All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 365
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NewsBy Coradia to Batna
ALGERIA: National operator SNTF has introduced a direct passenger service between Alger and the eastern part of the High Plateau line, with the launch of a daily Alger – M’Sila – Batna round trip. Introduced on May 3, the service is operated by one of SNTF’s new Alstom Coradia El ...
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NewsRio Tinto’s automated trains approved
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto has been granted accreditation by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, approving the autonomous operation of iron ore trains in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, the group announced on May 18. Confirming that the AutoHaul project is ‘on schedule to be completed by the ...
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NewsVolgograd airport rail link opens
RUSSIA: Passenger services on the Volgograd airport rail link began on May 18, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day Services use a 1·2 km branch which Russian Railways has built to connect Gumrak station with the airport passenger terminal, which has been rebuilt ready for when the city hosts ...
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NewsBangladesh Railway orders 10 locomotives
BANGLADESH: Hyundai Rotem is to supply 10 mixed-traffic diesel-electric locomotives to Bangladesh Railway under a 41bn won contract announced on May 18. Intended for mixed traffic use on the metre gauge Dhaka – Chittagong route, the locomotives will be delivered from Hyundai Rotem’s Changwon plant in South Korea starting ...
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NewsGermany told to fully transpose EU safety legislation
GERMANY: On May 17 the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion requesting that Germany fully comply with Directive 2004/49/EC. This requires EU member states to establish an independent safety authority, an independent accident investigation body and coherently allocate safety responsibilities. The Commission said Germany had failed to ensure that its ...
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NewsIdentifying ‘navigational hazards’ on metro maps
MAPS: It might be possible to use software to automatically detect features of metro maps which cause passengers to make mistakes in journey planning, researchers believe. PhD student Peter Lloyd and Dr Peter Rodgers of the University of Kent’s School of Computing and cognitive psychologist Dr Maxwell Roberts of ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Indonesian manufacturer PT Inka is developing a 160 km/h multiple-unit design. The Davis Wagon Services maintenance subsidiary of UK wagon manufacturer WH Davis Ltd is to use 3Squared’s RailSmart Employee Development System software for staff competency management. ‘The EDS software allows our assessors to carry out more frequent assessments ...
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NewsRegioJet puts Traxx locos into service
CZECH REPUBLC: The first of eight Bombardier Transportation Traxx multi-system electric locomotives ordered by open access operator RegioJet in April 2017 entered service on May 16. The first passenger train to be hauled by one of the new locomtives was RJ1017, the 17.48 from Praha to Ostrava and Návsí. After ...
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NewsDurmazlar to supply trams to Olsztyn
POLAND: Sole bidder Durmazlar has been selected to supply up to 24 trams to Olsztyn, the city announced on May 16. The base order covers 12 trams for 107·9m złoty. This would rise to 206·2m złoty if all options were to be exercised. The first two trams are ...
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NewsSrbija Kargo to purchase Vectron locos
SERBIA: National freight operator Srbija Kargo has successfully completed negotiations with Siemens for the purchase of eight multi-system electric locomotives, CEO Dušan Garibović said on May 15. The procurement is being supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. Garibović said financial terms were favourable, and the agreement ...
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NewsZillertalbahn selects hydrogen train supplier
AUSTRIA: Zillertalbahn operator ZVB announced on May 15 that it had selected Stadler to supply five hydrogen fuelled multiple-units for its 760 mm gauge line. A prototype is expected to be ready for trials in 2020, with the remaining four trainsets expected to be delivered in 2022. ZVB currently ...
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NewsSiemens Alstom board agreed
INDUSTRY: As part of the negotiations for the combination of Siemens Mobility and Alstom, the two companies announced on May 15 their nominations for the future Board of Directors. The line-up has been endorsed by the current Alstom board, with a recommendation that they be adopted at the company’s ...
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NewsVossloh to pay dividend
GERMANY: Vossloh AG shareholders approved a proposed dividend distribution of €1 per share at the annual general meeting held in Düsseldorf on May 9. No dividend had been distributed for the fiscal years from 2014 to 2016 as part of the restructuring of the group. ‘Paying a dividend is ...
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NewsCompetition is key as high speed rail keeps growing
Global ridership has surged by 40% in the three years since UIC last staged its World Congress on High Speed Rail. Yet operators and policymakers must work hard to keep the rail mode ahead as competition grows both in and for the market. Benjámin Zelki reports from the latest summit ...
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NewsFreight trains return to Bogotá
COLOMBIA: Commercial freight trains resumed operation on two sections of the country’s Red Férrea de Atlantico on May 8, following an extensive state-funded rehabilitation programme. According to the head of the national infrastructure agency Dimitri Zaninovich, the government has invested US$420m to revitalise 876 route-km linking Bogota, Belencito, La Dorada ...
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NewsBuenos Aires viaduct signalling contract
ARGENTINA: Alstom has signed a €5m subcontract to provide signalling for the elevated alignment which is being built for the San Martín commuter route in Buenos Aires. Alstom will act as subcontractor to UTE Green-Rottio. The 5 km viaduct is being built to elevate the section of the San Martín ...
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NewsAlstom and Eversholt plan fuel cell EMUs
UK: Plans to fit hydrogen fuel cells to redundant electric multiple units were announced by Alstom on May 14. Confirming that ‘hydrogen technologies and solutions will play a key role in our global vision for the future’, the manufacturer said it was working with rolling stock leasing company Eversholt Rail ...
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NewsLisboa metro funding approved
PORTUGAL: The government has approved a €210m investment with the aim of increasing frequencies on the Lisboa metro. Tenders are due to be launched in July for the supply of 14 three-car trainsets within a budget of €110m. The remaining €100m would be put towards the modernisation ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern to work with Silicon Valley startup accelerator
USA: Norfolk Southern has joined Silicon Valley technology startup accelerator Plug & Play’s Supply Chain & Logistics Innovation Platform, seeking to engage with companies developing artificial intelligence, machine learning, the industrial internet of things and advanced analytics for supply chains. Plug & Play will identify and connect Norfolk Southern with ...
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NewsConstruction of Northern Latitudinal Railway to start in 2019
RUSSIA: A foundation stone was laid on May 11 for a bridge over the River Ob which is to be built as part of the 353 km Northern Latitudinal Railway. Attendees included Russian Railways President Oleg Belozerov, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov and Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District Dmitry ...