News – Page 580
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market February 2017
Bulgaria: NKZI has awarded contracts for construction of bridges over the Septemvri - Plovdiv line to Strabag (7·8m leva) Gigastroy (3·2m leva) and Porr (4·1m leva). Canada: London Trackwork is to supply trackwork including turnouts and crossovers for the first phase of Edmonton's Valley Line light rail project. ...
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NewsPlans to increase capacity at Warszawa Zachodnia unveiled
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has unveiled the design concept for an extensive modernisation of Warszawa Zachodnia station planned for 2019-21. The designs have been developed by Idom and Glebowski Studio, and aim to improve capacity to handle a predicted doubling of usage to 60 000 passengers per day by ...
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NewsDB Regio places first order for Siemens Mireo
GERMANY: DB Regio has become the first customer for Siemens’ Mireo electric multiple-unit design, placing a firm order for 24 trainsets as well as 15 Desiro HC units. The conclusion of the rolling stock contracts follows the formal award by the Land of Baden-Württemberg of agreements for DB Regio to ...
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NewsLight rail plans progress in Wiesbaden
GERMANY: The municipality of Wiesbaden has approved €3·4m of preliminary planning work for the city’s first tram route. The Land of Hessen is providing €465 000. When complete, the Citybahn light rail line would link Wiesbaden to the existing metre gauge tram network in the neighbouring city of Mainz ...
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NewsSNCF agrees to order TGVs under Belfort rescue package
FRANCE: Having worked with the government to find ‘a balanced solution’ to maintaining employment at Alstom’s Belfort plant while modernising the TGV fleet ‘to deliver the greatest benefit for passengers’, SNCF announced on February 16 that it would be ordering 15 additional TGV Duplex trainsets for the Paris – Bordeaux ...
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NewsLong-distance concession talks break down
SWITZERLAND: Negotiations for a national jointly operated long-distance passenger traffic concession with services run by SBB, BLS and SOB collapsed on February 16. Discussions had been underway since autumn last year for the ‘multi-railway’ proposal. SBB issued a statement regretting the failure of the talks and noted that BLS had ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Alstom, Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development and the Lombardia and Piemonte regions have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote research and development at Alstom’s Savigliano and Sesto San Giovanni sites. There will be investment in the development of an ‘innovative platform for the design and prototyping of regional trains’ ...
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NewsStadler signs Merseyrail EMU contract
UK: The contract for Stadler Bussnang AG to supply and maintain 52 electric multiple-units was signed by Liverpool region transport authority Merseytravel on February 16. The deal is worth ‘up to £700m’, including maintenance throughout the EMUs’ expected 35-year lifecycle at the Kirkdale depot which will be designed, built and ...
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NewsLund tram project breaks ground
SWEDEN: A groundbreaking ceremony on February 15 marked the start of work on the tram project in the city of Lund. Contractor Skanska is building the 5·5 km route with nine stops, which will connect Lund Central station and the science village. Opening is due in September 2019. ...
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NewsBombardier says turnaround is ‘in full motion’
BOMBARDIER: Announcing Bombardier Inc’s annual results for the year to December 31 2016, President & CEO Alain Bellemare said on February 16 that the company’s turnaround plan was ‘in full motion’. ‘In 2016, Bombardier delivered on its financial commitments’, he said. ‘We met our programme milestones and we’ve positioned the ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail joint development partner appointed
ASIA: Project promoters MyHSR Corp of Malaysia and Land Transport Authority of Singapore have awarded the joint development partner contract for the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project to a consortium of WSP Engineering Malaysia, Mott MacDonald Malaysia and Ernst & Young Advisory Services. There were eight bids ...
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NewsSNCF buys 45% stake in BLS Cargo
SWITZERLAND: BLS has agreed to sell a 45% stake in its freight subsidiary BLS Cargo to SNCF Logistics, the French national railway’s freight business. The deal announced on February 16 is subject to regulatory approval. BLS would remain the majority shareholder with a 52% stake, and Ambrogio Group would retain ...
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NewsImproving Talgo accessibility
SPAIN: Renfe has begun a €5·7m project adapt 15 Series VI Talgo coaches to improve access for passengers with reduced mobility. The seating layout of the vehicles will be modified to provide space for wheelchairs to manoeuvre. Each of the coaches will have two wheelchair spaces with securing points, as ...
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NewsKano light rail contract signed
NIGERIA: Kano state’s Ministry of Works, Housing & Transport has signed the commercial contract for the construction of a four-line light rail system in the city of Kano, China Railway Construction Corp announced on February 11. The US$1·85bn contract was signed by the state government and a consortium of ...
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NewsBluetooth-enabled ticket gates demonstrated
UK: Railway Gazette attended a demonstration of Bluetooth Low Energy fare validation technology at Thales UK’s Crawley offices on February 9. Organised by rail standards body RSSB, this showed how Bluetooth could be used to improve the throughput of passengers through a ticket gateline at busy stations.Among the applications being ...
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NewsLahore Orange Line receives more funding
PAKISTAN: Industrial & Commercial Bank of China has signed an agreement to provide US$20m in short-term financing for the Orange Line metro project currently under construction in Lahore. Work on the Orange Line began in October 2015. In December 2015 China Exim Bank signed a soft loan agreement for ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse to supply brakes for Alstom’s Indian locomotives
INDIA: Alstom has awarded Knorr-Bremse a contract to supply the complete braking systems for the 800 Prima twin-section WAG12 electric locomotives which it is to deliver to Indian Railways in 2018-28. Knorr-Bremse is to supply the brake control units, air treatment systems and bogie equipment. These will be based on ...
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NewsLille pursues airport tram link
FRANCE: The construction of a 10 km light rail line between Lille and Lesquin Airport via Ronchin is expected to go ahead during the period of the city’s next public transport operating concession, according to the President of the Métropole Européenne de Lille, Damien Castelain. Under development ...
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NewsProduction of Devon and Cornwall trainsets begins in Italy
UK: Hitachi announced a 'milestone' in the production of electro-diesel inter-city trainsets for Great Western Railway services from London to Devon and Cornwall on February 15, with the delivery of the first AT300 bodyshell to its plant at Pistoia in Italy. Hitachi is building a total of 93 trainsets for ...
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NewsInnoWaggon increases round wood capacity
SWEDEN: Innofreight has handed over the first of 144 wagons which are being supplied under the Austrian company’s largest order to date. These are to be used from July on a 10-year timber haulage contract awarded to Hector Rail by forest products company SCA Skog, which will be the first ...