All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 398
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NewsMUL Railcars opens US wagon leasing office
USA: Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co Ltd has opened an office in Portland, Oregon, as a base for its MUL Railcars wagon leasing activities. This follows the company’s expansion through a strategic wagon supply and maintenance alliance with The Greenbrier Companies which was finalised in June. James T Sharp ...
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NewsNetwork Rail awards ETCS freight fitment contract
UK: Network Rail announced on December 19 that it had awarded Siemens Rail Automation a contract to design, test and obtain approval for installing Trainguard 200 onboard ETCS equipment on freight traction. This would be the initial phase of what Network Rail describes as ‘one of the world’s biggest ETCS ...
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NewsAlgerian Coradia multiple-unit on test
ALGERIA: The first of 17 six-car Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-units which national railway SNTF ordered from Alstom in July 2015 is now undergoing dynamic trials at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic. Once the trials at Velim are complete, the 160 km/h trainset will go to the French ...
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NewsTransPennine Express trainsets under construction in Japan
UK: Hitachi has begun production of the 19 five-car AT300 electro-diesel multiple-units ordered by leasing company Angel Trains in March 2016 for use by FirstGroup’s TransPennine Express franchise. The fleet is scheduled to begin entering service in December 2019, operating on routes connecting cities in northern England and Scotland. Hitachi ...
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NewsAlstom awarded Romanian upgrading contract
ROMANIA: As part of the Asocierea RailWorks consortium with Aktor and Arcada, Alstom has been awarded a €40m contract to undertake electrification and resignalling for the modernisation of the 22 km Ilteu – Gurasada section of the Rhine – Danube Corridor in western Romania. ‘Alstom teams are going to implement ...
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NewsOntario high speed rail study terms of reference tendered
CANADA: Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation has issued a request for bids for a contract to develop terms of reference for the environmental assessment process for the Kitchener-Waterloo – London section of the proposed Toronto – Windsor high speed line. The terms of reference would provide a framework for the planning ...
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NewsPPP concession to lead København S-bane automation
DENMARK: Operations and infrastructure management on the København S-bane network are to be tendered as an integrated package, the government announced on December 13. Keeping track and trains together would facilitate conversion to fully automated operation, it explained. Transport, Building & Housing Minister Ole Birk Olesen said it was the ...
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NewsCross-Øresund services to be split
EUROPE: Transport authorities in Denmark and Sweden have reached agreement to split up the current cross-Øresund rail services from December 2021, Denmark’s Minister of Transport, Building & Housing Ole Birk Olesen announced on December 13. As part of a political agreement paving the way for more tendering of domestic rail ...
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NewsHunter Harrison dead at 73
USA: ‘With great sadness’, CSX announced on December 16 that its President & Chief Executive Officer E Hunter Harrison had died at the age of 73, ‘of unexpectedly severe complications following a short illness’. Other reports suggested that he had been unwell for some time. James M Foote, who joined ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On December 14 TX Logistik signed a firm order for Bombardier Transportation to supply 40 Traxx MS3 multi-system locomotives for use on Italy – Switzerland – Germany services from mid-2019. Bombardier is to maintain them for 15 years, and there is an option for up to 25 more locos. The ...
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NewsStara Pazova – Novi Sad funding agreement
SERBIA: Infrastructure manager Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije and RZD International have signed an agreement releasing further funding for work on the Beograd – Budapest upgrading project. Signed by IŽS CEO Miroljub Jevtić and RZD International CEO Sergey Pavlov, Annexe 3.2 of the accord allocates funding from a US$800m ...
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NewsKatowice airport rail link planned
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has selected Egis Poland for a 18·7m złoty contract to plan the rehabilitation and electrification of the out-of-use Tarnowskie Góry – Zawiercie line to enable the launch of passenger services to Katowice airport. The reopened route would be suitable for passenger trains operating at ...
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NewsErdoğan opens first driverless metro line in Istanbul
TURKEY: A ceremony to inaugurate Istanbul’s first driverless metro line was held at Üsküdar on December 15, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Mayor Mevlüt Uysal. The first 10·5 km phase of Line M5, the second metro route on the Asian side of the ...
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NewsVoith and Liebherr announce diesel engine partnership
ENGINES: A ‘co-operative partnership’ for the development, distribution and servicing of diesel engines for rail applications was announced by Voith and Liebherr on December 13. Liebherr is to supply several versions of its basic six-cylinder inline engine in the 500 kW class as well as components for exhaust gas after-treatment. ...
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NewsStrategic partner sought for RENFE freight
SPAIN: Unveiling on December 14 the government’s 2017-23 rail freight development plan, Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna announced that a ‘strategic partner’ is to be sought for RENFE’s freight business. This partner would hold up to 50% of a new company to be established in 2019, focused on continuing ...
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NewsNJ Transit to buy more electro-diesel locomotives
USA: New Jersey Transit has decided to exercise an option for a further 17 dual-powered ALP-45 locomotives from Bombardier Transit Corp, in order to replace more of its oldest diesel locos. The NJ Transit board voted on December 13 to approve a recommendation to acquire the 17 locomotives at an ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
The European Commission announced on December 8 that the final discussions for the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement had concluded. The Commission said the EPA ‘guarantees EU companies access to the large procurement markets of Japan in 48 large cities, and removes obstacles to procurement in the economically ...
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NewsHardbrücke tram extension opens in Zürich
SWITZERLAND: A 700 m extension of the Zürich tram network from Hardplatz to Schiffbau opened on December 8, with one intermediate stop at Hardbrücke. Construction started in May 2015. The cost was met through SFr45·4m from the federal government, SFr76·4m from Canton Zürich and SFr7·8m from the city. SFr28·4m ...
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NewsBombardier to supply Aventra EMUs to c2c
UK: Leasing company Porterbook has awarded Bombardier Transportation a £105m contract to supply six 10-car Aventra 160 km/h electric multiple-units for the c2c rail franchise, and provide eight years of maintenance and support services from their introduction in 2021 until November 2029. The deal ‘demonstrates our focus on long-term investments ...
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NewsSt Petersburg tenders for second fast tram PPP
RUSSIA: The city of St Petersburg is tendering for a PPP concession to build and operate a fast tram line that would serve two of the city’s satellite towns. The route would run from Kupchino station on metro Line 2 to Shushary and Slavyanka. The winning bidder would invest ...