All News articles – Page 124
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News
Armenia confirms rail concession award
PRESIDENT of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin was in Yerevan on January 16 for the official award of Armenia's 30-year national rail operating concession to sole bidder RZD. The contract is expected to be signed during February, with Russian Railways' specially-formed 100% owned subsidiary South Caucasian Railway scheduled take over Armenian ...
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Caspian link work starts
CEREMONIES were held at Bereket in Turkmenistan's Balkan region on December 1 to mark the formal start of construction on the 697·5 km international rail corridor linking Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran (RG 11.07 p674). Held where the north-south Uzen - Gyzylgaya - Bereket - Etrek - Gorgan route will intersect ...
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Intelligence January 2008
Argentina: The latest batch of ex-Portuguese Railways rolling stock to arrive in Buenos Aires included 10 diesel locomotives, three diesel railcars and four three-car EMUs. The first EMU to be refurbished from a previous shipment (RG 2.07 p62) has begun service trials on the Roca route to Temperley. Bangladesh: Permanent ...
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Alstom awarded Italian AGV contract
ALSTOM confirmed on January 17 that it had agreed a €650m contract to supply 25 Automotrice à Grande Vitesse trainsets to Italian open access company Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori. The announcement follows the award by the Italian Ministry of Transport of a railway company licence to NTV. Founded in December 2006, ...
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NewsArgentina confirms high speed rail consortium
AN INTERNATIONAL consortium led by Alstom has been formally selected to build South America's first high speed railway, President Cristina Fernández of Argentina officially announced on January 16. The Veloxia consortium was named as preferred bidder for a turnkey contract to construct the Buenos Aires – Cordoba line in June ...
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EIB loan for Charleroi light metro
THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT Bank is lending €75m to Belgian public transport operator SRWT to fund completion of the light metro system in Charleroi. The loan agreement was signed by EIB President Philippe Maystadt, SRWT Deputy Managing Director Jean-Marc Vandenbroucke and André Antoine, Transport Minister of the Walloon Region. The project ...
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Pointers January 2008
Addressing the African Union Rail Conference in Gauteng on November 20, South Africa's Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe announced that talks have begun with the long-term goal of building a railway linking Lesotho with Durban and Port Elizabeth. The only railway into the mountain kingdom runs to the capital, Maseru, ...
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Manila North Avenue bids fail
ONLY ONE consortium has prequalified for work on the North Avenue Extension light rail project in Manila. LRTA Administrator Melquiades Robles announced on November 24 that the grouping of DMCI, EEI and First Balfour had prequalified to tender for the electrical and mechanical works contract, known as Package C, which ...
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Calgary C-Train expands
AN EXTENSION of Calgary's Northeast light rail line from Whitehorn to McKnight-Westwinds opened for revenue service on December 17. Built at a cost of C$75m, the 2·7 km extension will serve one of the city's fastest-growing suburbs, and a maintenance facility just beyond the new terminus costing a further C$100m. ...
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City News in Brief
In the presence of presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Abdelaziz Bouteflika, RATP President Pierre Mongin signed a €130m contract with Alger metro company EMA on December 4, under which the Paris operator will run Line 1 for eight years after it opens in 2009. The 9 km line with 10 stations ...
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NewsFortescue spends to make up lost time
AUSTRALIA'S Fortescue Metals Group is due to receive shortly the last of 820 wagons ordered from China to carry iron ore on the 310 km heavy haul railway that it is building between its mine at Cloud Break and Port Hedland in the Pilbara region. The last wagon was due ...
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People in the News
The general assembly of the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies has confirmed the appointment of Netherlands Railways Chief Executive Aad Veenman to a second term as Chairman. CEO of Slovak infrastructure manager ZSR, Dalibor Zeleny, was elected Vice-Chairman, while Antoine Hurel, Deputy CEO of Veolia Transport, and Mauro ...
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Chennai suburban expansion
MRTS suburban services in Chennai have been extended from Tiruvanmiyur to Velachery, following inauguration of the line by Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister Dr Kalaignar M Karunanidhi on November 19. Completed as Phase II of the MRTS project, the 11 km extension has cost Rs7·7bn to build. The broad-gauge line is ...
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Brenner base tunnel wins TEN-T funding
RAIL projects have secured nearly 75% of the €5·1bn of funds which the European Commission has allocated to support Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) projects in 2007-13. Among the largest allocations announced by Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot on November 21 is €786m towards the cost of studies and works for the ...
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NewsVision of US passenger growth
AMBITIOUS PROPOSALS for expansion of inter-city passenger services in the USA were unveiled in Washington DC on December 6. The 'Vision for the Future' report calls for investment of $357·2bn between now and 2050. The report was compiled by a working party formed of state transport authorities and regional rail ...
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Charlotte Lynx launched
REVENUE SERVICES on the 15·4 km Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina, began on November 26, following a formal dedication ceremony with local officials a week earlier. Charlotte Area Transit System offered free rides over the weekend of November 24-25, attracting more than 100 000 people, and leading to ...
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Sweden - Germany through freight launched
HECTOR Rail began operating through freight trains between Sweden and Germany via the Øresund bridge and Denmark on January 4. The Swedish-based open access operator is running five trains a week between Norrköping and Herne in the Ruhr area under a contract signed with Dutch logistics firm Van Dieren Maritime ...
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Cross-acceptance moves closer
DRAFT legislation to recast the Technical Specifications for Interoperability in a revised directive has been agreed by the European Parliament. In a first reading on December 11, MEPs voted by a large majority to accept the proposals, the key objective of which is to streamline acceptance procedures for traction and ...
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SCT Logistics locos on test
CURRENTLY undergoing acceptance trials in Australia are the first of 11 GT46Ce locomotives ordered from Downer EDI Rail by SCT Logistics for use on Melbourne - Perth freight services. Photo: Mark Carter The first private interstate rail freight operator, SCT currently hauls around one-third of Australia's east-west traffic, using ...
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Work starts on Wehrhahn line
FOUR shovels were driven simultaneously into the earth at a construction site in the centre of Düsseldorf on November 28 when Mayor Joachim Erwin and Nordrhein-Westfalen Land State Secretary Günter Kozlowski, accompanied by two senior city transport officials, marked the start of work on the Wehrhahn U-Bahn line. The 3·4 ...