All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 388
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NewsLoram acquires GREX
USA: Loram Maintenance of Way announced on February 6 that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire the outstanding shares in Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. The transaction is expected to close in mid-February. ‘The merger with GREX, a market leader in material handling and track inspection technologies, strengthens our ...
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NewsŠkoda and Iveco present new battery trolleybus
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Electric has tested a new battery trolleybus model in Plzeň. The 35 Tr 18 m articulated trolleybus is manufactured in co-operation with Iveco, which has supplied its Urbanway bus bodyshell from its Annonay factory in France. Electrical equipment has come from Škoda Electric, which is also ...
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NewsCSX committed to Harrison’s vision
USA ‘I’m excited about the progress we are making and am confident we have the right team in place to achieve our goal of becoming the best railroad in North America’, said CSX Transportation President & Chief Executive Officer James M Foote, briefing investors on the company’s 2017 results. According ...
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NewsMedway enters Spanish market
SPAIN: Medway of Portugal has operated its first freight train on the Spanish national network between Madrid and Valencia, where five return intermodal services are now provided each week. Hauled by a Euro 4000 diesel locomotive and comprising 38 wagons carrying 76 TEU, the first service arrived at the Fuente ...
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NewsBydgoszcz – Gdynia included in electrification studies
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has awarded TPF a 5·8m złoty contract to study the feasibility of upgrading the Bydgoszcz – Kościerzyna – Gdynia route to handle significantly more freight traffic. This would free capacity on the main line via Gdańsk for use by passenger services. The Bydgoszcz – Kościerzyna ...
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NewsEva to offer 100%-connected high speed at low cost
SPAIN: On February 6 Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna unveiled Eva, a smart train concept that national operator RENFE is due introduce in high speed service between Madrid and Barcelona in 2019. Having captured 65% of the combined rail and air market between the two cities, RENFE is now ...
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NewsVirgin Trains East Coast franchise to end within months
UK: InterCity East Coast franchisee Virgin Trains East Coast has breached ‘a key financial covenant’ and cannot be expected to continue for more than a few months, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told parliament on February 5. The VTEC joint venture of Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%) has ‘met all its ...
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NewsTalgo to convert night trains for high speed day use
SPAIN: RENFE has awarded Talgo a €107m contract to convert Series 7 Tren Hotel overnight trainsets into high speed day trains capable of operation at up to 330 km/h. The contract, approved on February 5, covers 13 trainsets totalling 156 coaches. An option for a further six sets totalling 72 ...
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NewsElectric bus on test in Nürnberg
GERMANY: Nürnberg public transport operator VAG has started testing an electric bus, which it expects will enter regular service next month. The bus supplied by Solaris is powered by six lithium-ion batteries, mounted on the roof and on the rear of the vehicle. These are charged in the depot ...
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NewsAbellio joins East Midlands franchise shortlist
UK: Abellio, Arriva, incumbent Stagecoach and a joint venture of FirstGroup and Trenitalia are on the latest shortlist to receive invitations to tender for the next East Midlands franchise, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling told parliament on February 5. Abellio had not been included on the previous shortlist ...
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NewsCroatian passenger service reinstated
CROATIA: On February 5 national passenger operator HŽPP reintroduced services on the 95·9 km Banova Jaruga – Daruvar – Pčelić line, which links the Zagreb – Vinkovci and Koprivnica – Osijek routes. The poor state of the infrastructure had led to passenger trains being replaced by buses from April 24 ...
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NewsBombardier selected to supply more trams to Brussels
BELGIUM: Brussels city transport operator STIB has selected Bombardier for a framework contract to supply up to 175 trams, it announced on February 5. STIB expects to sign the contract after the 15-day standstill period. The base order for 60 vehicles is worth €169m excluding VAT, and includes spare ...
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NewsSecond tram route opens in Samarkand
UZBEKISTAN: Trial operation began on the second tram route in Samarkand on February 3. Route 2 runs from the main railway station to Siab Bazaar on a 5·1 km partly segregated alignment, of which 250 m is shared with Route 1, which opened on March 29 last year. ...
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NewsAlstom to join South Eastern franchise bidding
UK: Stagecoach Group announced on February 5 that Alstom Transport UK Ltd would be joining its shortlisted bid for the next South Eastern passenger franchise, subject to formal consent from the DfT. The intention is that Alstom would hold 20% of the share capital of the train operating company if ...
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NewsVirgin Trains directly awarded new InterCity West Coast franchise
UK: The directly awarded franchise which will see incumbent Virgin Trains continue to operate InterCity West Coast passenger services until the start of the West Coast Partnership contract has now been agreed, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling announced on February 5. ICWC services have been operated by the ...
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NewsSouth Moravia tenders passenger services
CZECH REPUBLIC: The South Moravia regional government has launched a competitive tendering process to select the future operator of all subsidised train services in the region, which surrounds the country’s second city of Brno. The five-year contract would start on January 1 2020, when the current 10-year deal with national ...
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NewsUP optimistic in 2018 forecasts
USA: Union Pacific is ‘optimistic that the economy will favour a number of our market segments, leading to another year of positive volume growth’, said Lance Fritz, Chairman, President & CEO, announcing the company’s 2017 results on January 25. UP reported net income of $10·7bn for the year, an increase ...
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NewsBNSF announces $3·3bn capital plan
USA: BNSF is planning to invest $3·3bn under its 2018 capital plan unveiled on January 31. This the same level of spending as 2017, and brings the total investment to more than $60bn since 2000. Within the total figure, $2·4bn has been allocated for maintenance and renewal of both infrastructure ...
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NewsIași receives ex-Mülheim trams
ROMANIA: CTP Iași has taken delivery of four second-hand M6D trams from Mülheim an der Ruhr. The trams were ordered along with seven M8C vehicles from Essen, one of which has already arrived in Iași. Following tests, all 11 trams are to enter passenger service on Iași’s 1 000 ...
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NewsSiemens to open £8m UK bogie service centre
UK: Siemens is investing £8m to develop a bogie servicing centre at one of its existing sites in Lincoln. The facility is expected to have around 20 staff when it opens in June, increasing to employ around 40 technicians by the end of 2019. The site will initially focus on ...