News – Page 681
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NewsYangon launches light rail line
MYANMAR: The first phase of a light rail line in Yangon was officially opened with a ceremony on January 10. The 4·8 km east-west route from Linsadaung to Wardan Jetty uses a newly electrified on-street freight railway running along Strand Road, and a three-section ex-Hiroshima tram with capacity for ...
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NewsJoe Boardman
Joe Boardman has informed Amtrak‘s Board of Directors and employees that he intends to retire as President & CEO in September.
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NewsBrunswick Rail reviews business amid downturn
RUSSIA: Brunswick Rail Ltd has appointed Houlihan Lokey (Europe) Ltd as financial advisor to support a strategic review of its capital structure in response to what it the leasing company sees as ‘fundamental and permanent changes’ to the Russian market brought about by falling traffic volumes, declining lease rates and ...
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NewsKraków inaugurates tram workshop
POLAND: Mayor Jacek Majchrowski officially inaugurated a new building for maintenance and repairs in the Podgórze tram depot in Kraków on January 4. The inauguration coincided with the presentation of the last Krakowiak tram, which arrived in December. At 42·8 m long, the 36 trams supplied by Pesa are ...
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NewsPakistan Railways completes double-tracking project
PAKISTAN: Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif formally inaugurated a second track between Lodhran and Raiwind on January 9, officially completing the project to double the Karachi – Lahore main line. A new building at Premnagar station was also inaugurated. The doubling of the ...
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NewsFive shortlisted for Merseyrail train replacement
UK: Transport authority Merseytravel announced the five shortlisted bidders for a contract to supply around 50 new electric multiple-units for the Merseyrail suburban network centred on Liverpool on January 11: Bombardier;CAF;Mitsui in a consortium with Alstom and East Japan Railway’s rolling stock manufacturing business J-TREC;Siemens;Stadler. Tender documents are scheduled ...
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NewsČD to run newly-electrified Železnice Desná services
CZECH REPUBLIC: The local authorities which own the 19·3 km Železnice Desná line linking Šumperk with Kouty nad Desnou have directly awarded national operator ČD a contract to operate passenger services for 10 years from June 2016. The route was taken over by the local authorities after ČD declined to ...
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NewsBooking platform developer closes funding round
EUROPE: Rail, bus and air planning and booking platform developer GoEuro has closed a US$45m funding round, led by Goldman Sachs and joined by new investors including Atomico, Yuri Milner and Tom Stafford, Sebastian Siemiatkowski (Klarna) and Ilkka Paananen (Supercell). ‘GoEuro has made impressive progress in bringing the last ...
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NewsWind-resistant level crossing gates installed
UK: EDS Ltd has developed and supplied a set of cantilevered telescopic level crossing gates which are designed to avoid the problems which strong winds can cause for lifting barriers or swing gates. The first installation replaced a set of swing gates in Redcar. ‘We have been all too aware ...
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NewsCZ Loko unveils EffiShunter 500
EUROPE: Czech rolling stock manufacturer CZ Loko has delivered the first EffiShunter 500 shunting locomotive, with a second to follow shortly. The Bo-Bo design retains the underframe and bogies of the ČKD-built Class 740 locomotive, but is otherwise newly built to the customer’s requirements. It powered by a 522 kW ...
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NewsBerlin rolling stock financing agreed
GERMANY: On January 7 the Land of Berlin’s Finance Senator Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen, Urban Development Senator Andreas Geisel and Chair of transport operator BVG Sigrid Evelyn Nikutta signed a letter of intent to extend BVG’s operating contract from 2020 to 2035. During this period the city would pay an annual ...
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NewsGovernment approves Czech station ownership transfer
CZECH REPUBLIC: A long-planned deal which would see national operator ČD sell 1 574 station buildings and related premises to infrastructure manager SŽDC was approved by the cabinet on December 21. Transferring ownership of the stations to SŽDC would enable public and EU funding to be used for ...
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NewsPeter Ewen
MTR Corp has named Peter Ewen as Engineering Director, with effect from February 22. In this post he will head a new Engineering Division to be established in the early part of this year.
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NewsPortugal's CP to lease Spanish trainsets
PORTUGAL: Subject to government approval, national operator CP plans to lease four or five CAF Class 120 four-car 250 km/h trainsets from RENFE while its fleet of Alfa Pendular trainsets undergoes a €19m half-life inspection and refurbishment programme which is to be undertaken by EMEF. CP uses the 10 ...
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NewsAnsaldo STS awarded $338m MBTA PTC contract
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Ansaldo STS a $338m contract to equip the Boston commuter rail network with Positive Train Control. The contract includes design, installation, systems integration, commissioning, technical support and documentation. The lines are to be equipped with an integrated PTC package interoperable with both the ...
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Metro Report InternationalAnsaldo STS awarded $338m MBTA PTC contract
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Ansaldo STS a $338m contract to equip the Boston commuter rail network with Positive Train Control. The contract includes design, installation, systems integration, commissioning, technical support and documentation. The lines are to be equipped with an integrated PTC package interoperable with both the ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Wabtec Corp has acquired Australian company Relay Monitoring Systems, which supplies electrical protection and control products for the rail and energy sectors and has annual sales of about US$15m. Power converters and circuit breakers supplier Eaton has appointed AE Petsche as its rolling stock sector distributor in the ...
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In depth$3bn Penn Station PPP to create Empire Complex by 2019
USA: Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State, lent renewed impetus to the redevelopment of Penn Station in New York City on January 6 by suggesting the $3bn project could be completed within three years. Overall space for passengers to circulate would be increased by 50%, creating a ‘holistic and ...
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NewsSiemens to automate Paris metro Line 4
FRANCE: RATP announced on January 7 that it had selected Siemens for a €70m contract to automate the 12·1 km Paris metro Line 4 to enable driverless operation. The work is scheduled for completion in 2022. Siemens is to install its Trainguard MT signalling and will equip the operations ...
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NewsNorth Korean metro trainset carries passengers
NORTH KOREA: January 1 saw a ceremonial run of what the official news agency describes as the country’s first domestically manufactured metro trainset. The train carried passengers on the 20 km north-south Chollima Line of the Pyongyang metro. The four-car trainset includes screens with real-time passenger information, as well ...