News – Page 68
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In depthSafety: Railways must report, learn and improve
The EU Agency for Railways is continuing its campaign to develop a risk-based safety culture across Europe’s rail networks, as Executive Director Josef Doppelbauer explains to Chris Jackson.
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In depthSignalling: Visualising designs at an earlier stage
Most signalling schemes across the sector are designed using 2D schematic plans. But this approach can make it difficult to visualise what drivers in the train cab will see, and when and how they will react. To address this and other challenges, Arup has created a signalling visualisation tool that is being deployed as part of Network Rail’s Transpennine Route Upgrade.
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Rail Business UKLNER orders CAF tri-mode inter-city trains
UK: London North Eastern Railway has awarded CAF a contract to supply a fleet of 10 tri-mode 200 km/h inter-city trainsets for use on East Coast Main Line passenger services. The trainsets will be financed and owned by leasing company Porterbrook. CAF said the order announced ...
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NewsInterlocking upgrade on driverless heavy haul network
AUSTRALIA: Hitachi Rail is to begin work shortly on the third and final phase of upgrading interlockings on Rio Tinto’s autonomous heavy haul rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In 2018 Rio Tinto launched automated operation under its AutoHaul programme, with Hitachi technology ...
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NewsMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn orders more Orion EMUs
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn has awarded Stadler a firm contract to supply a further 25 ABeh 8/12 Orion rack electric multiple-units. ‘This order represents a milestone in Stadler’s history and is the largest single order for rack trains that we have ever received’, said ...
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NewsNortheast Corridor enhancements allocated $16·4bn
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $16·4bn for 25 passenger rail enhancement interventions along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington DC. The projects were selected through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail programme. ‘We are finally delivering the generational investments ...
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Rail Business UKJobs to go at DB Cargo UK
UK: DB Cargo UK has announced plans to cut jobs, saying its German parent company DB Cargo ‘has informed its European entities that it can no longer sustain the level of losses being incurred across the group’. DB Cargo UK has proposed the loss of 95 ...
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NewsČD orders 30 more RegioFox DMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator České Dráhy exercised an option on November 7 for Pesa Bydgoszcz to supply 30 more two-car RegioFox diesel multiple-units at a cost of KC3bn. In February 2021 ČD and Pesa signed a KC14·5bn framework agreement for the supply of up to 160 ...
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NewsALSA and Eco Rail explore high speed rail possibilities
SPAIN: Bus operator ALSA is exploring opportunities to operate high speed passenger services in partnership with Andalucían company Eco Rail, one of the companies that missed out on ADIF’s first round of train path allocations in 2019. The two companies have spent the past three years ...
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NewsEU recovery funds underwrite two more Italian route modernisation schemes
ITALY: As part of an intensive investment programme underpinned by EU funding, infrastructure manager RFI has awarded two route enhancement contracts totalling €633m. Under a €374·2m contract announced on October 31, a consortium of Eteria Consorzio Stabile Scarl and Salcef is to double-track the 9 km ...
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Rail Business UKDisappointment as railway reform bill now unlikely before election
UK: The government’s decision to publish a draft rather than full railway reform bill is a missed opportunity, rail industry bodies said following the King’s Speech at the opening of Parliament on November 7. The government said that given the scale and complexity of the planned ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail proposal deadline extended
ASIA: The deadline for potential bidders to submit proposals for undertaking the revived Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail project has been extended to January 15 2024. On November 7 Malaysian project promoter MyHSR Corp said more than 60% of the companies which had indicated their intention ...
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NewsRevised California high speed rail track and electrification design RFQ issued
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has released a new request for qualifications for a contract to provide design services for the track and overhead electrification systems. The contract has an estimated value of up to $131·2m, plus options. It would cover high-level designs for track and ...
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NewsREMSA offers student trip to InnoTrans 2024
INNOTRANS: The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association is offering an opportunity to attend InnoTrans 2024 to a student who intends to pursue a career in the sector. The next InnoTrans event will take place in Berlin on September 24-27 2024. The InnoTrans Career Award will include return ...
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NewsAustria announces €21bn rail investment plan
AUSTRIA: The federal government has announced a €21·1bn railway infrastructure investment plan for 2024–29, an increase on the previous plans to spend €19bn in 2023-28. This includes the addition of projects worth €1·5bn. ‘With this framework investment plan, we are securing the railway expansion programme in ...
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NewsBari – Martina Franca line electrified
ITALY: Ferrovie del Sud Est has completed electrification of the 81 km line running from Bari through Casamassima and Putignano to Martina Franca. This will save 1 900 tonnes of CO2 a year, FS Group subsidiary FSE said when the electrification was inaugurated on October 16. ...
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NewsAI looks for patterns to identify track and wheel faults
TRACK: ZF Group has started using vibrations and artificial intelligence to monitor track condition, wheel fatigue and damage. Connect@rail uses ZF’s heavy duty inertia sensors to detect potential irregularities from rail surface defects and wheel faults. AI is used to filter out common events such as ...
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NewsCalifornian coastal railway to be relocated inland
USA: San Diego Association of Governments has selected HDR in partnership with Mott MacDonald and SMEs to undertake environmental clearance and advanced conceptual engineering for a project to replace a section of coastal railway by a new inland alignment. The LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project would bypass ...
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NewsNarrow gauge commuter trains enter service in Stockholm
SWEDEN: Custom-designed Stadler X15p electric multiple-units have begun entering passenger service on Stockholm’s Roslagsbanan, the first new trains on the 891 mm gauge suburban line for around 30 years.