All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 303
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NewsEtihad Rail awards Stage Two construction contract
UAE: National railway project promoter Etihad Rail announced on March 11 that it had awarded the first construction contract for Stage Two of the network to a joint venture of China State Construction Engineering Corp and South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction. The 1·5bn dirham Package A includes design and ...
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NewsFirst metro line in Nagpur inaugurated
INDIA: Nagpur celebrated the opening of its first metro line with two days of free travel following the inauguration of the first phase of the north-south route on March 8. The 11·8 km route runs between Sitabuldi in the north and Khapri in the south via the ...
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NewsStrasbourg becomes launch customer for Aptis
FRANCE: Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois has become the launch customer for Alstom’s Aptis electric bus, the manufacturer announced on March 8. The 12 buses that CTS has ordered will be the first battery electric buses in the operator’s fleet. They will be 12 m long, 2 550 mm wide ...
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NewsRail-specific insurance to mitigate cybersecurity risk
GERMANY: A novel insurance policy intended to mitigate the cybersecurity risks facing railway operators has been launched in Germany. Deutsche Verkehrs Assekuranz Vermittlungs is a bespoke insurance broker owned by national railway Deutsche Bahn (65%) and insurers DEVK and Marsh. Through DVA, policyholders will be eligible for discounts from specialist ...
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NewsModi inaugurates two more Delhi metro extensions
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially inaugurated two metro extensions in Delhi on March 8, ahead of their entry into passenger service the following day. Line 1, also known as the Red Line, has been extended by 9·6 km east from Dilshad Garden to Shaheed Sthal / New Bus ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On March 8 FS Group’s freight business Mercitalia Rail took delivery of the first of 40 Class E494 Traxx DC3 electric locomotives which Bombardier Transportation is producing at its Vado Ligure site under a €400m contract awarded in December 2017. The 6·4 MW locos are to be delivered at a ...
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NewsLviv trolleybus renewals financed
UKRAINE: The city of Lviv is acquire up to 50 new trolleybuses and associated maintenance equipment, upgrade two depots and renew electrification equipment using a €17·5m financing package which is being arranged by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. This comprises a 13-year EBRD loan of up to €15m ...
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NewsMaintenance vehicles delivered
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has taken delivery of six maintenance vehicles which it purchased last year. A multi-purpose vehicle purchased for 4·5m złoty is equipped with tools including a welder, grinder and drill, as well as a power generator and a crane. The bidirectional 80 km/h vehicle has ...
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NewsRail cranes for Congo
CONGO: CRRC Qiqihar has supplied two railway cranes to Chemin de fer Congo-Océan, which will use them for both lifting heavy freight and accident recovery. The cranes were custom designed for the 1067 mm gauge railway, with a compact design to remain within the loading gauge, The ...
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NewsLucknow Metro corridor completed
INDIA: Completion of the 23 km Phase 1-A of the Lucknow Metro was marked on March 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ceremonially flagged off an inaugural train using remote video-conferencing. Passenger services were scheduled to start the following day. ...
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NewsRegioJet orders Elf.eu multiple-units
CZECH REPUBLIC: RegioJet has awarded Pesa Bydgoszcz a contract to supply seven two-car Elf.eu electric multiple-units for use on subsidised passenger services which it is to operate under contract to the Ústí nad Labem regional authority. The order signed on March 7 is worth more than KC500m, with deliveries scheduled ...
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NewsFlytoget Oaris lands in Oslo
NORWAY: The first of eight Oaris EMUs being built by CAF for Oslo airport express operator Flytoget was officially unveiled on March 5. Ordered in April 2015, the four-car Class 78 units will join Flytoget’s existing fleet of 16 Adtranz-built Class 71 trainsets, providing a 50% increase in capacity to ...
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NewsCBTC and more EMUs in Mumbai suburban expansion
INDIA: A further programme of enhancements to increase capacity on the Mumbai suburban network was formally approved by the national government’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on March 7, and is expected to be completed in five years. Mumbai’s 385 route-km suburban network currently carries around 8 million passengers/day on ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
The first production staff to be recruited for CRRC Sifang America’s Chicago rolling stock factory have gone to China for training. The plant in the Hegewisch district of southeast Chicago is to produce at least 840 Series 7000 metro cars for Chicago Transit Authority, and CRRC has committed to hiring ...
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NewsHübner to open US gangway factory
USA: Having secured a major order to supply the gangways for new New York City Subway trains, Hübner has announced plans to build a elastomer product factory at Dunlap in Tennessee by 2020. This is to produce moulded parts, silicone seals and sensor-equipped rubber profiles for the US rail and ...
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NewsBLS Cargo acquires Crossrail to strengthen north–south corridor
EUROPE: An agreement for BLS Cargo to acquire 100% of Belgian freight operator Crossrail from Rhenus for an undisclosed price was signed on March 5. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and would be backdated to January 1. Switzerland-based BLS Cargo said it would gain a stronger position on ...
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NewsRENFE seeks ‘pro-active’ international expansion
SPAIN: RENFE will be adopting an ‘unprecedented and pro-active’ approach to international expansion as its domestic market faces more liberalisation under the EU’s Fourth Railway Package, the Spanish incumbent’s President Isaías Táboas Suárez told the Rail Live trade show in Bilbao on March 6. Suárez highlighted RENFE’s participation in ...
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NewsProtectionism dilutes the competitive dynamic
COMMENT: Are incumbent state operators expanding their low-cost high speed offer to try and keep new entrants out of a liberalised inter-city market, and how might this fit with European competition policy, asks Railway Gazette Managing Editor Nick Kingsley.
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NewsIÉ to install hybrid train protection
IRELAND: Following a competitive tendering process, Iarnród Éireann has selected the Turas joint venture of CPC Project Services, Deutsche Bahn and Egis as Delivery Partner to assist with the introduction of a new train protection system across its 1 600 mm gauge network over the next seven years. The new ...
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NewsNSW inter-city fleet order increased
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has awarded the RailConnect consortium a A$130m contract to supply a further 42 double-deck electric multiple-unit cars, taking its New Intercity Fleet order to a total of 554 vehicles. The additional vehicles will enable peak services on the South Coast Line to be increased ...