All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 528
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NewsWork begins on Grand Paris Express
FRANCE: A ceremony at the site of the future Fort d’Issy-Vanves-Clamart-Malakoff station on June 4 marked the start of work on the Grand Paris Express project, as well as the launch of an artistic and cultural programme to accompany it. Work has begun on the 33 km Line 15 ...
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NewsFaiveley Transport opens Plzen manufacturing plant
CZECH REPUBLIC: Faiveley Transport officially opened its new railway systems manufacturing plant in Plzen on June 1, completing one of the largest investments under the group's 2015-18 Strategic Plan. The 20 000 m2 facility with 300 staff produces pantographs, power collectors and converters. An additional 6 000 m² could be ...
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NewsCzech station enhancement programme to be launched
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽDC plans to launch a comprehensive national station modernisation programme which will see KC8·2bn spent at an initial 60 locations over three years, once it takes over ownership of almost all of the country’s stations from national operator ČD. The long-planned transfer of the stations ...
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NewsGibela rolling stock factory contract awarded
SOUTH AFRICA: The Gibela consortium of Alstom and local partners which is to supply 580 six-car X’Trapolis Mega EMUs to Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has awarded a R400m contract for the construction of its factory in Dunnottar to a joint venture of Trencon Construction and Black Jills Engineers. ...
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NewsPesa Link DMU certified for German operation
GERMANY: Federal railway office EBA has certified the Pesa Link diesel multiple-unit for operation in Germany, the manufacturer announced on June 3. Regional operator Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn intends to use the DMUs to operate Netz Ostbrandenburg services between Berlin and Kostrzyń on the Polish side of the border. NEB placed ...
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NewsCrowd-funded Locomore prepares for December launch
GERMANY: Locomore announced on June 3 that it had finalised contracts for the provision of traction and the refurbishment of coaches which should enable it to launch its planned open access passenger service between Berlin, Kassel, Frankfurt and Stuttgart on December 14. An agreement has been finalised for Hector Rail ...
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NewsTram depot opens in Toronto
CANADA: Toronto’s Leslie tram maintenance depot was officially opened on May 28, with a public open day featuring a display of heritage and modern trams. Covering 26 000 m2, the facility on the corner of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East is equipped with a driver simulator, a ...
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NewsEurasian rail priorities discussed at 1520 Forum
Toma Bacic reports from the XI International Rail Business Forum 1520 Strategic Partnership in Sochi
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NewsELL signs Siemens Vectron framework contract
EUROPE: The signing of framework agreement for the delivery of up to 50 Vectron electric passenger and freight locomotives to European Locomotive Leasing was announced by Siemens on June 3. This includes a firm order for locomotives to be delivered from Q2 2016 for use on international corridors running ...
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NewsIran and UK sign rail industry memorandum
IRAN: Iran’s Ministry of Roads & Urban Development and the UK’s Department for Transport signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the rail sector when Islamic Republic of Iran Railways President Dr Mohsen Pourseyed Aghaei visited London at the end of May. The focus of the MoU is on ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
PKC Group has signed a global partnership agreement making it a strategic supplier partner to Bombardier Transportation, ‘with an opportunity to capture 40% to 70% of Bombardier Transportation's annual buy of electrical systems commodity’. The agreement is a global extension to previous local agreement in Europe. The National Chamber ...
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NewsFrequentis to implement Finnish GSM-R to TETRA conversion
FINLAND: Transport agency Liikennevirasto has selected Frequentis for the Unified Railway Communication & Application contract which will enable railway-specific communications currently carried on the GSM-R network to begin using TETRA and public mobile networks from 2017. Announcing its selection on June 2, Frequentis said URCA would be the first bearer-independent ...
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NewsBritish Steel brand revived
EUROPE: The former Tata Steel Long Products Europe business began trading under the revived British Steel brand on June 1, following completion of the sale to Greybull Capital. British Steel has 4 800 employees, with manufacturing operations at the Scunthorpe integrated steelworks, Teesside Beam Mill and Skinningrove Special Profiles ...
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NewsHeavier grain trains to make rail more competitive
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp has approved a six-month trial of longer and heavier grain trains on the 100 km route between Moree and Narrabri in New South Wales. Axleloads are being increased by 15% and standard train lengths from 850 m to 1 000 m. ‘Conservatively we think ...
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NewsPrivate partner sought for Transnet terminal
SOUTH AFRICA: On June 1 Transnet announced the start of its ‘biggest private-sector participation project to date’, issuing a request for proposals as it seeks to award a 20-year concession to design, build, operate, maintain and transfer an intermodal terminal at Tambo Springs, east of Johannesburg. Expected to be operational ...
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NewsEY to host HackTrain rail tech start-ups
UK: Professional services group EY has agreed to host the HackTrain railway technology start-up business accelerator at its offices near London Bridge station, EY Infrastructure Leader Malcolm Bairstow announced at the HackTrain 2016 conference in London on June 1. HackTrain will relocate to EY’s Open Innovation Hub from its current ...
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NewsReports looks at impact of climate change on rail network
UK: Climate change could have a ‘significant and damaging’ impact on the rail network leading to a ‘dramatic increase’ in the cost of dealing with extreme weather unless pre-emptive action is taken, RSSB said when it released its ‘Tomorrow’s Railway & Climate Change Adaptation’ report on May 31. The ...
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NewsChennai metro extension approved
INDIA: The central government approved an extension of Chennai metro Line 1 on June 1. To be completed by March 2018, the project will be carried out by the existing Chennai Metro Rail Ltd special purpose vehicle of the central (50%) and Tamil Nadu (50%) governments. The 9·1 km ...
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NewsAmsted Rail to suspend production at wheel plant
USA: Amsted Rail has announced the ‘temporary idling’ of its wheel plant at Bessemer in Alabama from September, saying the decision to suspend production had been taken because of a drop in demand for new wagons and the improved efficiency of North American railways ‘for the foreseeable future’. ...
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NewsAuckland City Rail Link breaks ground
NEW ZEALAND: Work officially started on the Auckland City Rail Link on June 2 with a groundbreaking ceremony for the city centre rail tunnel. The 3·4 km route will connect the current Britomart terminus with the Western Line at Mt Eden. This is expected to double capacity on the ...