News – Page 594
-
NewsBordeaux tram network expands
FRANCE: A 7·2 km extension of the Bordeaux tram network was inaugurated on December 17 with the start of services to the Porte du Médoc district. The new alignment with six stops forms a branch of Line C, leaving the main Parc des Expositions line at Cracovie and running ...
-
NewsPassengers ride first Renatus EMUs
UK: Wabtec Faiveley UK has completed refurbishment of the first two of 30 Class 321 electric multiple-units owned by Eversholt Rail, which are being upgraded for train operator Greater Anglia under the Renatus programme. With the first unit now receiving an AC traction package under a parallel programme being undertaken ...
-
NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Ukrainian Railways has awarded Dneprovagonmash a contract to supply 250 wagons and Popasna Railcar Repair Plant an order for 50 wagons. Container shipping line MSC has renamed its Portuguese freight operating business Medlog, formerly CP Carga, as Medway. Medlog is an MSC brand used in other countries for logistics businesses, ...
-
NewsJoint company to manage Ethiopia – Djibouti railway
AFRICA: Ethiopia's Minister of Transport Ahmed Shide and his Djiboutian counterpart Mohammed Abdulkadir Musa have signed an agreement to establish a joint company to manage the new railway linking the countries. The company will be have its headquarters in Addis Ababa, and be responsible for the provision of passenger, freight ...
-
NewsCoradia Liner inter-city multiple-unit on test
FRANCE: Testing of the first Alstom Coradia Liner inter-city electro-diesel multiple unit has begun on the Paris Est – Troyes – Belfort line. SNCF awarded Alstom a €346m contract in October 2013 covering the supply 34 six-car Coradia Liner multiple-units to replace locomotive-hauled stock on trains d'équilibre du territoire inter-city ...
-
NewsFRA recommends $120bn investment in Northeast Corridor
USA: A 30-year programme of route modernisation, including four-tracking and some new alignment, has been recommended by the Federal Railroad Administration under its proposal to develop the Northeast Corridor linking Boston, New York and Washington DC. A four-year consultation and market testing exercise known as NEC Future was launched ...
-
NewsA boost for Russian trams?
The federal subsidy programme for Russian tram and trolleybus manufacturers is coming to an end. But how much of an effect has it had? The end of 2016 marks the end of a 1bn rouble project to support the Russian tram and trolleybus manufacturing sector that took effect in ...
-
NewsStadler selected to supply bespoke Merseyrail train fleet
UK: The leaders of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority gave the go-ahead on December 16 for a £460m project to replace the Merseyrail suburban electric multiple-unit fleet. This includes the selection of Stadler to supply a fleet of 52 trainsets for entry into service from the end of 2020. ...
-
NewsStadler selected to supply bespoke Merseyrail train fleet
UK: The leaders of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority gave the go-ahead on December 16 for a £460m project to replace the Merseyrail suburban electric multiple-unit fleet. This includes the selection of Stadler to supply a fleet of 52 trainsets for entry into service from the end of 2020. ...
-
NewsChina Railway Corp and MTR co-operate to go global
CHINA: State railway group China Railway Corp and Hong Kong-based international transport operator MTR Corp signed a letter of intent to explore strategic co-operation ‘within and outside of’ China on December 16, aiming to support the Chinese rail industry’s ‘Go-Global’ strategy. CRC and MTR are to form a strategic partnership ...
-
NewsDSB sets IC4 withdrawal date to close an ‘unhappy chapter’
DENMARK: DSB’s trouble-plagued fleet of IC4 diesel multiple-units must be kept going for the time being, but will be phased out from 2024, according to an evaluation report presented to the Parliamentary Transport Committee by the state-owned operator on December 15. Under an agreement with the previous government setting out ...
-
NewsTEX Rail federal funding agreement signed
USA: The Federal Transit Administration announced on December 15 that it had signed a $499·4m Capital Investment Grant agreement with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority towards the $1·03bn TEX Rail commuter rail project. The funds are to be disbursed over four years. Construction of the 43 km route began ...
-
NewsMPK Wrocław calls off last Modertrans Beta tram option
POLAND: Transport authority MPK Wrocław has ordered a further 13 Moderus Beta trams from Modertrans for 50m złoty. The partly low-floor vehicles are due to be delivered by the end of 2017. The latest order calls off the remaining options from a 23m złoty contract placed in 2015. The ...
-
NewsKlang Valley MRT Line 1 opens
MALAYSIA: Passenger services began at 06.00 on December 16 the first phase of Klang Valley MRT Line 1, after the opening by Prime Minister Najib Razak at Kwasa Damansara station the previous day. The first month of travel is free. The 21 km northern section of the route, also ...
-
NewsWork starts on Dakar airport rail link
SENEGAL: A ceremony was held in Dakar on December 14 to mark the launch of preparatory works for construction of a 55 km regional express railway, which is intended to link the city centre with a new airport.Among the guests at the ceremony were Senegalese President Macky Sall and representatives ...
-
NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
DB Systemtechnik has acquired a 75% stake in InfraView, a Mainz-based company which develops infrastructure and rolling stock diagnostic software. InfraView has worked with DB Netz to develop a predictive maintenance platform for turnouts, which has reduced the number of failures by 50%. Yekaterinburg-based NPO Avtomatika and Czech company ...
-
NewsLocomore launches crowd-funded open access service
GERMANY: Crowd-funded open access passenger operator Locomore launched its inter-city service between Stuttgart and Berlin on December 14. Leaving the southern city 39 min behind its scheduled 06.21 departure time, the inaugural train arrived at Berlin Hbf 5 min early. Test running for the service began on December 5. The ...
-
NewsNTV’s first Pendolino Italo car unveiled
ITALY: Alstom unveiled the first vehicle from a fleet of 12 Pendolino trainsets it is supplying to private high speed operator NTV at its Savigliano works on December 15. The driving car is the first vehicle to be completed under a €460m contract initially finalised in October 2015. This covered ...
-
NewsSNCF launches free wi-fi on TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF began offering passengers free wi-fi on some TGV trainsets on the Paris – Lyon route with effect from December 15. This is the first phase of a wider roll-out which aims to provide wi-fi coverage for around 80% of TGV passengers on high speed and conventional lines by ...
-
NewsFirst Brightline trainset delivered
USA: The first of five trainsets which Siemens is building for the privately-financed Brightline inter-city project has arrived in Florida following a 4 900 km journey by rail from the manufacturer’s Sacramento plant. The trainsets will each comprise four stainless-steel coaches, top-and-tailed by diesel-electric locomotives. The initial trainset carries ...