News – Page 684
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
Tram services in the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk ceased on December 18 following a decision to close the lines because of deteriorating infrastructure. Two tram routes in Angarsk closed on November 15: a 2 km section between Upravleniye Neftekhimkombinata and Zavod Polimerov and a 3·5 km section between Peresecheniye and ...
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NewsTransmashholding presents EP2D electric multiple-unit
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Demikhovo plant has unveiled the EP2D electric multiple-unit, developed to the specification of Moscow commuter operator Central Suburban Passenger Co which is DMZ’s largest customer. The first unit is to undergo trials at the Shcherbinka test circuit with certification expected in 2016. Central Suburban Passenger Co said ...
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NewsChangsha maglev starts trial running
CHINA: Trial running has started on the 18·5 km ‘medium-speed’ maglev line linking Changsha Nan station with the city's Huanghua Airport. Operated by Hunan Maglev Transport Co, the line has been designed for a maximum speed of 120 km/h, although the normal running speed is limited to 100 km/h. Interchange ...
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NewsBeijing and Guangzhou metros expand
CHINA: Three more metro extensions have been opened for revenue service in two of China’s largest conurbations. Beijing commissioned two routes on December 26. The larger adds a further 16·6 km to Line 14, which is being built by the Beijing MTR Corp joint venture under a PPP concession agreed ...
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NewsCompact GSM-R tester
TESTING: Communications company Cobham Wireless has launched a new mobile tester to validate the correct operation of GSM-R radios. The Cobham Wireless 2201R is designed to connect directly to GSM-R devices, including high-powered Class 2 radios, and is able to test voice, data and SMS connections. An optional battery pack ...
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NewsTraxx AC Last Mile on test in Croatia
CROATIA: A Bombardier Traxx AC3 Last Mile locomotive owned by leasing company Railpool has been tested in Croatia, with the aim of obtaining certification for operation during the first quarter of 2016. Static testing was followed by dynamic tests which focused on performance under different braking modes. On December ...
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NewsChengdu opens Line 4
CHINA: The third metro line in the western city of Chengdu was opened for revenue service on December 26. Running entirely underground for 22·4 km and serving 16 stations, the first phase of the east-west Line 4 links Intangible Cultural Heritage Park to Wannianchang. Interchange is provided to the national ...
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NewsHandheld vehicle tag reader introduced
RFID: Mobile computing specialist Trimble has introduced a rugged, handheld computer with an integrated UHF capability designed to read RFID vehicle tags. The Juno T41 R-AEI is able to read simultaneously the AEI tags used in North America and Australia as well as the EPC tags used by European railways ...
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NewsPolish passenger information consolidated
POLAND: In an effort to integrate, standardise and simplify the provision of passenger information across the country, with effect from the December timetable change more than 300 staff from seven companies have been transferred to PKP Utrzymanie, a dedicated company which is independent from the train operators and infrastructure manager. ...
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NewsDowntown Line reaches Bukit Panjang
SINGAPORE: The second phase of the city’s Downtown Line was opened for revenue service on December 27, following a formal inauguration by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Botanic Gardens station the previous day. Free travel is being provided until January 1. Running from northwest Bugis to Bukit Panjang, the ...
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NewsLotos Kolej orders last-mile Griffins
POLAND: Open access freight operator Lotos Kolej has placed the first series-build order for Griffin electric locomotives from Newag, placing a contract on December 23 for an initial build of five locos valued at 56·2m złoty. Designated E4DCU-DP, the four-axle locomotives will be a 3 kV DC variant of the ...
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NewsWheelslip control
RETROFITTING: ZTR Control Systems has launched a new wheelslip control system for retrofitting to older locomotives. The US firm says its new BOA-II platform offers advanced excitation and superior protection to improve tractive effort and reliability. Users can install a series of basic modules as an upgrade to other ZTR ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market December 2015
Australia: Thales is to supply communications and control systems for the Sydney Metro project. TasRail has awarded VEC Civil Engineering a contract for track renewals on the Melba and Western lines, the largest package of the A$119·6m Tasmanian Freight Rail Revitalisation Programme. Tas Heavy Haulage will transport the rails ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market December 2015
Australia: Adani has ordered 1360 coal hopper from CRRC Yangtze, the Chinese firm’s largest export order. China: Voith is supplying RailPack 400DE power packs with 375 kW engines for use on 30 electro-diesel multiple-units which Changchun Railway Vehicles is building for suburban services running onto non-electrified lines. Czech ...
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NewsRailway Directory 2016 published
INTERNATIONAL: Running to more than 800 pages, the 121st edition of Railway Directory provides a comprehensive overview of the world's railway industry in a single book, which is widely acknowledged as an indispensable source of information. Fully updated and expanded, the 2016 issue includes details of more than 22000 industry ...
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NewsRobot station attendants introduced
ROBOT: Keikyu Railway has deployed a 1200 mm high humanoid robot attendant to greet passengers at Tokyo Haneda Airport station, while SNCF has deployed similar robots at three stations in the Pays-de-la-Loire region under a pilot programme running until March. The robots are from the Pepper range developed by ...
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NewsSapporo completes tram loop
JAPAN: Ceremonies were held in the northern city of Sapporo on December 19 to mark the completion of a 449 m city centre tramway link, which opened for revenue service the following day. The new line connects the northern terminus of the Yamahana Line at Susukino with the eastern terminus ...
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NewsExim Bank to fund Lahore metro project
PAKISTAN: A soft loan agreement which would see China Exim Bank provide Rs162bn to fund construction of the Orange Line metro in Lahore was signed by Punjab’s Economic Affairs Secretary Tariq Bajwa and Exim Bank Vice-President Sun Ping on December 21. An agreement with China for the construction of the ...
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NewsEmergency traction tram batteries
SWITZERLAND: Saft is to supply onboard batteries for the 61 Flexity trams that Bombardier is supplying to Basel transport authority BVB. Each tram is being equipped with two 24 V Saft MSX battery systems. These would provide emergency short-term back-up traction power to enable the tram to travel short ...
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NewsTroger to lead Bombardier
Bombardier has appointed Laurent Troger as President of Bombardier Transportation in succession to Lutz Bertling, who stepped down on December 8 to pursue other career opportunities. Most recently Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Troger joined Bombardier in 2004 as Vice-President, Services for Europe, having previously held several senior ...