News – Page 647
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NewsELL signs Siemens Vectron framework contract
EUROPE: The signing of framework agreement for the delivery of up to 50 Vectron electric passenger and freight locomotives to European Locomotive Leasing was announced by Siemens on June 3. This includes a firm order for locomotives to be delivered from Q2 2016 for use on international corridors running ...
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NewsIran and UK sign rail industry memorandum
IRAN: Iran’s Ministry of Roads & Urban Development and the UK’s Department for Transport signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the rail sector when Islamic Republic of Iran Railways President Dr Mohsen Pourseyed Aghaei visited London at the end of May. The focus of the MoU is on ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
PKC Group has signed a global partnership agreement making it a strategic supplier partner to Bombardier Transportation, ‘with an opportunity to capture 40% to 70% of Bombardier Transportation's annual buy of electrical systems commodity’. The agreement is a global extension to previous local agreement in Europe. The National Chamber ...
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NewsFrequentis to implement Finnish GSM-R to TETRA conversion
FINLAND: Transport agency Liikennevirasto has selected Frequentis for the Unified Railway Communication & Application contract which will enable railway-specific communications currently carried on the GSM-R network to begin using TETRA and public mobile networks from 2017. Announcing its selection on June 2, Frequentis said URCA would be the first bearer-independent ...
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NewsBritish Steel brand revived
EUROPE: The former Tata Steel Long Products Europe business began trading under the revived British Steel brand on June 1, following completion of the sale to Greybull Capital. British Steel has 4 800 employees, with manufacturing operations at the Scunthorpe integrated steelworks, Teesside Beam Mill and Skinningrove Special Profiles ...
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NewsHeavier grain trains to make rail more competitive
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp has approved a six-month trial of longer and heavier grain trains on the 100 km route between Moree and Narrabri in New South Wales. Axleloads are being increased by 15% and standard train lengths from 850 m to 1 000 m. ‘Conservatively we think ...
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NewsPrivate partner sought for Transnet terminal
SOUTH AFRICA: On June 1 Transnet announced the start of its ‘biggest private-sector participation project to date’, issuing a request for proposals as it seeks to award a 20-year concession to design, build, operate, maintain and transfer an intermodal terminal at Tambo Springs, east of Johannesburg. Expected to be operational ...
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NewsEY to host HackTrain rail tech start-ups
UK: Professional services group EY has agreed to host the HackTrain railway technology start-up business accelerator at its offices near London Bridge station, EY Infrastructure Leader Malcolm Bairstow announced at the HackTrain 2016 conference in London on June 1. HackTrain will relocate to EY’s Open Innovation Hub from its current ...
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NewsReports looks at impact of climate change on rail network
UK: Climate change could have a ‘significant and damaging’ impact on the rail network leading to a ‘dramatic increase’ in the cost of dealing with extreme weather unless pre-emptive action is taken, RSSB said when it released its ‘Tomorrow’s Railway & Climate Change Adaptation’ report on May 31. The ...
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NewsChennai metro extension approved
INDIA: The central government approved an extension of Chennai metro Line 1 on June 1. To be completed by March 2018, the project will be carried out by the existing Chennai Metro Rail Ltd special purpose vehicle of the central (50%) and Tamil Nadu (50%) governments. The 9·1 km ...
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NewsAmsted Rail to suspend production at wheel plant
USA: Amsted Rail has announced the ‘temporary idling’ of its wheel plant at Bessemer in Alabama from September, saying the decision to suspend production had been taken because of a drop in demand for new wagons and the improved efficiency of North American railways ‘for the foreseeable future’. ...
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NewsAuckland City Rail Link breaks ground
NEW ZEALAND: Work officially started on the Auckland City Rail Link on June 2 with a groundbreaking ceremony for the city centre rail tunnel. The 3·4 km route will connect the current Britomart terminus with the Western Line at Mt Eden. This is expected to double capacity on the ...
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NewsFeature articles in the June 2016 issue of Metro Report International
Articles in the June 2016 issue of Metro Report International. Comment Steve White, Operations Director for London Underground's Sub-Surface Lines, considers the challenges of modernisation News Review Round-up of world metro, light rail and tram news City digest CRRC's second US order, LA expansion, Montréal automated metro plan, München S-Bahn ...
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NewsFlexible season tickets for part-time commuters
UK: Flexible season tickets which aim to reduce the cost of travel for part-time workers were introduced on June 1 by c2c, the operator of commuter services between London and southeast Essex. The new Flexi-Season is a ‘digital carnet’ of 10 individual tickets purchased online in a single transaction, loaded ...
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NewsSão Paulo monorail contract awarded
BRAZIL: Scomi Engineering has been awarded a 504·6m ringgit contract for additional works on metro Line 17 (Gold Line) in São Paulo, the Malaysian company announced on June 1. The contract for rolling stock and electro-mechanical systems including signalling, communications and power supply follows on from a contract awarded ...
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NewsFestival celebrates Gotthard Base Tunnel opening
SWITZERLAND: Simultaneous ceremonies in Rynächt and Pollegio marked the opening of the 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel on June 1. Switzerland’s entire Federal Council (Bundesrat) was present, as were heads of state and government from neighbouring countries and transport ministers from countries along the Rotterdam – Genova freight ...
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NewsTibor Šimoni
Tibor Šimoni was appointed General Manager of Slovakian railway infrastructure authority ŽSR on May 3, replacing Dušan Šefčík.
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NewsNew Tube for London systems integrator contract renewed
UK: Transport for London has reappointed WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff as prime system integrator support partner on for the New Tube for London programme under a contract worth £1·9m. WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff has been working with London Underground for 2½ years on systems integration services for the programme to modernise ...
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NewsLatvian freight locomotive upgraded
LATVIA: The first of 14 twin-section Lugansk-built 2M62Us locomotives which are being rebuilt as Type 2M62UM locos was unveiled on May 20. The project is being undertaken at state railway Latvijas Dzelzceļš’s Riga workshops under the supervision of CZ Loko, and aims to significantly lower the cost of operation ...
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NewsFirst Aarhus tram on test
DENMARK: The first tram for the light rail network under construction in Aarhus has been unveiled and is scheduled to be delivered to Denmark in the coming months. Project promoter Aarhus Letbane signed a turnkey contract in 2014 with a consortium of Stadler and signalling supplier Ansaldo STS. This ...