All News articles – Page 65
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NewsVeolia and Transdev in talks
FRANCE: European legislation on the procurement of public services is starting to drive further consolidation between the major public transport operators. On July 22 state-owned investment body Caisse des Dépôts confirmed that it had decided to enter into exclusive negotiations with Veolia Environnement with a view to merging their Transdev ...
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NewsCisalpino II in service at last
EUROPE: While Dutch and Danish engineers continue to wrestle with the V250 and IC4 trainsets respectively, another challenging procurement saga appears to be drawing to a close. With a palpable sense of relief, the Cisalpino joint venture operator announced on July 20 that the first of its Class 610 tilting ...
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NewsPointers September 2009
Plans to develop high speed passenger services in Ukraine have been put back from 2015 to 2020 in the light of the economic climate. In the meantime, UZ is segregating passenger and freight services to permit the wider introduction of 160 km/h running. Russian Railways is developing a business plan ...
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NewsChicago corridor cut
USA: Plans to re-configure five key rail corridors to improve the flow of traffic through the Chicago area are being scaled back owing to a lack of funding. The Chicago Region Environmental & Transportation Efficiency programme was launched in 2003 as a $1·5bn public-private partnership between the Department of ...
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NewsWeighed within 0·05%
WEIGHT: A vehicle weighing track installed at Bombardier’s Derby plant by Avery Weigh-Tronix can measure rolling stock weight distribution to within 0·05%, thanks to rail transponders and a controlled environment where wind, rain and rough terrain cannot affect results. The Weighline WI 1310 static rail weighing system was developed to ...
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NewsPiggyback wagon
POLAND: The 602S wagon from Tabor Szynowy Opole can carry lorries, trailers or containers. Wagons at the ends of a rake have opening ends to allow the loading and unloading of lorries using a mobile ramp. The ends are then closed to permit the use of standard couplers. The ...
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NewsFirst of 160 double-deck cars for Montréal unveiled
CANADA: The first of 160 double-deck coaches being built for Montréal's commuter network was unveiled at Bombardier's La Pocatière plant on August 21. The ceremony was attended by Julie Boulet, Québec's Minister of Transport; Claude Béchard, Minister and member of the Québec National Assembly for the district; and Joel ...
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NewsDSB becomes Sweden's second largest operator
SWEDEN: Västra Götaland county transport authority Västtrafik has selected the DSBFirst Väst joint venture of Danish state railway DSB (70%) and UK company FirstGroup (30%) to operate Göteborg commuter and regional rail services from December 2010. DSBFirst took over Øresund services between Denmark and Sweden in January, and the ...
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NewsA long way to go
ASIA: Almost since the dawn of railways, far-sighted engineers and politicians have been talking about linking Europe and India by rail. The second half of the 19th century was an era of economic expansion and power politics, as evidenced by the construction of transcontinental railways across the USA, Canada and ...
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NewsSheremetyevo airport trains get closer to central Moscow
RUSSIA: The rail link to Sheremetyevo airport was extended to start from the more central Moscow Belorusskaya station on August 28. Trains run every half-hour from 05.30 to 01.00. The journey takes 35 min with a stop at Savylovaky, which had been the city terminus since the service was ...
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NewsX-Ray specs cause problems for the railways
EUROPE: We hear that broad-gauge trains are running again on the 1 520 mm-gauge cross-border line between Uzhgorod and Matovce, which carries iron ore and coal from Russia and Ukraine to the US Steel plant at Kosice. Up to 12 trains each way cross the border per day, but ...
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NewsWabtec wins US$9m Irish wagon order
IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has awarded Wabtec Rail a US$9m contract to supply 24 high-output ballast wagons in 2010, Wabtec Corp announced on August 26. Doncaster-based Wabtec Rail has supplied more than 250 Autoballaster wagons for the UK market over the last decade. They feature radio-controlled ballast discharge, ...
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NewsNetwork Rail recommends high speed line to northwest and Scotland
UK: A vision of journey times from London of just 2 h 16 min to Glasgow, 1 h 06 min to Manchester and 46 min to Birmingham was painted by Network Rail Chief Executive Iain Coucher on August 26, when he unveiled the findings of a study by the infrastructure ...
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NewsRZD takes stake in Ulaanbaatar Railway
MONGOLIA: Russian Railways took control of 50% of the shares of Ulaanbaatar Railway (UBTZ) on August 25, when President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree transferring the Russian government's stake in UBTZ for five years. This follows a May 13 agreement that the Mongolian rail network will be managed by ...
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NewsEurobahn signs operating contract
GERMANY: On August 19 Eurorail signed a contract to operate Maas -Rhein-Lippe-Netz Regional-Express services from December 13. The Keolis subsidiary had been selected to operated the services in 2007, through an international tendering process managed by the Rhein-Ruhr and Ruhr-Lippe transport authorities. The contract covers the operation of ...
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NewsGE and EuroMaint announce train servicing alliance
SWEDEN: An alliance to provide locomotive and rolling stock maintenance services in Europe was announced by GE Transportation and EuroMaint Rail on August 24. As well as serving existing fleets, the alliance will provide a regional service network to support future orders for PowerHaul locomotives in Europe. 'Combining ...
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NewsContainer trains return to Dublin Port
IRELAND: The first intermodal rail service to Dublin Port for six years began on August 20, with the launch of a twice-weekly service from Ballina. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann under a contract with International Warehousing & Transport, which sells space on the train. According to IÉ, initial ...
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NewsConceptual designs for North-South passenger trains
SAUDI ARABIA: Interfleet Technology has completed initial designs for passenger trainsets to run on the future North-South Railway. The 200 km/h trainsets will have diesel-electric locomotives at each end, and must cope with sandstorms and temperatures of 50°C in the Great An-Nafud Desert. Executive, business and economy class accommodation ...
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NewsLess waste
SEATS: Four coaches used on KiwiRail’s Tranzmetro services in Wellington have been refurbished using an engineered leather derived from intimately rewoven tannery by-products. It is supplied as a continuous roll, which manufacturer E-Leather Ltd says has a 5% cutting wastage compared to up to 40% for traditional hides. ...