China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd has entered into a non-binding agreement to co-operate with Aspire Mining subsidiary Northern Railways to plan and source financing for the proposed 549 km Erdenet – Ovoot line. The proposed multi-user railway would enable Aspire to exploit the second largest coking coal reserves in ...
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NewsBrunswick Rail replaces leaseback facility
RUSSIA: Wagon leasing company Brunswick Rail has agreed a rouble sale and leaseback arrangement with SpetsTransServis to replace a previous leaseback facility with Alfa-Leasing. Announcing the change on June 2, Brunswick Rail said the arrangement offered more attractive terms which would reduce its interest payments and increase its unencumbered fleet. ...
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NewsPrime Minister inaugurates Napoli Afragola station
ITALY: The landmark high speed station at Napoli Afragola, designed by the late Zaha Hadid, was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on June 6, ahead of the start of regular services on June 11. Arriving on a Freccciarossa 1000 high speed train, Gentiloni was accompanied by Minister of ...
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NewsDB Regio selected for Rhein-Neckar operating contract
GERMANY: Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of Transport and the Rhein-Neckar and Rheinland-Pfalz Süd transport authorities have jointly selected DB Regio as preferred bidder for the S-Bahn Rhein-Neckar (Netz 6b) operating contract. The contract covers the operation of passenger services on lines in Baden-Württemberg and southern Hessen from December 13 2020. The ...
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NewsUlrich Bouly
International high speed operator Thalys has appointed former Captrain Belgium Managing Director Ulrich Bouly as Chief Operations Officer, while Bruno Dierickx becomes Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer.
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NewsVale anticipates fuel saving from Trip Optimizer
BRAZIL: Vale expects to make significant fuel savings by deploying GE Transportation’s Trip Optimizer automated cruise control system across 114 locomotives used on the Estrada de Ferro Carajás heavy haul network. Pilot tests are also expected to start shortly on the Vitória a Minas network, and on the Nacala Corridor ...