All News articles – Page 28
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NewsAssessing the human factor
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded an ‘indefinite delivery, indefinite quality’ contract running to May 14 2017 to Alion Science & Technology as part of its accident reduction research initiative. Worth up to $10m, the contract covers research to assess ‘human performance in rail operations and maintenance’. Alion will ...
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NewsIRSE innovation award
INTERNATIONAL: The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers is seeking entries for the first IRSE Innovation Award to recognise significant innovations in the field of railway traffic management, train control, telecommunications and related disciplines. Launched to mark the IRSE's Centenary, the IRSE Innovation Award will be made for an innovative system, ...
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NewsNews in Brief - October 2012
Veolia Transport has been awarded a two-year extension to its contract to operate commuter services in Auckland, New Zealand. The 10-year contract was originally due to end in March 2014. EBRD is providing a senior 15-year loan of up to €46·4m to fund an upgrade of the 30 km Kumanovo ...
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NewsCN begins work on 'benchmark' training centres
CANADA: A groundbreaking ceremony at Canadian National's Transcona workshop in Winnipeg on September 28 launched the construction of the first of two 'state-of-the-art' staff training centres. Work on the second facility at the Woodcrest Mechanical Shop in the suburbs of Chicago is to begin next year. 'These facilities will be ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2012 sets new records
INNOTRANS: Growing international participation helped drive a 19% growth in the number of trade visitors at this year's InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin. Well over half of the extra visitors came from abroad, with attendees from 30 more countries than at InnoTrans 2010. 'This year InnoTrans successfully represented itself ...
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NewsRapidKL welcomes external students
MALAYSIA: Urban rail operator RapidKL has welcomed the first external students to its Subang Jaya training facility in Kuala Lumpur. Although RapidKL had used the centre for internal training since 1997, it has been developing a series of external courses since 2009 under a government-led initiative to create accredited institutions ...
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NewsWorld rail market September 2012
Colombia: Indra has been awarded a contract to integrate the Da Vinci metro operations management system used in Medellín with its bus rapid transit counterpart. Ethiopia: Supported by a US$300m Indian government credit, India’s Overseas Infrastructure Alliance has been awarded a US$78m contract to survey the planned Mek’ele – ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market September 2012
Austria: Following the end of the warranty, Innsbruck tram operator IVB has awarded Bombardier a €44m contract to maintain its fleet of 32 Flexity Outlook cars until December 2028, with an option for eight years. Czech Republic: D has awarded Pesa Bydgoszcz a KC191m contract to refurbish 15 Bdt ...
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News
MTU to supply diesel powerpacks for Intercity Express Programme
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe has named MTU as preferred bidder for the supply of 250 underfloor powerpacks for its Super Express fleet of 200 km/h inter-city trains, which are expected to enter traffic from 2017 under the UK government’s Intercity Express Programme. Having provided an engine for test bench ...
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NewsNews in Brief - September 2012
The government of Ghana has proposed a US$303m public-private partnership to rehabilitate the 977 km rail network. Amtrak, HOK, Parsons Brinckerhoff and developer Akridge have produced a 20-year master plan for a $7bn redevelopment of Washington Union station, which would triple passenger capacity. The governments of Tanzania and Zambia ...
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NewsFull showground beats all records
INNOTRANS: ‘Despite a stagnating global economy InnoTrans 2012 has expanded and set new records’, said Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin GmbH Dr Christian Göke at a pre-opening press conference on September 17. Two ‘sonic walls’ had been breached, he said, revealing that InnoTrans 2012 occupied the entire showground ...
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NewsEncapsulating the global rail industry
INNOTRANS: With more than 2400 exhibitors from 47 countries taking part, the InnoTrans trade fair being held at the Messe Berlin exhibition centre on September 18-21 will provide an unparalleled showcase for the world’s railway industry. The theme for this year’s show is ‘The Future of Mobility’, and as ...
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NewsNews in Brief - September 2012
Germany’s federal Railway Authority has approved the regular operation of 835 m long freight trains between Padborg in Denmark and Maschen in Niedersachsen. After 25 expressions of interest, the only bids for a $1bn contract to operate Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad services from July 2013 came from Keolis and ...
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NewsSharing knowledge globally
INTERNATIONAL: The UK’s Rail Safety & Standards Board and UIC signed a memorandum of understanding last month to develop an online web portal known as Railway Research to foster global co-operation. The web application, which will be hosted by UIC’s International Rail Research Board, is an extension of the Spark ...
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NewsFurka Tunnel rescue train enters service
SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn officially inaugurated new fire and rescue vehicles for the 15·4 km Furka Tunnel with a ceremony at Oberwald on August 7. Fire-fighting and rescue vehicles have been stationed at Realp and Oberwald since the Furka base tunnel opened in 1982, and MGB decided to update the ...
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NewsFRA launches Railroaders' Guide to Healthy Sleep
USA: Funded by the Federal Railroad Administration, an interactive web portal has been launched by the Department of Transportation to help railway staff to monitor their sleep patterns. Entitled ‘the Railroaders’ Guide to Healthy Sleep’, the site provides a range of tools to enable staff to record their sleep patterns ...
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NewsWorld rail market August 2012
Belgium: Rail Service Net has ordered a Rafamet UFB 125 N wheel lathe for delivery next year. France: RATP has signed an agreement with telecoms operator SFR that should see 3G and 4G available by the end of 2014 at the 170 busiest stations on the Paris metro and ...
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NewsLocal rail specialists needed
AFGHANISTAN: The government is keen to ‘eliminate the lack of rail experts’ in the country as it seeks to develop its embryonic network, according to Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, Minister of Trade & Industry. Speaking during a visit to the border town of Hairatan on June 22, ul-Huq said that ‘we ...
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NewsNoise research in the spotlight
GERMANY: In partnership with industry and government partners, railway engineers’ association VDEI held a two-day conference in Berlin on June 26-27 to assess the latest progress in noise abatement. Co-hosted by the Federal Transport Ministry and infrastructure manager DB Netz, the conference updated delegates on 82 specific projects in 13 ...
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NewsAsia Pacific region Centre for Transport Excellence established
SINGAPORE: A Centre for Transport Excellence in the Asia Pacific region has been established as a joint initiative between Singapore’s Land Transport Authority and UITP. Intended to provide a resource for planners and administrators from other cities in the region, the centre is intended as ‘an all-encompassing’ resource focused on ...