News – Page 568
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NewsTram-trains on test in Sheffield
UK: Non-passenger-carrying tests of the Class 399 tram-train vehicles have started on the Supertram network in Sheffield. Driver training is due to begin shortly, with passenger services on the existing tram network now expected to begin in mid-2017. Testing on the national rail network is currently expected to start next ...
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NewsNew initiatives in extended Auckland Transport operating contract
NEW ZEALAND: Auckland Transport has extended Transdev’s contract to operate suburban rail services to January 2020. The extension includes initiatives to improve passenger experience and increase security. Ticket offices and customer service centres at five stations are to be combined by the end of July. This will be followed ...
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NewsRail regulator publishes principles for driver-controlled operation
UK: On April 5 the Office of Rail & Road published the six high-level safety principles that it expects train operators to follow when rolling out and managing driver-controlled operation. DCO is defined as a method of working where the train driver is responsible for door operation and determining that ...
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NewsCRRC rolls out Wenzhou commuter EMU
CHINA: CRRC Qingdao Sifang rolled out its first electric multiple-unit for Wenzhou Line S1 on March 31. The four-car EMU is the first of 32 being built under a contract awarded in 2014. Based on a Type A metro train design, the EMU features a level of comfort more ...
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NewsPrima H3 shunting loco approved for 100 km/h
GERMANY: Federal railway office EBA has certified Alstom’s Prima H3 battery-diesel shunting locomotive for operation at up to 100 km/h, paving the way for main line operation. Announcing the certification on April 5, Alstom said the Prima H3 was the only three-axle shunting locomotive certified to operate at this speed ...
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NewsShift2Rail funding call oversubscribed
EUROPE: Proposals for research projects valued at almost €200m have been submitted in response to this year’s Shift2Rail Call for Proposals, which closed at the end of March. The 60 applications from groups representing 412 organisations have a total value of €192·8m, with requests for funding totalling €136·5m, equivalent to ...
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NewsZSSK orders DMUs and coaches
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK has awarded its traditional supplier ŽOS Vrútky two contracts to supply locomotive-hauled coaches and diesel multiple-units. The 21 Class 861 DMUs are to be delivered from 2018 for use on the Zvolen – Vrútky and Zvolen – Fiľakovo lines. They will have air-conditioning, wi-fi and ...
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NewsDrug and alcohol compliance software for short lines
USA: Browz has launched a software-as-a-service package to assist short line railways and their contractors in complying with Federal Railroad Administration drug and alcohol testing requirements coming into force in June. Browz ShortLine will enable operators to check the compliance of their contractors and employees, and to source new contractors ...
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NewsEglė Radvilė
Lithuanian national railway LG has appointed Eglė Radvilė to head up its IT Centre, while Linas Baužys becomes Deputy General Director.
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express EMU car rolled out
GERMANY: Siemens unveiled the first Desiro HC car for the future Rhein-Ruhr-Express network at its Krefeld factory on March 31. ‘The RRX will lift regional transport in NRW to a higher level’, said NRW Transport Minister Michael Groschek on his visit to Krefeld, adding that ‘the new trains combine ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express EMU car rolled out
GERMANY: Siemens unveiled the first Desiro HC car for the future Rhein-Ruhr-Express network at its Krefeld factory on March 31. ‘The RRX will lift regional transport in NRW to a higher level’, said NRW Transport Minister Michael Groschek on his visit to Krefeld, adding that ‘the new trains combine ...
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NewsLoco ‘designed, engineered and manufactured in Africa’ unveiled
SOUTH AFRICA: What national freight group Transnet says is the ‘first locomotive to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Africa’ was unveiled by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria on April 4. The Trans-Africa Locomotive was developed by Transnet’s manufacturing division Transnet Engineering and assembled at its plant in ...
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NewsRZD International signs Iran electrification contract
IRAN: Russian Railways’ export business RZD International and Islamic Republic of Iran Railways signed a €1·2bn contract on March 28 for the electrification of the 495 km route from Garmsar on the Tehran – Mashhad main line to Incheh Borun on the border with Turkmenistan. This builds on an initial ...
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NewsTracsis buys stake in Vivacity
UK: Transportation data software supplier Tracsis announced on April 4 that it had taken a stake in Vivacity Labs, a provider of data for smart cities and intelligent transport systems. Tracsis is investing up to £1m, subject to performance milestones, through a tranched equity funding mechanism in return for ...
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NewsStadler proposes move from Altenrhein to St Margrethen
SWITZERLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Stadler confirmed on April 4 that it was evaluating options to replace its Altenrhein site with a new plant at nearby St Margrethen. The new facility would be optimised for the production of Kiss double-deck vehicles, unlike the current leased facility at Altenrhein, which Stadler said ...
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NewsLNG locomotive agreement
LITHUANIA: An agreement to co-operate to develop a liquefied natural gas-fuelled shunting locomotive was signed on March 30 by Lithuania Railways, stevedoring company Bega, oil and gas terminal operator Klaipėdos Nafta, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and Klaipeda University. The partner aim to produce a prototype shunting locomotive for use at ...
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NewsBeijing Dinghan Technology buys SMA Railway Technology
GERMANY: Beijing Dinghan Technology Co has acquired Kassel-based auxiliary convertor manufacturer SMA Railway Technology from SMA Solar Technology on undisclosed terms. Operational and corporate responsibility will remain in Kassel, with SMA Railway continuing to operate under its own name and with its existing management. SMA Railway Technology said the deal ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore design consultants appointed
MALAYSIA: Promoter MyHSR Corp has selected a mix of international and domestic firms to work as Reference Design Consultants on the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed line project, the company announced on April 3. The consultants will be responsible for preparing the reference designs for the infrastructure alignment and ...
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Metro Report InternationalLyon’s future metro design revealed
FRANCE: Announcing details of Sytral’s Avenir Metro programme at a press conference on April 3, President Annie Guillemot unveiled the design of the future metro trainsets ordered from Alstom for deployment on metro lines B and D. Insisting that ‘investment is a top priority’ for Sytral, she explained that the ...
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NewsQuiet wagons mandatory by 2020
GERMANY: Noisy freight wagons will effectively be banned from the national rail network from the December 13 2020 timetable change, after Federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced on March 30 that the Bundestag had passed legislation requiring the use of low-noise freight wagons as part of his ‘Quiet Rail Strategy’. ...