News – Page 570
-
NewsAmtrak’s Gardner calms fears over Trump budget cuts
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak has sought to calm concerns about budget cuts affecting its inter-city passenger services in the wake of federal government budget proposals presented by President Trump on March 16.Speaking at the ‘Future Railway Organisation’ seminar arranged by consultancy Steer Davies Gleave in London on March 29, ...
-
NewsDB orders 25 inter-city trainsets
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has placed a firm order for a further 25 push-pull double-deck inter-city trainsets, Bombardier Transportation announced on March 30. The contract covers 25 Traxx AC3 electric locomotives and 124 Twindexx Vario double-deck coaches to be delivered from 2019. They will be equipped with ETCS Level 2 Baseline ...
-
NewsNürnberg S-Bahn EMU contract signed
GERMANY: A contract for Alstom to supply 27 four-car Class 1440 Coradia Continental electric multiple-units for use on Nürnberg S-Bahn services was signed by DB Regio Bayern Chairman Hansrüdiger Fritz on March 29. The units are to be supplied from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant for use from 2020 on Nürnberg S-Bahn ...
-
News
Railway supply industry responds to Article 50 notification
UK: Responding to the UK’s formal notification on March 29 of its intention to withdraw from the European Union, the Railway Industry Association which represents manufacturers and service providers said it would be ‘engaging with government to ensure that the UK railway supply industry’s needs are represented’. ‘Brexit presents the ...
-
Metro Report InternationalQuébec agrees REM investment
CANADA: Public pension and insurance investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the government of Québec have agreed the main terms for the province’s participation in the Réseau Électrique Métropolitain automated metro project in Montréal. The provincial government has committed to provide C$1·28bn, representing 24·5% of the total ...
-
NewsUK railway news round-up
The Office of Rail & Road issued a formal notice on March 27 confirming its intention to carry out a periodic review of all track and station access agreements relating to infrastructure manager Network Rail. PR18 will determine what Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd is expected to deliver and the funding ...
-
NewsRiga station rebuild to offer ‘moments of great wonder’
LATVIA: Danish architectural firm PLH and engineering partner Cowi have won an international competition to design the rebuilding of Riga’s Centrālā station into multimodal transport hub and the provision of a bridge over the River Daugava as part of the Rail Baltica project. Procurement for the station project is scheduled ...
-
NewsFerrovie Appulo Lucane expands fleet
ITALY: Ferrovie Appulo Lucane has awarded Stadler an €8·5m contract to supply an additional three-car diesel multiple-unit for its 950 mm gauge network, along with two intermediate cars to lengthen two existing units from two to three cars. An order for a third intermediate car is expected to follow within ...
-
NewsJoanna Whittington
Joanna Whittington has been confirmed as CEO of the UK’s Office of Rail & Road. Formerly Director of Railway Markets & Economics at ORR, she had been acting as Interim CEO since January 2016.
-
NewsTibbett Logistics invests in București intermodal terminal
ROMANIA: Tibbett Logistics is to make a ‘substantial six-figure euro’ investment this year to enhance its București International Rail Freight Terminal, which it says is the only privately operated open-access rail container terminal in the capital. This follows a significant increase in freight volumes handled at BIRFT, with five block ...
-
NewsWorld rail market March 2017
Poland: PKP Cargo has expanded its drone fleet with Dron House’s Bielik 3·5 kg carbon fibre design. Last year it began using DJI Phantom 3 and Eagle drones to monitor its trains, and has reported a 50% reduction in cargo theft. South Africa: Transnet is to use GE’s Predix ...
-
Metro Report InternationalCrossrail electrification nears completion
UK: Work to electrify the western section of the future Elizabeth Line route on the Great Western Main Line to the west of London has been completed as far as Maidenhead. Infrastructure manager Network Rail led the three-year project which saw a workforce of 800 people to install 1 ...
-
NewsGrupo México to acquire Florida East Coast Railway
USA: On March 28 Grupo México announced that its transport business GMéxico Transportes had reached an agreement to acquire Florida East Coast Railway Holdings Corp from Fortress Investment Group. The Mexican company said adding FEC to its existing operations in Texas would ‘immediately establish GMXT as an important railroad owner ...
-
NewsFrance and Spain seek rail motorway proposals
EUROPE: Rolling stock manufacturers are to be invited to submit expressions of interest in supplying wagons capable of carrying lorries on ‘rail motorway’ services between France and Spain, it was agreed at a meeting of a working group on March 27 bringing together the transport ministries of both countries as ...
-
NewsUPS adds six cities to China – Europe rail freight network
INTERNATIONAL: UPS has added six more cities to its intermodal rail network linking China and Europe. Changsha, Chongqing, Suzhou and Wuhan have been added in China, joining Zhengzhou and Chengdu. The additional locations have been chosen for their proximity to manufacturing, commercial and cultural centres in inland China. Duisburg and ...
-
NewsLegoland Japan themed train launched
JAPAN: An electric multiple-unit operating on Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit Co's Aonami Line has been specially decorated to promote the Legoland Japan theme park ahead of its official opening on April 1. The EMU’s four cars are themed on the Lost Kingdom Adventure, Dragon Coaster, Rescue Academy and Submarine Adventure ...
-
NewsSBB orders 14 EMUs for RER Vaud
SWITZERLAND: A SFr125m contract for Stadler Rail to supply 14 four-car Flirt electric multiple-units for use on the RER Vaud network centred on Lausanne was signed by Swiss Federal Railways on March 24. The EMUs are scheduled to be delivered by 2020. They will be 75 m long with 324 ...
-
NewsFreight tram to support electric car production
GERMANY: CarGoTram freight services returned to Dresden’s tram network on March 24, carrying automotive parts between the Friedrichstadt freight terminal and Volkswagen’s car factory at the Großen Garten on Straßburger Platz. CarGoTram was first launched in 2001 to reduce the need for lorries to pass through the city centre to ...
-
NewsMore Innovia trainsets ordered for Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur transport agency Prasarana has ordered a further 27 four-car metro trainsets for the Kelana Jaya Line from a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Hartasuma. Bombardier has a 1·2bn ringgit share of the 1·7bn ringgit contract that was announced on March 27. The order for aluminium-bodied Innovia ...
-
NewsThird-party operators get access to ČD depots
CZECH REPUBLIC: The government has passed an amendment to the Railway Act obliging state operator ČD to provide non-discriminatory access to its depots on a commercial basis with effect from on April 1. Third-party operators will be granted access to ČD’s repair, maintenance and servicing facilities, fuelling and toilet waste ...