All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1003
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News
Tren Suburbano inaugurated
MEXICO: The first 20 km of a planned suburban rail network in Mexico City was inaugurated on June 2, following three weeks of fare-free trial operations. Known locally as El Tren Suburbano, the line links the former inter-city terminus at Buenavista with Cuautitlán in the north, using an existing right-of-way ...
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News
UIC training centre opens
SOUTH KOREA: The International Union of Railways officially inaugurated its training centre for the Asia region during the recent statutory meetings in Seoul. International Railway Training Centre Asia is located at Korail's Railway Human Resources Institute in Uiwang, close to the South Korean capital. The ceremony was followed by the ...
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NewsEIB funds Warszawa - Gdynia upgrade
POLAND: Infrastructure manage PKP PLK signed a €400m loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on June 30. The money will fund the modernisation of the main line between Warszawa, Gdansk and Gdynia to enable trains to run at up to 200 km/h. Current speed restrictions on the 350 ...
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NewsFunding boost for Manchester
UK: In a statement to the House of Commons on June 9, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly 'granted programme entry' to the first business case requesting support from the Transport Innovation Fund for a major programme of local transport enhancements. This was submitted in July 2007 by the Association of Greater ...
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NewsSiemens to supply PKP Intercity locos
POLAND: Siemens is to supply PKP Intercity with 10 Eurosprinter ES64U4 multi-system electric locomotives for 200 km/h passenger services, the Polish national operator announced on June 27. Siemens submitted the only bid in response to the call for tenders, pricing the locomotives at €44·5m. The purchase will be financed ...
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News
Library-a-Go-Go
USA: San Francisco metro operator BART and Costa County public libraries have launched Library-a-Go-Go, an automated book lending machine at Pittsburg/Bay Point station. Anyone with a library card can check out up to three books, returning them three weeks later. Four machines are planned, each offering 400 books selected ...
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NewsKei Rail revival will support regional development
SOUTH AFRICA The return of passenger and freight services on a 282 km branch line in Eastern Cape province is part of a balanced strategy; the railway is driving local economic development, which in turn generates enough traffic to keep the railway sustainable. Rollo Dickson reports
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NewsRoyal opening at Knorr-Bremse factory
SPAIN: A factory bringing two Spanish subsidies of Knorr-Bremse together on one site was formally opened in the presence of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and Princess Letizia on June 25. Situated at Getafe, 20 km south of Madrid, the factory houses Knorr-Bremse's braking and door systems subsidiary Frenos and ...
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NewsSBB announces Zürich double deck orders
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways announced major rolling stock contracts worth a total of SFr1·5bn on June 30. The competition to supply Zürich's third generation of double-deck coaches has been won by Stadler, which will supply 50 six-car EMUs worth SFr1·02bn. They will be the first double-deck trains to be ...
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News
Vossloh confirms sale of Infrastructure Services
EUROPE: On June 30 Vossloh Group announced its acceptance of a €150m bid for its Vossloh Infrastructure Services business unit from Vinci Group company Eurovia. Acquired as part of the Cogifer Group in 2002, Vossloh Infrastructure Services undertakes track and electrification construction and maintenance. It has a workforce of ...
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NewsVelaro sets Chinese speed record
CHINA: On June 24 a CRH3 trainset from the Siemens Velaro family of high speed trains set a Chinese steel-wheel rail speed record of 394·3 km/h.
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NewsEdmonton light rail vehicle unveiled
CANADA: The first of 37 Siemens SD160 cars ordered to double the fleet size in advance of the opening of Edmonton's South Line light rail extension was publicly unveiled on June 23. The €77m contract was awarded to Siemens in October 2005, partly funded through fuel taxes. The first ...
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NewsDB Schenker increases BLS Cargo stake
EUROPE: Swiss railway group BLS has sold a 25% stake in BLS Cargo to DB Schenker, which now holds 45% of the freight operator. The deal was an option on the 2002 agreement between DB and BLS to co-operate on north-south trans-Alpine freight traffic. The contracts were concluded on ...
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NewsSympathetic operator wanted
AUSTRALIA: Tasmania's Premier David Bartlett said on June 17 that the state government is keen to find a new train operator to secure the future of the island's rail network. The previous week, Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturgess confirmed that Pacific National was looking to sell its local rail freight ...
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NewsSiemens coaches arrive at Ashdod
ISRAEL: The first six of 87 coaches ordered from Siemens for inter-city and regional services was unloaded at the Port of Ashdod on June 18. ISR expects to have two complete 10-car trains ready for trials by the end of August, and plans to put the first into passenger service ...
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NewsAGV begins dynamic testing
CZECH REPUBLIC: Alstom’s seven-car AGV demonstrator Pégase has begun a four-month programme of dynamic trials at the Velim test track, where the traction package, wheel-rail and pantograph-catenary interfaces will be tested at up to 210 km/h. The trainset was delivered from La Rochelle on May 14, and began test running ...
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News
Caterpillar buys MGE
MGE: Brazilian electrical equipment manufacturer and rolling stock refurbishment company MGE Equipamentos & Serviços Ferroviários has been bought by Caterpillar, the companies announced on June 24. MGE has plants at two locations in São Paulo state. As well as supplying traction and control equipment, the company maintains and ...
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NewsDedicated Freight Corridors are close to launch
INDIA: Following the approval of a funding agreement with Japanese banks, the first contracts for construction of the country’s two high-capacity dedicated freight corridors are due to be awarded by October, reports Raghu Dayal
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NewsUlrich Gygi named President of SBB
SWITZERLAND: On June 25 the Swiss Federal Council approved the appointment of Dr Ulrich Gygi as Chairman of Swiss Federal Railways. He will succeed Thierry Lalive d'Epinay, who is stepping down after 10 years in the position. Aged 61, Gygi has been Chief Executive of Swiss Post since 2000. Before ...