All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 379
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NewsSecond driverless line takes Delhi metro over 250 km
INDIA: Passenger services on the first phase of Delhi metro Line 7 began on March 14, taking the city’s network to 252 route-km with 185 stations. The route between Majlis Park and Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus is 21·6 km long with 12 stations. When completed, Line 7, also known ...
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NewsRailway project leads to political crisis in Slovenia
SLOVENIA: Prime Minister Miro Cerar announced his resignation on March 14, after a court annulled the result of a September 2017 referendum in which 53·5% of voters had backed the government’s plans to build a 27 km second track to increase capacity on the route serving the Port of Koper. ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
The 10 000 'millennial' Railcards for 26 to 30-year-olds which were made available on March 13 sold out, with demand overwhelming the website. The railcards offered on a trial basis cost £30 for one year and offer a third off most fares Playing on stereotypes of the dietary habits of ...
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NewsUK backs Bioceanic Corridor
BOLIVIA: Minister of Public Works, Services & Housing Milton Claros has signed a memorandum of understanding with James Thornton, UK Ambassador to Bolivia, covering the provision of technical assistance for the Bioceanic Corridor project to create a rail route between Ilo in Peru and Santos in Brazil, requiring new construction ...
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NewsNetwork Rail adopts new model for track contracts
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has begun the process of letting its ‘next generation’ of track works contracts, with publication of a Prior Information Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. The contracts are expected to be worth up to £5bn over the 10 years from 2019. Network ...
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NewsDon’t believe the hype about Hyperloop
Policymakers around the world have been beguiled by the prospects of Hyperloop technology providing a paradigm shift in inter-city transport, potentially at the expense of rail investment. However, Gareth Dennis sounds a note of caution about the technical and commercial hurdles facing this ‘fifth mode of transport’.
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NewsCzech railbuses provide Polish inter-city connection
POLAND: SKPL Cargo is working with PKP Intercity to operate two Jasło – Zagórz return services per day from March 11 until September 1 using Class 810 railbuses acquired from the Czech Republic. Connections are provided in Jasło with long-distance trains to Gdynia operated by PKP Intercity, which is funding ...
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NewsZagreb – Beograd modernisation memorandum
EUROPE: A memorandum of co-operation for the planned modernisation of the 412 km Beograd – Zagreb route was signed by Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport & Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović and her Croatian counterpart Oleg Butković in Beograd on March 9. Mihajlović said project documentation would be ...
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NewsCalifornia high speed rail plan revised
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has published for public consultation a draft 2018 business plan which ‘acknowledges and responds to changed circumstances and emphasises a new way of doing business moving forward’. CHSRA said the draft plan ‘transparently identifies the project’s challenges’, which include putting back the completion date and ...
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NewsTransdev receives safety approval for French passenger market
FRANCE: Transdev announced on March 12 that its train operating subsidiary CFTA had received a certificate of railway safety. This is a prerequisite for Transdev to enter the main line passenger market as a competitor to national railway SNCF. CFTA already operates two rural passenger services in Bretagne, through a ...
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NewsFirst Innsbruck Regionalbahn LRV rolled out
AUSTRIA: The first Flexity light rail vehicle for Innsbruck’s Regionalbahn project left Bombardier’s factory in Wien on March 12. It is expected to enter service in June on Innsbruck’s metre-gauge network. The city of Innsbruck, the Land of Tirol and transport authority IVB signed a contract in December 2015 ...
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NewsDSB selects Siemens to supply electric locomotives
DENMARK: National passenger operators DSB has selected Siemens for a contract to supply 26 electric locomotives for entry into service from 2021, with an option for a further 18. Siemens will have overall responsibility for maintenance for 10 years, and an option for further five years. The decision announced on ...
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NewsMore driverless metro trains ordered for København
DENMARK: København metro authority Metroselskabet signed a €50m contract with Hitachi Rail Italy on March 7 for the supply of eight driverless trainsets to operate on lines M1 and M2. To be delivered by 2020, the trains are to be equipped with signalling and communication supplied by Ansaldo STS. ...
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NewsCAF and Alstom to supply more metro trains to Barcelona
SPAIN: Barcelona metro operator TMB has selected CAF and Alstom to supply a total of 12 five-car metro trainsets to increase capacity on the network. CAF is to supply four Series 6000 trains for Line 1, two Series 5000 trains for Line 3 and four Series 5000 trains for ...
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NewsJR Central unveils ‘Supreme’ N700S
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway unveiled its completed N700S prototype Shinkansen trainset at Hamamatsu depot on March 10. Emblazoned with a huge gold S for Supreme, the latest derivative of the Series 700 family will begin an extensive programme of test running on March 20. The first commercial sets are expected ...
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NewsBulgaria – Turkey piggyback service avoids border delays
EUROPE: PIMK Rail dispatched its first weekly freight service from the Plovdiv intermodal hub in Bulgaria to Çerkezköy in Turkey on March 2. A Siemens Vectron locomotive hauled 17 articulated piggyback wagons carrying lorry trailers, which were able to avoid the long delays to road traffic which can occur at ...
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NewsMOB orders dual-gauge Golden Pass fleet
SWITZERLAND: Montreux-Oberland Bahn has ordered a fleet of 20 gauge-changing coaches to operate through services between Montreux and Interlaken. To be marketed as GoldenPass Express, the service is due to be launched by MOB and its partner BLS from the timetable change in December 2020. To be built by Stadler, ...
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NewsMexican DMUs ordered to work Phnom Penh airport rail link
CAMBODIA: Revenue services on the new rail link to Phnom Penh International Airport are expected to begin running with effect from the Khmer New Year on April 10, Hoeurn Somnieng, deputy director of the cabinet at the Ministry of Public Works & Transport announced on March 2. Test running has ...
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NewsUzbekistan – Tajikistan rail link reopens
ASIA: The cross-border railway between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan via Ghalaba and Amuzang on the north bank of the River Amu Darya was officially reopened with a ceremony on March 9. The event was held during a state visit by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon, and the ...
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NewsStrukton to take over Eltel’s rail activities in Sweden
SWEDEN: Eltel signed a letter of intent on March 12 for the planned divestment of its Swedish rail activities to Strukton Rail. This follows the sale of Eltel’s Finnish and Danish rail activities in January. The Swedish transaction would cover construction and maintenance contracts, employees and associated equipment. Eltel would ...