All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1008
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NewsEspoo votes for Länsimetro
FINLAND: The last hurdle to the planned westward expansion of the Helsinki metro was overcome on May 19, when the council in the neighbouring city of Espoo voted 56-9 in favour of financing its part of the €714m Länsimetro project. Helsinki is contributing €144m for the two-station section within ...
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NewsLoco builders establish joint venture
RUSSIA: On May 21 Bombardier Transportation and Transmash Holding signed an agreement at the Third International Rail Business Forum in Sochi to establish an joint venture to develop locomotives with asynchronous traction equipment for the CIS market. The Russian-based joint venture will be equally-owned by the two companies. Transmash Holding ...
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Cour des Comptes condemns 'dysfunctional' policy
FRANCE: A review of the first 10 years since the split between infrastructure and operations finds serious failings in financial policy and maintenance management as a result of an 'incomplete' reform process.
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NewsPrima II design unveiled by Alstom
FRANCE: Alstom unveiled the design of the next generation of its Prima locomotive family in an event at its Belfort plant on May 20. The first Prima II locomotives to be delivered will be 20 electric versions ordered by Moroccan operator ONCFM last November. They are due to arrive ...
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NewsKuwait finalising ambitious metro plans
KUWAIT: Tenders for the construction of a 165 km metro network are to be called in July, Dr Hussain Al-Sayegh, Chief Consultant at the Kuwait Overland Transport Union, told the Rail Infrastructure MENA conference in Dubai. The government will finalise its specification for the proposed four-line metro network in ...
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Global traffic keeps rising
INTERNATIONAL: The strong Asian market is continuing to drive up railway traffic across the world, according to the International Union of Railways' analysis of 2007 statistics published on March 31. Collation of passenger and traffic figures submitted by 62 UIC member railways around the world highlights the relationship between ...
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NewsSJ orders 20 Regina trainsets
SWEDEN: Passenger operator SJ has placed a €221m order with Bombardier for an additional 20 Regina EMUs, the manufacturer announced on May 22. Deliveries will run from April to August 2010, with the four-car trains to be deployed on services from Stockholm to Värmland and Dalarna. The contract includes an ...
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NewsChina Gateway rail contract awarded
KAZAKHSTAN: Eurasian Natural Resources Corp has signed a US$775m 28-year concession agreement to build and operate the 298 km Zhetigen - Korgas rail link between Kazakhstan and China. The China Gateway Project to create a second rail link between the countries is a key element of the Kazakh government's infrastructure ...
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Wabtec buys European brake maker
ITALY: Wabtec has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Italian braking equipment maker POLI SpA for €53m. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of the current year. POLI's range of products includes disc and tread brakes, and pneumatic valves to UIC standards. It has 500 ...
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NewsUIC crisis could last until Christmas
Current tensions over the leadership and direction of the International Union of Railways could last until the end of this year, according to insiders attending the organisation's statutory meetings in Seoul on May 18 – 19. Chris Jackson reports from Korea
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NewsPepy charts an expansionist future
FRANCE: Ambitious is the adjective that best describes SNCF's plans for the next five years. Newly-appointed President Guillaume Pepy went public on March 19 with his proposals to expand and develop the French national railway, promising 'a change in pace and scope'. Declaring that SNCF was 'now financially healthy' (Table ...
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NewsEdinburgh tram contracts awarded
UK: City of Edinburgh council and tram project promoter Transport Initiatives Edinburgh announced on May 14 that contracts worth £512m had been placed for the 18·5 km tram network being developed in the Scottish capital. The BBS consortium of Bilfinger Berger and Siemens has a €350m fixed-price construction contract, under ...
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RAVE readies to launch PPP concession
PORTUGAL: Tenders will be called in June for a 40-year PPP concession to build the Poceirão - Caia section of the Lisboa - Madrid high speed line. Expected value of this contract is €1·7bn. This will be followed later in the year by the start of bidding for a concession ...
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NewsAlice - Darwin line for sale
AUSTRALIA: Adelaide to Darwin railway concessionaire FreightLink announced on May 19 that it had appointed UBS to advise on the sale of the business, and expressions of interest were now being sought. CEO John Fullerton said the sale 'will provide the opportunity for the new owners of FreightLink to capture ...
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Bilbao Line 3 construction to start
SPAIN: Construction of Bilbao metro Line 3 is expected to start later this year, after bids were invited for the first 2·7 km section between San Antonio Etxebarri and Txurdinaga within a budget of €75m. Due for completion in 2012, the €153m Line 3 will be 90% in tunnel. Line ...
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World rolling stock market
Australia: On March 28 Downer EDI announced a contract to supply an additional 19 EMD SD70ACe locos to BHP Billiton Iron Ore, bringing the miner's total order to 55 of the locos. Changes to manufacturing schedules enabled EMD to ship the first 10 from Canada in April. The remainder will ...
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Freight loco unveiled
SPAIN: RENFE has unveiled the first of 100 freight locomotives that are being built at its Villaverde workshops in joint venture with Bombardier. Rated at 5 400 kW, the 3 kV DC locos are part of the Traxx family and have a maximum speed of 140 km/h. Under a €442m ...
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Consultants appointed in Oman
OMAN: Consultants have been appointed to undertake a study into the feasibility of building a 200 km freight railway between the port of Suhar and a planned container terminal at Birka to the north of the capital Masqat. Minister of National Economy Ahmed Macki told the local media on April ...
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NewsSiemens announces biggest US light rail order
USA: Utah Transit Authority gave Siemens notice to proceed with the production of 77 Avanto S70 light rail vehicles for Salt Lake City on May 15. The $277m order is the fourth UTA has placed with Siemens, and the manufacturer's largest US light rail contract. The cars are needed ...
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Granada light metro progress
SPAIN: The Andalucía regional government has awarded a joint venture of Ferrovial and Ucop a €62·8m contract to build the 3·5 km Río Genil - Campus de la Salud section of the Granada light metro. Due to take 30 months to complete, this section runs underground for 30% of its ...