News – Page 689
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NewsBangkok Orange Line approved
THAILAND: On December 8 the government approved the Orange Line metro project in Bangkok. To be managed by the state-run Mass Rapid Transit Authority, the first phase is due to be completed in August 2022. Tendering of the construction contracts is expected to begin in May. Land acquisition has ...
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NewsMTR to operate Stockholm Pendeltåg
SWEDEN: Local transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik announced on December 8 that it has selected MTR Gamma AB for the next contract to operate Stockholm’s Pendeltåg suburban rail services. Operated since June 2006 by SJ subsidiary Stockholmståg, the Pendeltåg network consists of four routes with a combined length of 241 km ...
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NewsArad station refurbishment complete
ROMANIA: The modernised Arad station opened to the public on December 1 after more than three and a half years of work. A 334m lei project started in April 2012 saw the installation of a new footbridge, lifts and escalators, while maintaining the station’s original architectural features, which date from ...
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NewsCross-border link revived
EUROPE: A fourth cross-border rail link between Germany and the Czech Republic was formally reopened on December 7, with a ceremony attended by Czech transport minister Dan Tok, Bayern interior minister Joachim Herrmann and German State Secretary Dorothee Bär. Closed to passenger traffic in 1945, the 7 km link between ...
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NewsParramatta light rail route chosen
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Premier Mike Baird, Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance and Minister for Planning Rob Stokes announced the preferred route for the Parramatta Light Rail project on December 8. The 22 km line in the western suburbs of Sydney is intended to connect Westmead and ...
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NewsSabrina Soussan
Following the departure of Jürgen Wilder to DB Schenker Rail, Sabrina Soussan has been named as Chief Executive of the High Speed & Commuter Rail business unit at Siemens Mobility.
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NewsBielefeld inaugurates light rail extension
GERMANY: Around 6 000 people attended the inauguration of a new section of Bielefeld’s light rail network on December 6, enjoying a programme of entertainment in a ‘pre-Christmas atmosphere’, as well as free travel. Following the inaugural journey by a coupled pair of metre gauge Vamos LRVs, the line ...
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NewsKampala trials commuter trains
UGANDA: An experimental commuter rail service was launched in Kampala on December 7, as a joint venture between the Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda Railways Corp and operating concessionaire Rift Valley Railways. The three partners have agreed run the pilot service for 12 months, following the signing of an initial ...
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NewsSRO launches push-pull trains at 180 km/h
SAUDI ARABIA: President of Saudi Railways Organization Mohammed bin Khalid Al-Suwaiket attended a ceremony in Dammam on December 7 to mark the start of faster passenger services to Riyadh using four push-pull trainsets supplied by CAF of Spain. Designed for a maximum speed of 200 km/h, the trains will operate ...
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NewsLuxembourg tram model on display
LUXEMBOURG: A full-sized mock-up of the tram that CAF is to supply to Luxembourg City went on display on December 7. It will remain in the Kirchberg district for public viewing until January 31. At 15 m, the model is one-third of the length of the 21 Urbos trams ...
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NewsICx becomes ICE 4
GERMANY: ‘The ICE 4 will launch a new era for inter-city travel’, said Deutsche Bahn CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube on December 4, at a ceremony at Berlin Südkreuz to unveil the first pre-series ICx trainset. He was joined by federal transport minister Alexander Dobrindt and Siemens Mobility CEO Dr Jochen ...
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NewsManchester opens first phase of Second City Crossing
UK: The first stage of Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing was inaugurated on December 6 with the opening of a stop at Exchange Square. Services on the 600 m section between Exchange Square and Victoria Station operate every 6 min during the day, running through onto Metrolink’s Oldham line. ...
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NewsTrams return to Birmingham city centre
UK: December 6 marked the opening of the first extension of the Midland Metro light rail route in Birmingham since the line opened in 1999. The short section including new stops at Snow Hill and Bull Street is the first phase of the 1·4 km city centre extension to ...
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NewsSendai opens second metro line
JAPAN: The second metro line in Sendai was inaugurated on December 6 at a ceremony attended by Mayor Emiko Okuyama. The 13·9 km underground Tozai Line links Arai with Yagiyama-Dobutsu-Koen. Interchange with the north-south Namboku Line is provided at Sendai Station. There are 13 stations on the new line, ...
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NewsSarah Feinberg
Having been nominated by President Barack Obama in July, Sarah Feinberg was confirmed as head of the Federal Railroad Administration by the Senate in a vote on October 28. She had been acting FRA Administrator since January.
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NewsNanjing – Anqing PDL opened
CHINA: The 258 km Nanjing – Anqing Intercity Railway was opened to revenue service by China Railway Corp on December 6, following four months of test running. Under construction since 2010 at a cost of 25bn yuan, the 200 km/h Passenger-Dedicated Line mainly serves the province of Anhui, with a ...
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NewsEIB loan to fund Südbahn upgrading work
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways and the European Investment Bank signed a €1·8bn loan agreement on November 30 for upgrading work on the Südbahn route between Wien and Graz to 2026. The loan is to be disbursed over the next three years in tranches of €600m. The money will support ...
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NewsZSSK to end Bratislava – Košice inter-city services
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK announced on December 4 that it would withdraw all of its inter-city services on the 445 km Bratislava – Košice main line with effect from January 18, having previously cut service levels by 40% earlier this year. Czech open access operator RegioJet had warned in ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - December 2015
The European Commission has approved a €38·6m Cohesion Fund grant to Košice transport authority DPMK for the €47·8m purchase of 33 Pragoimex Vario LF2+ trams which were ordered in three batches in 2014-15. The French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is to provide a €4·2m grant for the ...
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NewsRail industry news in brief - December 2015
Following discussions between DB, local authorities, environmental and community bodies, the German government has announced that the long-proposed Y-shaped new line from the Hannover area towards Hamburg and Bremen has been dropped in favour of the Alpha-E alternative of upgrading existing lines. With its remit expanded to cover motorways ...