All News articles – Page 56
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NewsGovernment go ahead for more electrification
UK: Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis announced plans to electrify a further three routes in northwest England on December 14. The £200m programme builds on plans to electrify a Liverpool - Manchester route which were announced in July. These additional routes are Huyton - Wigan (24 km), allowing electric trains to ...
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NewsCambodian railway to be revived by 2013
CAMBODIA: Asian Development Bank announced a second US$42m loan towards rehabilitation of the dilapidated rail network on December 16, doubling the funding it is providing for the US$141m project. ADB said freight trains will begin running on the southern line between Phnom Penh and Kampot near the Vietnamese border in ...
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NewsCEVA link approved
SWITZERLAND: Voters in the Swiss canton of Genève have backed the provision of an extra SFr113m required to go ahead with the CEVA project to link the city's main Cornavin station with Eaux Vives station, terminus of a 6 km line from Annemasse in France which will be modernised and ...
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NewsCollision analysis experts appointed for train project
SOUTH KOREA: Rolling stock manufacturer Hyundai Rotem has appointed UK-based consultancy Frazer-Nash to assess the crashworthiness of an aluminium-bodied commuter train which it is developing. The electric multiple-unit is initially targeted at the Korean market, but Hyundai Rotem hopes to export orders will follow. Frazer-Nash will investigate the effects ...
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NewsA star is born
BELGIUM: Ceremonies on December 8 at the Dutch-Belgian border near Noorderkempen and outside Brussels Midi station marked the completion of the Belgian high speed network, which forms a star of four lines. Planning for the first line from the French border to Brussels began back in 1988. From December 13, ...
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NewsAuckland train procurement begins shortly
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail is call tenders early in the New Year for the supply of up to 114 electric multiple-unit cars for Auckland, following the cabinet's approval of a NZ$500m loan on November 24. The first of the 1 067 mm gauge EMUs will enter service on the Eastern ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Control and communications systems provider Invensys Rail is to open a Global Centre of Excellence for communication-based train control in central London. ‘With key international project wins, including this month’s £255m São Paulo Metro award, we are delighted to offer our clients centralised CBTC expertise from our new office in ...
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NewsCOBRA to give rail freight more bite
BELGIUM: DB Schenker Rail and SNCB Logistics signed an agreement to form a joint venture to manage cross-border freight trains between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands on December 10. Corridor Operations Belgium Rail will be an operating organisation, with commercial activities remaining in hands of the two companies. COBRA's ...
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NewsYakunin views Libyan rail progress
LIBYA: A year after the April 2008 construction contract came into force in December 2008, Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin visited Libyan Railways Chairman Said Mohammed Rashid on December 5 to discuss progress with the 554 km Surt - Banghazi railway, being built by RZD under a €2·2bn contract. ...
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NewsItalian north-south high speed line completed
ITALY: Celebrations were held in Milano on December 5 to mark the completion of the final sections of the north-south high speed rail corridor, which opens for revenue service with the timetable change on December 13. Completion of the Novara – Milano, Bologna – Firenze and Napoli – Salerno links ...
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NewsADB loan for rail efficiency programme
CHINA: Asian Development Bank approved loans of up to US$1bn towards the Chinese government's US$3·24bn Railway Energy Efficiency & Safety Enhancement Investment Programme on December 8. Announced as part of an economic stimulus package in October 2008, the programme is funding the installation of train fault detection equipment and ...
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NewsQR National to be floated in 2010
AUSTRALIA: Detailed plans for the break-up and partial privatisation of QR were announced on December 8 by Queenland's state Premier Anna Bligh. The coal and general freight business, including some network infrastructure, is to be floated on the Australian stock market at the end of 2010. The new company ...
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NewsHigh speed train research agreement signed
GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation and the Göttingen-based aerospace research centre Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt have signed an agreement to co-operate in the development of high speed trains. The framework agreement initially runs to the end of 2014, and covers joint research into aerodynamics, dynamic stability, interior airflows and acoustics, ...
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NewsEuroMaint Rail expands into Germany
GERMANY: EuroMaint Rail announced its acquisition of Rail Service Management Group on December 7. Subject to regulatory approval the deal is expected to be completed in January 2010. Swedish rolling stock maintenance firm EuroMaint Rail said the acquisition is 'the first large step' in a programme of international expansion ...
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NewsFirst French port operator formed
FRANCE: Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau announced on December 4 the launch of the first local rail operator to be formed as part of the national rail freight revitalisation strategy. NaviRail Atlantique will take over responsibility for the operation of the port rail network at La Rochelle, including the assembling and ...
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NewsSouthern states seek a new model
BRAZIL: Meeting in Florianópolis on November 6 and 7, representatives from the state legislatures of Rio Grande Do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná and Mato Grosso, which form the Parliament of the South (Parlasul), backed proposals to establish a public sector company to co-ordinate railway development in the region. A formal ...
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NewsPointers December 2009
According to its legislative programme presented to parliament on November 2, the new government of Portugal hopes to have the high speed line between Lisboa and Madrid in service by the end of 2013. Three bids have been received for the PPP concession to build the 34 km section between ...
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NewsCool in the desert
SAUDI ARABIA: To cope with desert temperatures of up to 55°C, the eight 200 km/h trainsets which Saudi Railways Organisation ordered from Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF in July 2008 are to be fitted with a comprehensive cooling system from Voith Turbo. The push-pull trainsets will have five coaches ...
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NewsGE announces Brazilian locomotive contract
BRAZIL: GE Transportation has signed an agreement to supply América Latina Logística with 10 AC44i diesel-electric locomotives by the end of 2009, the manufacturer announced on December 3. The 1 600 mm gauge locomotives be built at GE Transportation South America's plant in Contagem, Brazil, with engines from Grove ...
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NewsNîmes - Montpellier funding accord
FRANCE: The national and regional governments signed an agreement on December 2 setting out funding arrangements for construction of the Nîmes - Montpellier bypass and paving the way for the start of construction. The 80 km mixed-traffic route will form an extension of the south-western branch of LGV Méditerranée ...