News – Page 675
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NewsBombardier to overhaul Maryland commuter coaches
USA: Maryland Transit Administration announced a $36·8m contract for Bombardier Transportation to overhaul 63 MARC III coaches on February 4. The double-deck commuter cars have been in service for coming up to 17 years. ‘Overhauling our MARC III cars is a cost-effective way to improve the safety and reliability of ...
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NewsRecord budget for Israel Railways
ISRAEL: A record budget of 28·3bn shekels for development of the rail network by 2020 was approved by Transport Minister Israel Katz on February 3. Katz said the projects would help to improve links to peripheral areas in particular. Israel Railways said the spending would significantly improve services, with electrification ...
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NewsChina - Iran container train
ASIA: What is described as the first container train service between China and Iran was launched on January 28, when a train carrying ‘small commodities’ departed from Yiwu for Tehran. The 10 399 km journey via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with two breaks of gauge is scheduled to take 14 days, ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Presenting its 2015 financial results on January 28, EMD parent company Caterpillar said ‘continuing weakness in economic conditions in much of the world is expected to be negative for sales of power generation equipment, industrial engines, marine and rail’ in 2016. French company Certifer has established an Australian subsidiary in ...
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NewsNorway starts passenger service tendering process
NORWAY: The Ministry of Transport & Communications announced on February 4 that it had called competitive tenders for an initial two contracts for the operation of passenger services from December 2018. Tender 1 covers the Sørlandet, Jær and Arendal lines in the south of Norway. Tender 2 covers Trondheim – ...
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NewsMoscow Small Ring agreement
RUSSIA: Following consultation with the Moscow city government, Central Suburban Passenger Co and Moscow Metro have agreed to transfer to Russian Railways the rights and obligations under the contract to provide services on the Small Ring route. Small Ring passenger services are scheduled to launch on September 2, following ...
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NewsStagecoach and FirstGroup shortlisted for South Western franchise
UK: Incumbent Stagecoach South West Ltd and FirstGroup’s First South Western Trains Ltd have been shortlisted to bid for the next South Western passenger franchise, the Department for Transport announced on February 4. Around 14% of all UK rail journeys are made on the current South Western network, with ...
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NewsIncheon Airport maglev starts passenger services
SOUTH KOREA: Passenger services on the first urban maglev line with domestically-developed technology began on February 3. Services on the 6·1 km line between Incheon International Airport and Yongyu with six stations run every 15 min between 09.00 and 18.00, although the operating hours are set to expand in ...
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NewsUK and Thai universities form railway partnership
INTERNATIONAL: The UK’s University of Birmingham and Thailand’s Suranaree University of Technology have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalise a partnership to provide railway and transport research, education and training. The MOU is intended as the basis for international collaboration between the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research & Education ...
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NewsTransdev wins Sachsen operating contract
GERMANY: The Leipzig and Mittelsachsen transport authorities have selected Transdev Regio Ost for the Dieselnetzes Nordwestsachsen Lot B contract to operate passenger service R6 between Leipzig, Grimma and Döbeln from June 12 2016 to December 2025. The contract covers the operation of almost 1 million train-km/year using a fleet of ...
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NewsBayern announces München S-Bahn tendering plan
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG set out details of a three-phase plan to tender the operation of München S-Bahn services on February 3. The strategy is designed to reflect the need to manage major investment projects over the next decade, as well as the scale and complexity of the ...
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NewsEuropean approval for CDPQ’s Bombardier deal
BOMBARDIER: The European Commission announced on February 1 that had approved the agreement announced on November 19 which will see Canadian pension and insurance investor Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec invest US$1·5bn to acquire a 30% stake in Bombardier Transportation (Investment) UK Ltd, a new UK-registered holding company ...
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NewsÖBB and SŽ plan rail freight co-operation
EUROPE: Austrian Federal Railways and Slovenia’s SŽ have announced that they are ‘discussing options to enter into an intensified co-operation for their rail freight business’. A letter of intent has been signed, and joint utilisation of assets and the formation of a joint enterprise is planned ‘from 2017 onwards’. The ...
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NewsMobile ticketing technology partnership
TICKETS: Mobile payment specialist Penrillian and smart ticketing software developer Ecebs announced an agreement to combine complementary mobile ticketing technologies during the Transport Ticketing & Passenger Information Global 2016 conference and exhibition in London on January 26. Ecebs is now Penrillian’s preferred Part 11 provider for the white-label Voyager app, ...
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NewsArriva to launch Praha suburban service
CZECH REPUBLIC: DB subsidiary Arriva Vlaky is to launch an unsubsidised suburban passenger service on the 49 km line between Praha Hlavní and Benešov u Prahy on February 29. The semi-fast trains will run every two hours on weekdays, calling at Vršovice, Strašnice zastávka, Hostivař, Mnichovice, Senohraby and Čerčany. ...
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NewsRail Supply Group outlines UK industrial strategy
UK: Entitled Fast Track to Growth, the Rail Supply Group’s industrial strategy for the industry was launched in Coventry on February 1 at an event attended by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, Sajid Javid.Described as a ‘detailed action plan for manufacturing and ...
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NewsBeograd Centar station inaugurated
SERBIA: Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić inaugurated the first phase of Beograd’s future main station on January 26. Eight of the 10 tracks and five of the six platforms at Beograd Centar (also known as Prokop) station are now being used by two daily return services to Novi Sad and 105 ...
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NewsSiemens opens US rail vehicle services plant
USA: This month Siemens will begin operations at a 5 600 m2 rail vehicle servicing, maintenance and repair plant it has established at the McClellan Park business development on the former McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, California. The site will be Siemens Mobility’s US customer services headquarters and ...
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NewsTenerife tram extension approved
SPAIN: The board of Metrotenerife has approved the start of tendering for a 2·5 km extension of tram Route 2 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The cost of construction is put at €37m. The southwest extension of Route 2 from Tíncer to La Gallega would have four stops. It ...
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NewsERMEWA merges wagon leasing brands
ERMEWA: Leasing company Ermewa has merged its grain wagon leasing business Compagnie de Transports de Céréales and construction materials wagon specialist Société de Gérance de Wagons de Grandes Capacités into the main Ermewa brand with effect from the start of 2016. Ermewa now has a combined fleet of more ...