All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 331
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NewsBluetooth beacon competition to enhance stations
FRANCE: SNCF’s stations business Gares & Connexions has launched an innovation competition branded Open Beacon aimed at enhancing the accessibility of and service offering at major stations. The term ‘open beacon’ refers to Gares & Connexions’ plan to install Bluetooth geolocation tags in more than 300 stations across the country. ...
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NewsRack trains ordered for Tatra Electric Railway
SLOVAKIA: National operator ZSSK has awarded Stadler a contract to supply five 1·5 kV DC electric multiple-units and an electro-diesel locomotive for the 35 km metre-gauge Tatra Electric Railway network, which has a section of rack operation. Delivery is scheduled for 2022. Announcing the order on October 17, Stadler ...
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NewsShift2Rail announces 2018 grants
EUROPE: Shift2Rail is to provide up to €77·3m of co-funding for 19 research and innovation projects with a total value of €152·6m, the joint undertaking announced on October 17. The funding to be awarded under the 2018 Call for Proposals brings the cumulative spending on railway research to €490m, which ...
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NewsGo-Ahead wins Norway’s first rail tender
NORWAY: Go-Ahead Norge has been selected as the winner of the Lot 1 Sør passenger train operating contract, the first to be tendered by national railway authority Jernbanedirektoratet. The contract announced on October 17 will run for eight years from December 15 2019, with an optional two-year extension. It covers ...
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NewsAerospace innovation for rolling stock electrical systems
FRANCE: Alstom, IGE+XAO and Safran have agreed to establish a centre of excellence for onboard electrical systems in Toulouse. Located at aerospace equipment manufacturer Safran Electrical & Power’s site, the facility will be able to accommodate up to 100 engineers. IGE+XAO is providing design, simulation and manufacturing software under a ...
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NewsTranstech renamed Škoda Transtech
FINLAND: Škoda Transportation Group's Finnish rolling stock manufacturing business Transtech has been renamed Škoda Transtech. Established in 1985 as a subsidiary of the Rautaruukki steel group and latesr acquiring the Valmet plant in Tampere, Transtech was owned by Patentes Talgo from June 1999 until March 2007 when it was sold ...
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NewsVirtual view of Birmingham tram extension
UK: Transport for West Midlands has published two computer-generated fly-through videos showing the West Midlands Metro tramway extension to Centenary Square in central Birmingham. The 840 m extension is currently under construction for opening towards the end of 2019. The video clips are taken from a computer simulation used ...
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NewsVIA Rail dining cars to be refurbished
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded Rail GD a C$16·4m contract to refurbish four dining cars for use on the trans-continental The Canadian service. The stainless steel vehicles were originally built in the 1950s, and VIA Rail said the refurbishment would extend their useful life ‘by a few ...
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NewsThree strategic decisions at OTIF General Assembly
INTERNATIONAL: Three strategic decisions were taken at the 13th General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail which was held at the end of September. These covered: the creation of a new appendix on the safe operation of trains, intended to open the way to the ...
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NewsCourt instructs PRASA to apply safety rules
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa must comply with the safety requirements set by the Railway Safety Regulator under a ruling made by the North Gauteng High Court on October 11. An initial court ruling on October 5 had lifted the suspension of PRASA’s operating licence imposed on ...
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NewsTokyo Metro Class 2000 unveiled
JAPAN: Tokyo Metro has unveiled the first of 53 six-car Class 2000 trainsets ordered from Nippon Sharyo for use on the Marunouchi Line. Deliveries from the manufacturer’s Toyokawa plant are scheduled for 2019-22 with entry into revenue service planned for February 2019. The new fleet will replace the Class 02 ...
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News‘Unpretentious, authentic and pragmatic’ Tampere tram styling revealed
FINLAND: The appearance of the trams which Škoda Transportation is to supply for the future Tampere tramway has been finalised. In 2017 the city council announced a €104m firm order for Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech to supply 19 ForCity Smart Artic trams, with options for up to ...
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NewsWorld rail market - October 2018
Australia: Aurizon is to deploy Trimble’s R2M remote diagnostic and P2M planning and performance systems. The companies also plan to pilot enhanced infrastructure and rolling stock monitoring and analytics. Czech Republic: A Hegenscheidt underfloor wheel lathe has been installed by Strabag at ČD’s passenger rolling stock depot in Praha. ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market - October 2018
Australia: The NSW government has awarded Macquarie Group a A$378·6m contract to develop Martin Place station on the southern section of the future Sydney metro. Lendlease will act as design and construction subcontractor. The state will receive A$355m from Macquarie Group for the air rights. Bulgaria: CZ Loko has ...
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NewsAurizon agrees revised terms for intermodal sale
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon Holdings Ltd has reached a revised agreement to sell its Queensland intermodal freight business to the Linfox logistics group for A$7·3m, the freight railway operator reported to the Australian stock exchange on October 12 Aurizon had announced its intention in August 2017 to withdraw from the intermodal market, ...
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NewsNRC Group to buy VR Track
EUROPE: Finnish state-owned rail operator VR Group has agreed to sell its infrastructure maintenance subsidiary VR Track to the Norwegian NRC Group. The deal is expected to be finalised by January 2019, but is subject to approval by authorities in Finland and Sweden, where VR Track has a subsidiary, ...
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NewsPRASA on the brink as court defers safety shutdown
SOUTH AFRICA: The future of the 2 300 route-km network operated by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa is in grave doubt amid a spiralling safety crisis that has seen the national rail regulator request suspension of the operator’s licence. The Rail Safety Regulator suspended PRASA’s right to operate on ...
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NewsHyundai Rotem wins further Bangladesh loco contract
BANGLADESH: Hyundai Rotem announced on October 11 that it had won a US$239m order to supply 70 diesel-electric locomotives for Bangladesh Railway. Production at Rotem’s Changwon plant in South Korea is due to begin in 2020, with deliveries due by 2023. The 19 m long, 2 200 hp locos ...
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NewsRENFE and ADIF to support Texas Central high speed service
USA: On October 10 high speed project promoter Texas Central announced that it had selected Spanish national operator RENFE and infrastructure manager ADIF as ‘strategic partners’ for the 386 km high speed line between Houston and Dallas. The Spanish partners were one of five bidders, Texas Central said. ‘RENFE is ...
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NewsCPPK orders more Ivolga EMUs from TMH
RUSSIA: On October 4, Central Suburban Passenger Co signed a contract with Transmashholding subsidiary Tver Carriage Works for the supply of a further 15 seven-car Ivolga EMUs. The value of the contract is 11bn roubles and marks a follow-on order for the design after CPPK ordered 24 six-car trainsets in ...