News – Page 659
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NewsVFLI orders more Euro 4000 locomotives
FRANCE: The VFLI freight subsidiary of SNCF has ordered three more Euro 4000 diesel locomotives for delivery in spring 2017, Stadler Rail Valencia announced on April 13. The locomotives are to be equipped for use in France and Belgium, and will be supplied from the Spanish plant which Stadler acquired ...
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Newsc2c to lease Electrostars from Porterbrook speculative build
UK: Essex to London commuter operator c2c announced on April 13 an agreement with the Department for Transport which will enable it to lease additional rolling stock to cope with an unexpected increase in demand. Subject to the signing of final contracts, c2c is to lease six four-car Bombardier ...
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NewsPesa to supply Fokstrot trams to Kyiv
UKRAINE: Kyiv tram operator Kyivpastrans has selected Pesa to supply 10 low-floor trams for €11·5m. One three-section Fokstrot tram was delivered to the Ukrainian capital last autumn and is expected to finish certification testing on the 1 524 mm gauge network in June. The remaining nine 26 m long ...
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NewsESI funds to improve Madrid – Lisboa connection
SPAIN: The European Commission has approved funding for further work on the high speed line linking Madrid with the Extremadura region and the Portuguese border, Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu announced on April 6. The Madrid – Lisboa route has been designated as part of the TEN-T core network, ...
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NewsNewcastle light rail options published
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales has identified 10 options for an extension of the planned 2·6 km light rail line in Newcastle. These have been published for public consultation. With an environmental review now underway, Transport for NSW expects major works on the initial line linking Wickham and ...
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NewsDB traction energy competition commitments lifted
GERMANY: Binding commitments to open the traction electricity market which had been agreed by Deutsche Bahn in December 2013 have been lifted after having achieved their objective of encouraging competition, the European Commission announced on April 8. DB Energie made the commitments in response to the Commission’s concern that its ...
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NewsLynnwood Link design contractor selected
USA: Sound Transit approved the final design contract for the Lynnwood Link light rail extension in Seattle on April 11. The $73·7m contract is to be awarded to the HNTB Jacobs Trusted Design Partners joint venture. The 13·6 km route from Northgate to Lynnwood would form a northern extension ...
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NewsBrisbane’s Cross River Rail alignment selected
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland government announced a new alignment for the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane on April 7, and said it was establishing the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority to implement the proposed 10·2 km rail link. An updated business case based on the new alignment is due to ...
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NewsEuroduplex Atlantique sets to serve Bordeaux
FRANCE: A daily service of more than 33 trains in each direction will connect Paris with Bordeaux following the opening of LGV Sud Europe Atlantique on July 2 2017, SNCF confirmed on April 11. Completion of the Tours – Poitiers – Bordeaux high speed line now being built by the ...
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NewsAlpha Trains orders Vectron locomotives for TX Logistik
GERMANY: Alpha Trains Luxembourg has ordered six Siemens Vectron multisystem locomotives for lease to FS Group’s freight subsidiary TX Logistik. The deal announced on April 12 includes a full servicing and maintenance contract, and there is an option for a further four locomotives. The locomotives are to be built ...
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NewsFirst-time Infrarail exhibitors reflect UK growth
The 11th Infrarail exhibition takes place at the Excel centre in London's Docklands on April 12-14 2016.
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NewsNew station for La Défense
FRANCE: Under the project to extend RER Line E to the western suburbs of Paris, SNCF Réseau has awarded a contract worth €496m to build a new underground station at La Défense to a joint venture led by Vinci Construction France. The other members are Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Dodin ...
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NewsCanadian Pacific ends Norfolk Southern merger plan
NORTH AMERICA: Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd announced on April 11 that it that it had terminated its efforts to merge with Norfolk Southern Corp, had withdrawn a resolution asking NS shareholders to vote in favour of good-faith negotiations between the companies, and that no further financial offers or overtures to ...
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NewsTata Steel agrees sale of Long Products Europe business
EUROPE: On April 11 Tata Steel UK signed a binding agreement to sell its Long Products Europe division to Greybull Capital ‘for a nominal consideration’. The move forms part of Tata Steel Europe’s plans to divest its entire Tata Steel UK business. The stand-alone Long Products Europe business employs 4 ...
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NewsAlgerian train manufacturing framework signed
ALGERIA: An agreement for the Cital joint venture to begin assembling and maintaining Coradia regional and inter-city trainsets in Algeria was signed on April 10 by Cital partners Alstom (49%), Entreprise Métro d'Alger (10%) and Ferrovial (41%), and also national railway SNTF which is to become a shareholder in the ...
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NewsKošice tram option exercised
SLOVAKIA: Košice transport authority DPMK has exercised an option for 13 more VarioLF2plus partly low-floor trams from Pragoimex. The €18·8m order will be partly financed from EU cohesion funds. The two-section trams will be 22·6 m long, with capacity for 44 seated and 131 standing passengers and a maximum ...
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NewsB Logistics is ‘ready for the future’
BELGIUM: Important steps were taken in 2015 towards the ‘transformation’ of B Logistics into ‘an independent, dynamic and solid private player’ which is ‘ready for the future’, the privatised freight operator announced on April 8. Belgian national railway SNCB’s freight activities had been restructured as an autonomous business with effect ...
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NewsSamara to test Uraltransmash tram
RUSSIA: A prototype Type 71-409 tram left Uraltransmash’s factory in Yekaterinburg on April 4 for Samara, where it is to undergo testing on the 1 524 mm gauge network. The Uralvagonzavod subsidiary presented its new 100% low-floor model last year. Also available in five-, seven- and nine-section variants, the ...
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NewsHigh tech paint booth for Hitachi plant
UK: The 31 m by 9 m paint spray booth oven built to accommodate rail vehicles at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe rolling stock plant has been designed by Junair Spraybooths to optimise running costs while complying with safety requirements. The iSystem touch control is pre-programmed with bake cycles and ...
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NewsAlpha Trains buys multiple-unit fleets
GERMANY: Leasing company Alpha Trains Luxembourg has acquired 89 regional multiple-units from Société Générale subsidiaries Société Anonyme de Crédit à l’Industrie Française and SNC Vindelica. The transaction covers three fleets of multiple-units which are operated by Transdev subsidiaries: 18 three-car and 17 five-car Alstom Coradia Continental EMUs used by NordWestBahn ...