All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 318
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NewsHeavy freight locomotive delivered
AZERBAIJAN: National railway ADY has taken delivery of the first of 40 Prima T8 AZ8A twin-section 25 kV AC heavy freight locomotives ordered for use on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars corridor. The EKZ joint venture of Alstom (75%) and Transmashholding (25%), which is based at Astana in Kazakhstan, ...
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NewsDMUs to bring a ‘qualitative quantum leap’ for Bayerische Oberlandbahn
GERMANY: Bayerische Oberlandbahn has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 25 two-car Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units, which it plans to use from mid-2020 on the regional routes running south from München to Holzkirchen, Lenggries, Tegernsee and Bayrischzell. They are expected to replace the Jenbach-built Integral DMUs introduced ...
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NewsMayor attends Makati Subway groundbreaking ceremony
PHILIPPINES: A groundbreaking ceremony on December 12 attended by Makati Mayor Abby Binay marked the start of preparatory works for the Makati Subway project being developed in the city southeast of central Manila. Due to open in 2023, the 10 km underground metro line will serve 10 stations including ...
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NewsCFL orders EMUs with ‘a concentration of the latest innovations’
LUXEMBOURG: National railway CFL has awarded Alstom a €360m contract to supply 34 Coradia regional high-capacity double-deck electric multiple-units from December 2021. The order announced on December 18 includes 80 m and 160 m long units with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Designed for 25 kV 50 Hz operation, ...
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NewsBayerische Oberlandbahn wins Chiemgau-Berchtesgaden operating contract
GERMANY: Following an open tender, Bayern railway agency BEG has awarded the Chiemgau-Berchtesgaden passenger operating contract to Transdev company Bayerische Oberlandbahn. The contract covers operations on the 19 km Freilassing – Berchtesgaden line for 15 years from December 2021, and on the 13 km Traunstein – Ruhpolding branch for 14 ...
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NewsFerlemann demands ‘fundamental reform’ of DB
GERMANY: State Secretary for Transport Enak Ferlemann has instructed Deutsche Bahn to come up with a proposal for a revised business structure that would deliver a higher level of performance. Calling for initial proposals to be made available in January, he told Welt am Sonntag that he expected the DB ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern to move headquarters to Atlanta
USA: Norfolk Southern Corp has confirmed its intention to relocate its corporate headquarters from Norfolk in Virginia to Atlanta in Georgia. The railway’s operating team is already based in Atlanta, and the company has previously announced plans to consolidate eight regional dispatching centres in the city. NS announced on December ...
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NewsAcciona backs open access high speed project
SPAIN: Prospects for on-rail competition in the high speed market have increased, with Madrid-based international construction group Acciona expected to take a majority stake in open-access promoter Intermodalidad de Levante SA. Founded by Valencia-based regional airline Air Nostrum, ILSA has applied to launch a twice-daily Madrid – Montpellier service, calling ...
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NewsLVMH buys luxury train operator
INTERNATIONAL: High-end wine, fashion, cosmetics, hotel and retail group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotel, restaurant, train and cruise brands including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, British Pullman, Royal Scotsman, Grand Hibernian, Andean Explorer, Hiram Bingham and ...
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NewsCNG buses delivered to Abidjan
CÔTE D’IVOIRE: Iveco Bus officially handed over 26 compressed natural gas buses to Abidjan transport operator SOTRA on December 13, at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly and Transport Minister Amadou Koné. In January the government signed a contract with Iveco for the supply of 450 ...
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NewsForchbahn rolling stock to be refurbished
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge interurban operator Forchbahn has awarded Stadler Rail a contract to modernise its 13 type Be 4/6 electric multiple-units, with Voith to supply new traction inverters. The custom-designed metre-gauge vehicles supplied by Stadler in 2004 operate using 600 V DC overhead on the Zürich tram network, and at ...
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NewsRussian Railways presents platskartny modernisation concept
RUSSIA: The future look of Russian Railways’ platskartny coaches which offer the cheapest and most basic accommodation on very long-distance services was unveiled at the Transport Week exhibition and conference in Moscow last month. On show was two-window mock-up of part of a coach for visitors to inspect and comment ...
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NewsNext phase of St Petersburg fast tram route opens
RUSSIA: The next phase of the Chizhik fast tram route in St Petersburg was inaugurated by Interim Governor Aleksander Beglov on December 11. Regular services began four days later. Fast tram services now run on an upgraded 1·6 km of Route 64 north from Khasanskaya Ulitsa to Irinovsky Prospekt, ...
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NewsPublic to vote on Grand Paris fleet design
FRANCE: Île-de-France Mobilités and Société du Grand Paris have invited future users of the Grand Paris Express metro to participate in the design of rolling stock for lines 15, 16 and 17. Residents in the greater Paris area have until December 31 to vote for one of three front-end styles ...
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NewsMÁV-Start signs EMU order
HUNGARY: A firm order for Stadler to supply a further eight Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units was signed by national passenger operator MÁV-Start on December 17. The six-car EMUs are to be used on the Budapest – Vác – Szob and Budapest – Cegléd – Szolnok routes from the first ...
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NewsPresident launches Yucatan rail project
MEXICO: The Tren Maya project to develop two rail corridors serving the Yucatan Peninsula was formally launched on December 16 by recently-elected President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with a ceremony near the ancient Mayan ruins at Palenque. Expected to take four years to build, the project envisages the development of ...
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NewsMore LRVs ordered for Karlsruhe tram-train services
GERMANY: Karlsruhe tram-train operator AVG has ordered a further 20 dual-system Flexity light rail vehicles from Bombardier Transportation, the supplier announced on December 17. Vehicles from the €87m order are due to be delivered between May 2020 and March 2021. The 37 m long LRVs have capacity for 244 ...
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NewsAstra sole bidder in Galaţi tram tender
ROMANIA: Astra Vagoane Călători has emerged as the sole bidder for a contract to supply eight low-floor trams to Galaţi with options for 10 more. Astra put in a bid of 119·7m lei for all 18 trams, and the option would be exercised if the municipality receives sufficient EU ...
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NewsNice Airport tram link inaugurated
FRANCE: Trams began serving Nice Côte d’Azur Airport on December 15 with the inauguration of an extension of Line 2. The 1·7 km branch running south from Pôle Intermodal has two stops, serving both airport terminals. The initial 7 km section of Line 2 between Magnan and Cadam ...
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NewsCzech long-distance operating contracts announced
CZECH REPUBLIC: Liberalisation of the Czech long-distance passenger market took a major step forward on November 30 when the Ministry of Transport selected operators to run subsidised services on three routes from December 2019, when the current 10-year contract with state incumbent ČD expires. RegioJet has won an eight-year contract ...