All News articles – Page 41
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NewsSkoda Class 380 in service
CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Transportation's Type 109E triple-voltage 200 km/h locomotives have begun trial operations, starting with No 380.007 which hauled a 100 km/h CD Cargo freight train from Plzen to Beroun on May 27. Initial 160 km/h passenger operations are expected to begin on routes from Praha to Brno and ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market June 2010
Australia: UGL has announced orders worth A$100m to supply QR with four C44ACi locomotives and 160 QHBH wagons for use in the Hunter Valley, and 200 VCB wagons for the Bowen Basin. Brazil: Singapore’s ST Electronics has won a S$4·6m contract to supply passenger information systems for 19 six-car ...
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NewsService centre for private operators
GERMANY: A rolling stock maintenance centre is being developed at a former locomotive workshop at Braunschweig in Germany to meet the growing demand for servicing vehicles on behalf of private operators, which now carry around 20% of regional passenger traffic. Opening in 2011, the 15 200 m2 site will specialise ...
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NewsArriva shareholders back sale
UK: Shareholders of Sunderland-based international bus and rail operator Arriva voted overwhelmingly at a special General Meeting on June 17 to support the proposed takeover of the company by Deutsche Bahn. The Arriva board had recommended acceptance of DB's cash bid announced on April 22, under which the state-owned ...
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NewsAsian locomotive rejuvenation
THAILAND: Five Alstom locomotives operated by State Railway of Thailand have been fitted with MTU 16V 4000 R41 R engines to cut their fuel consumption and increase availability. MTU said repowering will prolong the life of a locomotive by up to one complete life-cycle at 60% of the price ...
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NewsAECOM acquires high speed rail expertise with Inocsa
SPAIN: AECOM Technology Corp has acquired transport and environmental consultancy Inocsa Ingeniería, in a deal which AECOM President & CEO John M Dionisio said would benefit both companies and increase the US firm's expertise in the high speed rail sector. 'Inocsa gains access to the depth and breadth AECOM can ...
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NewsKiel - Lübeck upgrade
GERMANY: DB Regio launched an enhanced service between Kiel and Lübeck on June 13, following a €32m programme of investment in the 81 km route which included infrastructure modernisation, more accessible platforms and a new station at Kiel-Elmschenhagen. The federal government provided two-thirds of the cost with the rest coming ...
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NewsNS wary of 'schizophrenia' in Washington
USA: 'The economic recovery in our business is well underway', reported Norfolk Southern Chairman, President & CEO Wick Moorman on May 13, addressing the company's Annual Meeting in Williamsburg. Noting that traffic volumes were growing back steadily, he said NS had been able to report financial results for 2009 which ...
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NewsWorld infrastructure market June 2010
Australia: John Holland and Aecom are to undertake the A$650m extension of Melbourne’s Epping commuter line by 3·5 km to South Morang. Austria: ÖBB Infrastruktur has appointed Frequentis to undertake outsourced systems integration for its ETCS Level 2 programme, with roll-out on several major routes scheduled for December ...
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NewsPointers June 2010
Argentina's Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi has signed an agreement with Vice-Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping that would see Chinese banks provide at least 85% of the funding for a US$18bn programme to electrify the Belgrano Norte and Belgrano Sur commuter networks in Buenos Aires. This ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Last month the European Commission formally warned Bulgaria that it must implement First Railway Package legislation on track access charges. Operations have resumed on Tanzania’s Central line after US$11m of emergency repairs to flood damage caused by heavy rain in December. Reviving electric traction on the 300 km Dabuka ...
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NewsRail welding plant opened in Libya
LIBYA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin took part in the ceremonial opening of a rail welding plant in Ras Lanuf on June 11. It was built on a turnkey basis by welding equipment specialist Pskovelectrosvar, and will support RZD's €2·2bn four-year contract signed in April 2008 for construction ...
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NewsJapanese industry in export overdrive
JAPAN: Having been selected as preferred supplier for the next generation of trains on the Washington DC metro, with up to 748 vehicles potentially worth US$1·48bn, Kawasaki has now picked up an order to supply more cars for New York. And Hitachi has set itself the task of doubling exports ...
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NewsInterfleet buys Die Ingenieurwerkstatt
GERMANY: UK-based international rail consultancy Interfleet Technology has expanded its European operations with the acquisition of Die Ingenieurwerkstatt GmbH for an undisclosed sum. The Wiesbaden-based firm was established in 1996 and now has more than 30 staff providing consultancy services in the areas of safety engineering, maintenance optimisation and rail ...
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NewsFrance to Portugal high speed co-operation agreement
EUROPE: During a two-day conference of ministers and stakeholders held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza to discuss the Trans-European Transport Network programme, on June 8 French Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, Spanish Development Minister José Blanco and Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications António Mendonça ...
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NewsTram-train on test at Crécy-la-Chapelle
FRANCE: A Siemens Avanto tram-train vehicle from the Bondy - Aulnay route T4 in Paris was tested by SNCF on the 10 km single-track Esbly - Crécy-la-Chapelle line east of the capital on June 2-4. The lack of a passing loop on the branch means it is not possible to ...
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NewsCutting track life-cycle costs
EUROPE: With the four-year Innotrack research project now approaching completion, the project partners now estimate that the life-cycle cost of track could be cut by 25% in the coming years. ‘That’s a lot of savings when you consider the extent of the rail network’, said UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, ...
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NewsPesa reveals details of low-floor EMU family
POLAND: Bydgoszcz-based manufacturer Pesa has revealed its ELF low-floor EMU design ahead of the planned exhibition of a prototype at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin in September. Speaking at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 9, a spokesman confirmed that two contracts had already been ...
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NewsAnsaldoBreda and Bombardier combine to offer V300 Zefiro
ITALY: Following Alstom's announcement of an addition to its high speed train range on June 8, Bombardier Transportation's Country President Italy, Roberto Tazzioli, has revealed further details of his company's response to Ferrovie dello Stato's tender for 50 very high speed trainsets. To boost the local content of the planned ...
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NewsGenesee & Wyoming buys Alice Springs - Darwin operator
AUSTRALIA: US-based short line operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc is to acquire FreightLink, the concessionaire for the 2 240 km Tarcoola - Darwin railway which went into receivership in November 2008. GWI has managed FreightLink's rail services since they began in 2004, and expects to make significant savings by ...