News – Page 677
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NewsNorfolk Southern announces cost-cutting plan
USA: Norfolk Southern Corp announced details of a strategic plan to become a 'faster, lower cost and more profitable railroad' on January 27, saying it expects to achieve annual productivity savings of $130m in 2016 and more than $650m by 2020. The plan is the result of a six-month evaluation ...
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NewsTracklaying begins on Samsun tram extension
TURKEY: Tracklaying on the southeastern extension of the Samsun tram line started on January 27. The 14 km section from Gar to Tekkeköy is due to open on October 10. The extension will nearly double the current 15 km route between Üniversite and Gar. The fleet of 21 trams ...
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NewsAfDB finances Casablanca – Marrakech double-tracking
MOROCCO: The African Development Bank board approved a US$112·3m loan to finance double-tracking of the 142 km Settat – Marrakech section of the Casablanaca – Marrakech route on January 27. National railway ONCF is providing a further US$290m for the project, which is intended to increase capacity and reduce ...
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NewsCP to refurbish Alfa Pendular trainsets
PORTUGAL: National operator CP unveiled the interior and exterior designs for what it termed the ‘next generation Alfa Pendular’ at launch event in Lisboa on January 27.The designs showcase the planned mid-life refurbishment of CP’s 10 Alfa Pendular tilting trains which are used on premium inter-city services on the Braga ...
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NewsCBTC over LTE test successful
CHINA: Telecoms company ZTE announced on January 25 that it had completed a laboratory test of communication-based train control over LTE. Ansaldo STS supplied CBTC signalling and ZTE provided LTE equipment and devices for the test, which covered scenarios such as static condition, handover, failover, and load with static ...
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NewsScotRail Class 385 EMUs under construction
UK: The first of 70 Class 385 electric multiple-units ordered by Abellio for the ScotRail franchise is now under construction at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in Japan. The first seven of the 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs are to be built in Kasado, with the remaining 63 to be produced ...
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NewsFirst Brightline coach shell completed at Siemens plant
USA: The first stainless steel coach bodyshell for All Aboard Florida’s Brightline project has been completed at Siemens’ Sacramento plant in California. Siemens is to supply an initial five four-car trainsets with a capacity of 240 passengers, which will be top-and-tailed by Siemens Charger diesel locomotives. Siemens said it ...
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NewsHefei metro starts test running
CHINA: Testing started on the first metro line in Hefei on January 20. Initial tests are being carried out on a 1·4 km section of Line 1 at up to 80 km/h using 45 staff. Nine parameters are being tested while trains are moving and a further 27 while static. ...
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NewsOpen access operator Locomore reaches crowd-funding target
GERMANY: A crowd-funding campaign has successfully raised the minimum of €460 000 which Locomore needs to launch a Berlin – Kassel – Frankfurt – Stuttgart open access service in September, the company announced two days before the campaign ends on January 29. This will be used to cover start-up ...
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NewsETCS Level 2 for Italian conventional line
ITALY: Gruppo FS has awarded a €34m contract for upgrading the signalling on the 51 km Milano Centrale – Milano Smistamento – Monza – Chiasso line to a consortium led by Alstom and including M Pavani Segnalamento Ferroviario, Bitfo, Ricci, Elettri-Fer and Politecnica Ingegneria ed Architettura Società Cooperativa. The route ...
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NewsCP Carga privatisation completed
PORTUGAL: Mediterranean Shipping Company SA has announced that its subsidiary MSC Rail completed the acquisition of a 95% stake in CP Carga on January 21, taking control of the freight and logistics business of national operator CP. The remaining 5% of the company is to be offered to employees. ‘We ...
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NewsIran and Italy sign railway MOU
IRAN: Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Akhoundi signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the rail sector when Iran’s President Rouhani visited Italy on January 25. Italian national railway group FS said it had been active in the region since 2001, ...
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NewsLund tram tendering begins
SWEDEN: The city of Lund has begun the tendering process for a design-build contract for the city’s first tram line, following city council approval on December 17. Due to open in 2019, the 5·5 km route would connect Lund Central station and the science village with nine stops. Trams ...
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NewsNewcastle light rail expressions of interest
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales announced on January 21 that it is seeking expressions of interest in the fixed infrastructure contract to build the proposed light rail line in Newcastle. The interest period is expected to close on February 12, with a shortlist to be invited to tender ...
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NewsEtihad Rail suspends Stage 2 tendering
UAE: National rail developer Etihad Rail announced on January 26 that it had suspended the tendering process for Stage Two of the project and informed all the bidders in writing. Etihad Rail recently started commercial operation on the initial phase of the planned network, which links Shah and Habshan to ...
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NewsTesting starts on Nanning metro
CHINA: Passenger-carrying tests started on the first section of metro Line 1 in Nanning on January 20. This followed a week of test without passengers at up to 60 km/h. Revenue services are due to begin on June 28 on the 10·4 km section between Nanning East railway station ...
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NewsWestern DFC electrification contract awarded
INDIA: Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp of India has awarded a consortium of L&T Construction and Japan’s Sojitz Corp a 42-month design and build contract worth Rs12·1bn covering the electrification of the 422 km Vadodara – Jawaharlal Nehru Port section of the 1 490 km Western DFC between Delhi and ...
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NewsBeskyd Tunnel holed through
UKRAINE: A ceremony on January 21 marked the breaking through of the new Beskyd Tunnel, which is being built to eliminate a bottleneck on the otherwise double-track section of Pan-European Corridor V between Lviv and the Hungarian border at Chop. The existing single-track tunnel dates from 1886 and its ...
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NewsSNCF studies options for 'semi high speed' trains in India
INDIA: France’s SNCF has begun working with Indian Railways on a one-year project to study the feasibility of upgrading the 245 km New Delhi – Chandigarh line to permit the operation of ‘semi high speed’ trains at up to 200 km/h, and has agreed to support the pilot projects for ...
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NewsFirst Hill Line opens in Seattle
USA: A soft launch for Seattle’s second tram line was held on January 23. The 4·2 km First Hill Line connects Capitol Hill with Pioneer Square, serving 10 stops. Services are operated with seven bidirectional three-section Inekon trams ordered for $30m. These are equipped with lithium-ion batteries produced by ...