All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 256
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NewsYibin – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opens
CHINA: The 372 km Yibin – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 16. It has 11 stations and is designed for 250 km/h operation. This completes the 648 km Chengdu – Guiyang line, following the opening of the initial Chengdu – Leshan section ...
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NewsFreight coalition publishes Contingency Management handbook
EUROPE: In a bid to avoid the widespread disruption to international rail traffic which occurred following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt in August 2017, and to provide greater resilience for commercially sensitive traffic, a coalition of rail freight operators and industry associations has put together a Contingency ...
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NewsTenders called to rebuild San Sebastián station
SPAIN: Tenders were issued on December 12 for reconstruction of the main line station in San Sebastián as part of the ‘Basque Y’ high speed programme. The result will be the partial integration of the existing station with the adjacent, underground, bus station, and the incorporation in the finished complex ...
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NewsGo-Ahead takes over Norway’s first tendered services
NORWAY: The first service to be taken over by the private sector as part of the government’s passenger rail tendering programme left Stavanger for Oslo at 06.47 on December 15. National rail authority Jernbanedirektoratet awarded UK-based international transport group Go-Ahead the Lot 1 Sør contract in ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Wagon leasing company Ermewa has restructured and refinanced its group debt through a combination of multicurrency secured bank debt and US private placement notes for a total value of circa €1·5bn. It was advised by Watson Farley & Williams, which said it was a ‘complex, high-value transaction, ...
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NewsHitachi Rail STS wins LGV Sud-Est interlocking contract
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau has selected Hitachi Rail STS to supply new interlockings for the modernisation of LGV Sud-Est between Paris and Lyon.
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NewsMinisters inaugurate Tel Aviv – Jerusalem through service
ISRAEL: To mark the start of regular electric through services between Tel Aviv Hahagana and Jerusalem Navon via the A1 fast line on December 21, Israel Railways operated its first passenger-carrying train on December 18.
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NewsBattery-electric multiple-unit financing agreed
GERMANY: Mittelsachsen transport authority ZVMS has reached an agreement for an order for 11 battery multiple-units to be financed by mandated lead arranger KfW IPEX-Bank with Nord/LB and Deutsche Kreditbank. The financing package is worth €49m and has a term of 22 years. The order is expected ...
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NewsEtihad Rail heads northeast as Package D awarded
UAE: National railway developer Etihad Rail has awarded the fourth major contract for its Stage Two expansion programme to a joint venture of China Railway Construction Corp and local partner National Projects & Construction. Valued at 4·6bn dinars, the Package D contract covers the ...
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NewsUkraine announces private freight haulage pilot project
UKRAINE: The cabinet has approved plans for a pilot project which would allow private sector companies to haul freight trains on selected sections of the national network. On December 4 Minister of Infrastructure Vladislav Krikli said this could help address a shortage of locomotives at national railway ...
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NewsTrenitalia and Campania region sign operating agreement
ITALY: National operator Trenitalia has signed a 2019-33 service contract with the Campania region which includes plans to invest €680m to improve services. Trenitalia will provide €209m and the region €180m for the purchase and commissioning of 37 trainsets, which are to be delivered from 2020 under ...
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NewsElectrification of Tirol rail network completed
AUSTRIA: ÖBB-Infrastruktur has completed electrification of the 14·4 km section of the Ausserfernbahn between Reutte and Schönbichl on the German border. This completes the electrification of the standard gauge network in the Land of Tirol. The 15 kV 16·7 Hz electrification project included ...
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NewsReform of rail passengers’ rights under discussion
UK: The general approach to reform of Regulation 1371/2007 on rail passengers’ rights has been agreed by the Council of the European Union, which brings together ministers from member states. The Council and the European Parliament will now negotiate the final text, which would be applicable two ...
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NewsJR East tests Saphir Odoriko luxury EMUs
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has started driver training with the first of two Series E261 EMUs which are being supplied by Kawasaki Heavy Industries to operate the Super Odoriko service linking Tokyo to the scenic Izu peninsula, where the Fuji-Hakone National Park is famed for its hot springs.
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NewsPortugal’s only private operator sees concession extended
PORTUGAL: On December 12 the government announced its intention to extend until 2024 the public service contract held by private operator Fertagus, which runs suburban trains serving communities on both sides of the river Tagus in Lisboa. The Council of Ministers suggested that the four year, ...
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NewsSecond ERTMS pilot line commissioned
DENMARK: Commercial operation using ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 has started on Banedanmark’s Roskilde – Køge line in Sjaelland, which forms the second Early Deployment Line for the national Signalling Programme. Alstom is installing ETCS on the eastern half of the national network under the Fjernbane Øst ...
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NewsGailtalbahn electrification goes live
AUSTRIA: Electric passenger services on the 31 km Gailtalbahn route between Arnoldstein and Hermagor in southern Kärnten began with the December 15 timetable change. Work to install the 15 kV 16·7 Hz overhead equipment began in June 2018, as part of a programme to electrify all lines ...
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NewsWabtec opens Indian engineering and technology centre
INDIA: The Wabtec India Engineering & Technology Centre was inaugurated on December 12. The company is investing US$5m in the facility, which will occupy five floors of a building on the ITC Green Campus in Bangalore. This will house engineering teams from across the company’s digital electronics ...
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NewsDesiro Mainline EMUs ordered for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
GERMANY: Alpha Trains has ordered seven Siemens Mobility Desiro Mainline electric multiple-units which it will lease to Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn. The EMUs are to be used on Ostseeküste-Ost regional services RE9 Rostock – Stralsund – Binz/Sassnitz and RE10 Rostock – Stralsund – Züssow, which are being operated ...
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NewsPesa and PKN Orlen to develop hydrogen fuel cell trains
POLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Pesa and energy company PKN Orlen signed a letter of intent to develop hydrogen fuel cell trains on December 12. The agreement covers knowledge exchange and testing, with the aim of developing the technology for commercial use in the freight and passenger sectors. ...