News – Page 674
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NewsMelbourne’s Cranbourne – Pakenham line to be elevated
AUSTRALIA: A 2·7 km section of the Cranbourne – Pakenham suburban line in southeast Melbourne is to be rebuilt on an elevated alignment under a A$1·6bn contract announced by Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews on February 9. Upgrading of the busy line serving the Dandenong region is part of a ...
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NewsBelarus Railways orders Pesa DMUs
BELARUS: On February 9 Pesa signed a contract to supply Belarus Railways with a further four Type 730M diesel multiple-units to be delivered this year. There is an option for a further four which would be delivered in 2017. Pesa supplied an initial three Type 730M three-car 140 km/h partially ...
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NewsBozankaya and Bombardier sign high speed train production agreement
TURKEY: Bombardier Transportation and local supplier Bozankaya signed a memorandum of understanding in Ankara on February 9 to co-operate in high speed train production.The framework agreement envisages construction of a factory should the two companies win orders for high speed rolling stock from national operator TCDD, which is expected to ...
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NewsFunding for Devon and Cornwall enhancements study
UK: Funding for a study into the potential for electrification and raising line speeds between London, Devon and Cornwall was announced on February 9. The study is to be funded and commissioned by franchisee Great Western Railway and carried out by Network Rail, and will be used to inform a ...
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NewsAsset manager invests in Akiem loco leasing business
EUROPE: SNCF Logistics subsidiary ERMEWA has announced an agreement for Deutsche Asset Management to take a 50% equity stake in its Akiem locomotive leasing business with effect from March. ERMEWA said it was aiming to consolidate Akiem's position in the ‘rapidly expanding’ freight locomotive leasing market. The greater resources at ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse buys TMD Friction’s rail activities
EUROPE: Knorr-Bremse Group has acquired the railway brake pad development and manufacturing activities of Nisshinbo Holdings subsidiary TMD Friction. TMD Friction’s entire rail sector portfolio and its site at Manchester in the UK are being transferred to Knorr-Bremse. The facility at Coswig in Germany is being retained by TMD Friction ...
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NewsMelbourne grade separation completed
AUSTRALIA: The replacement Gardiner station in Melbourne has been opened, and the first grade separation completed under a programme to eliminate 50 level crossings which had been announced as part of the 2014 election campaign. The railway has been rebuilt on a new sunken alignment, with the platforms at ...
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NewsPresident launches Tehran - Mashhad electrification project
IRAN: President Hassan Rouhani ceremonially launched work to electrify the 926 km Tehran – Mashhad main line when he visited the northeastern city on February 6. Planning for the 25 kV 50 Hz electrification project has been underway since 2012. In June 2014 a contract to install and maintain overhead ...
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NewsAzur metro trains begin carrying passengers
CANADA: Montréal metro operator STM started passenger-carrying tests with the first Azur trainset on February 7. The train will undergo testing on the Orange Line for at least 61 days while a second pre-series train will continue testing without passengers on the other three lines. In October 2010 STM ...
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NewsState Railway of Thailand tests small containers
THAILAND: State Railway of Thailand has launched a trial freight service using 12 foot containers. These are smaller than standard 20 foot containers, and it is hoped this will simplify last-mile transport by road and mean freight can handled at existing stations more easily. The Japanese-backed trials were launched with ...
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NewsIzmir suburban extension opens
TURKEY: A 22 km extension of Izmir’s IZBAN suburban rail network opened on February 6, marking the first extension since the two lines opened in 2010. The Southern Line has been extended south from Cumaovası to Tepeköy with six stations. The first 23 km section of the Southern Line, ...
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NewsMashhad airport metro link open
IRAN: President Hassan Rouhani attended the opening ceremony for an extension of Mashhad metro Line 1 on February 6. Running southeast from Ghadir to Hashemi Nejad Airport with an intermediate station at Parvaz, the 6 km extension cost €206m to build, which was financed by Mashhad Urban Railway Corp. ...
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NewsRambus buys Smart Card Software Ltd
TICKETING: California-based semiconductor and IP products company Rambus Inc has paid £64·7m in cash to acquire the outstanding shares in UK-based Smart Card Software Ltd. This includes Bell Identification’s mobile payment technology and Ecebs’ smart ticketing platform, which are to be incorporated into the Rambus Cryptography Research Division. ‘The secure ...
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NewsHigh-calibre opening for InnoTrans 2016
INNOTRANS: More than 1 000 senior representatives of the railway, scientific and political communities are expected to attend the InnoTrans 2016 opening ceremony in the Berlin exhibition centre’s Palais am Funkturm at 10.00 on September 20. European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc has announced her intention to be present, along ...
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NewsSBB orders rescue trains
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded a consortium of Windhoff Bahn- & Anlagentechnik and Dräger Safety a SFr38m contract to supply three firefighting and rescue trainsets by the end of 2018. The LRZ18 trainsets will be based at Genève, Melide and Brig to cover the CEVA line, Ceneri base tunnel ...
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NewsSteelworks locomotive handed over
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first of 20 Class 741.7 diesel-electric locomotives which CZ Loko is to supply to the Czech Republic’s largest steelworks this year under a 10-year leasing and servicing deal was handed over on January 28. The ArcelorMittal Ostrava plant has 190 km of internal railway carrying 1·7 ...
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NewsGuided bus to tram plan confirmed
FRANCE: The municipality of Caen has confirmed its intention to develop a three-line light rail network for opening by the end of 2019. The majority of the tramway would be converted from the existing TVR guided bus network under plans first announced in December 2011, but a feasibility study has ...
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NewsCantons back Grimsel Tunnel to link metre gauge networks
SWITZERLAND: The cantons of Bern and Valais and electricity distribution company Swissgrid unveiled a SFr580m plan for the construction of a railway linking the Zentralbahn and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn metre-gauge networks on February 4. Swissgrid’s high voltage link over the Grimsel Pass is due to be replaced, and the ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2016 booking requests exceed capacity
INNOTRANS: Requests to exhibit at InnoTrans 2016 had exceeded the space available at the exhibition centre by the time the booking deadline closed. ‘The encouragingly high level of demand far exceeds the capacity of our exhibition grounds’, said Exhibition Director Kerstin Schulz. ‘We are making every effort to ensure ...
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NewsStrukton Rail takes stake in Dual Inventive
NETHERLANDS: Strukton Rail signed an agreement to take a 50% stake in track worker safety technology company Dual Inventive Holding on February 4. Dual Inventive develops products intended to increase safety, productivity and asset utilisation, including possession management, automated warning, and condition monitoring systems. It has 21 employees and ...