All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1009
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U-Bahn to the football
AUSTRIA: A 4 km extension of Wien metro line U2 from Schottenring to Praterstern, Messegelände and the Ernst-Happel stadium was opened in May 10, a month before the city hosts the first match of the 2008 UEFA European football championship. The extension more than doubles the 3·5 km ...
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Cross-city high speed
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has approved the environmental impact statement for a third rail tunnel between Atocha and Chamartín stations in Madrid, for use by 1 435 mm gauge high speed trains operating at speeds of up to 120 km/h. Running at an average depth of 40 m below ...
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Brazilian upgrade funds
BRAZIL: BNDES has approved loans totalling R$177m for metro upgrades and construction in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, state capital of Ceará. A loan of R$142m is destined to assist the ongoing project in Fortaleza, where a cross-city tunnel is being built to provide through running onto two converted suburban ...
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Pyongyang buys Czech trams
NORTH KOREA: Pyongyang Transport Authority is to buy 20 second-hand Type T3 CKD-built single-ended trams from Praha transport authority DPHMP in a contract worth KC13m. Pyongyang already operates 129 Type T6B5K single-ended trams delivered in 1991 and 45 Type KT8D5K bi-directional articulated trams supplied in 1990. A further 50 ...
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NewsWork on Tanger - Kénitra high speed line to start soon
MOROCCO: Work is to begin this year on the first phase of a high speed line master plan costing 100bn dirhams which is predicted to increase rail patronage from 52 to 133 million passengers a year by 2030. According to ONCF's Director Strategy & Development Azzedine El Amraoui, the ...
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International Railway Systems buys Serbian companies
IRS: A controlling interest in Serbian firms MIN Vagonka, MIN Lokomotiva and Specijalna Vozila has been acquired from Friulexport and Upig by International Railway Systems. On May 12 IRS announced it was working with 'a strategic investor' to take a 49% interest in holding company Friulexport, and has an ...
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City operators to merge
ITALY: Milano's ATM and GTT of Torino have announced plans to merge. The intention is to create a public transport operating business better placed to compete on the international stage with British and French rivals. The group would become Europe's ninth largest transport undertaking by revenue, but Elio Catania, President ...
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Cross-acceptance accord
EUROPE: Meeting in Paris on April 16, the President of Germany's Federal Railway Office Armin Keppel signed an agreement with his counterpart Jean-Paul Troadec from France's Railway Safety Authority endorsing cross-acceptance of railway vehicles between the two countries. The move follows discussions between their transport ministers in March. Cross-acceptance is ...
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Velaros ready to run Olympic shuttles
CHINA: With 6 227 km of route already completed for operation at speeds of 200 km/h and a further 6 100 km of high speed line under construction during 2007, China's Vice-Minister of Railways Lu Chunfang told delegates at UIC Highspeed in Amsterdam that work was about to start on ...
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Škoda plans next Praha tram
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Transportation has unveiled proposals to develop a fully low-floor, three-section tram for use in Praha. Designated 15T and branded ForCity, the unidirectional cars are destined to form a key element in the renewal of the Czech capital's tram fleet. Around 250 vehicles are to be delivered to ...
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Global debate as projects forge ahead
More than 1 300 people from 44 countries participated in the UIC Highspeed 2008 congress in Amsterdam on March 16-19, debating the technical, social and political issues surrounding the global development of high speed rail
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São Paulo - Rio tenders next year
BRAZIL: 'This is a favourable moment to change the transport metrics in Brazil', announced the Governor of São Paulo state José Serra, addressing the opening session of the UIC Highspeed 2008 congress. Emphasising the importance of high-quality infrastructure to support the country's rapidly-growing economy, he insisted that Brazil needed to ...
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Eight-year ERTMS framework
SCANDINAVIA: Swedish infrastructure authority Banverket and its Norwegian counterpart Jernbaneverket have awarded Bombardier an eight-year framework contract to supply onboard equipment as part of their ERTMS roll-out programme. Announcing the deal on April 2, Bombardier said the contract is expected to be worth €30m in the first year, covering the ...
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Dhaka revival
BANGLADESH: International passenger services between Kolkata and Dhaka resumed with the launch of the Maitreyi Express on April 14 after a break of 43 years. Cross-border operations were suspended in 1965 as a result of the Indo-Pakistan war, although an agreement to restore freight services was signed in 2001. IR ...
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First Albatros trainset on test at Velim
NETHERLANDS: The first of 19 V250 trainsets being built by AnsaldoBreda for NS Hispeed and SNCB is undergoing pre-delivery trials at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic. Dispatched from Pistoia on March 26, the Pininfarina-designed 250 km/h trainset is now expected to be delivered to the Netherlands ...
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Praha opens metro extension
CZECH REPUBLIC: Praha transport authority DPHMP was due to inaugurate a 4·6 km underground extension of metro Line C from Ládví eastwards to the northern suburb of Letnany on May 9. The extension serves stations at Strízkov, Prosek and Letnany, where a bus interchange and park and ride facility ...
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Urban rail news in brief - May 2008
FGV has ordered a further 14 bi-directional 100% low-floor Flexity Outlook trams which Bombardier will deliver to Valencia and Alacant in 2009-10. On April 10 preferred bidder Serco announced that it had signed a contract with the Roads & Transport Authority covering the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro ...
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RZD invites bids for wagon works
RUSSIA: State railway RZD called for expressions of interest in the privatisation of 22 wagon repair and maintenance depots on May 5. RZD expects to raise at least 2·6bn roubles from the sale, which is intended to introduce competition to the fright rolling stock maintenance sector. Between them the ...
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Inland Railway study
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has commissioned an economic feasibility study to develop an optimum alignment for an inland railway between Melbourne and Brisbane. Transport & Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese announced on March 28 that A$15m has been allocated for the study, which ARTC is to complete by August 2009. At ...
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Tehran places €360m order
IRAN: Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Co signed a €360m contract with China Northern for 455 metro cars and 160 double-deck coaches on March 26. CNR has delivered 1 408 coaches and 432 metro cars to customers outside China since 2001, and described the latest contract as its largest-ever export ...