All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 558
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NewsAlstom completes share buy-back
ALSTOM: The public share buy-back offer which aimed to return to shareholders part of the proceeds of the energy business transaction with General Electric has been successfully completed, Alstom announced on January 28. Following the reduction mechanism, 91·5 million shares representing around 29·5% of Alstom's capital have been repurchased ...
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NewsHuai’an tram line opens
CHINA: Services on the first tram line in Huai’an commenced on December 28, following the start of passenger-carrying tests on December 19. The 20·3 km northwest-southeast route runs from Huai’an Gymnasium to South Gate with 23 stops. Construction started in February 2014 and cost 3·65bn yuan. Services are ...
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NewsUnieco to sell CLF stake to Strukton Rail
ITALY: Unieco has called on a put option for co-owner Strukton Rail to buy out its 40% stake in railway construction contractor Construzioni Linee Ferroviarie by the end of June 2016. Strukton Rail has been a shareholder of CLF since 1998, and increased its stake from 40% to 60% ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
GoEuro has signed a partnership with SNCF adding more than 3 000 stations to its rail, coach and air journey planner. On January 30 more than 200 developers will travel from Firenze SMN to Arezzo on a Coradia Meridian trainset, as part of the HackToscana hackathon which aims to promote ...
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NewsGreece restarts Trainose privatisation
GREECE: The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency has relaunched the planned sale of national train operator Trainose, a process which began in 2013 but was suspended following a change of government last year. Announcing the restart of the process on January 27, HRADF said it planned to ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern announces cost-cutting plan
USA: Norfolk Southern Corp announced details of a strategic plan to become a 'faster, lower cost and more profitable railroad' on January 27, saying it expects to achieve annual productivity savings of $130m in 2016 and more than $650m by 2020. The plan is the result of a six-month evaluation ...
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NewsTracklaying begins on Samsun tram extension
TURKEY: Tracklaying on the southeastern extension of the Samsun tram line started on January 27. The 14 km section from Gar to Tekkeköy is due to open on October 10. The extension will nearly double the current 15 km route between Üniversite and Gar. The fleet of 21 trams ...
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NewsAfDB finances Casablanca – Marrakech double-tracking
MOROCCO: The African Development Bank board approved a US$112·3m loan to finance double-tracking of the 142 km Settat – Marrakech section of the Casablanaca – Marrakech route on January 27. National railway ONCF is providing a further US$290m for the project, which is intended to increase capacity and reduce ...
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NewsCP to refurbish Alfa Pendular trainsets
PORTUGAL: National operator CP unveiled the interior and exterior designs for what it termed the ‘next generation Alfa Pendular’ at launch event in Lisboa on January 27.The designs showcase the planned mid-life refurbishment of CP’s 10 Alfa Pendular tilting trains which are used on premium inter-city services on the Braga ...
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NewsCBTC over LTE test successful
CHINA: Telecoms company ZTE announced on January 25 that it had completed a laboratory test of communication-based train control over LTE. Ansaldo STS supplied CBTC signalling and ZTE provided LTE equipment and devices for the test, which covered scenarios such as static condition, handover, failover, and load with static ...
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NewsScotRail Class 385 EMUs under construction
UK: The first of 70 Class 385 electric multiple-units ordered by Abellio for the ScotRail franchise is now under construction at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in Japan. The first seven of the 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs are to be built in Kasado, with the remaining 63 to be produced ...
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NewsFirst Brightline coach shell completed at Siemens plant
USA: The first stainless steel coach bodyshell for All Aboard Florida’s Brightline project has been completed at Siemens’ Sacramento plant in California. Siemens is to supply an initial five four-car trainsets with a capacity of 240 passengers, which will be top-and-tailed by Siemens Charger diesel locomotives. Siemens said it ...
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NewsHefei metro starts test running
CHINA: Testing started on the first metro line in Hefei on January 20. Initial tests are being carried out on a 1·4 km section of Line 1 at up to 80 km/h using 45 staff. Nine parameters are being tested while trains are moving and a further 27 while static. ...
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NewsOpen access operator Locomore reaches crowd-funding target
GERMANY: A crowd-funding campaign has successfully raised the minimum of €460 000 which Locomore needs to launch a Berlin – Kassel – Frankfurt – Stuttgart open access service in September, the company announced two days before the campaign ends on January 29. This will be used to cover start-up ...
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NewsETCS Level 2 for Italian conventional line
ITALY: Gruppo FS has awarded a €34m contract for upgrading the signalling on the 51 km Milano Centrale – Milano Smistamento – Monza – Chiasso line to a consortium led by Alstom and including M Pavani Segnalamento Ferroviario, Bitfo, Ricci, Elettri-Fer and Politecnica Ingegneria ed Architettura Società Cooperativa. The route ...
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NewsCP Carga privatisation completed
PORTUGAL: Mediterranean Shipping Company SA has announced that its subsidiary MSC Rail completed the acquisition of a 95% stake in CP Carga on January 21, taking control of the freight and logistics business of national operator CP. The remaining 5% of the company is to be offered to employees. ‘We ...
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NewsIran and Italy sign railway MOU
IRAN: Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Akhoundi signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the rail sector when Iran’s President Rouhani visited Italy on January 25. Italian national railway group FS said it had been active in the region since 2001, ...
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NewsLund tram tendering begins
SWEDEN: The city of Lund has begun the tendering process for a design-build contract for the city’s first tram line, following city council approval on December 17. Due to open in 2019, the 5·5 km route would connect Lund Central station and the science village with nine stops. Trams ...
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NewsNewcastle light rail expressions of interest
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales announced on January 21 that it is seeking expressions of interest in the fixed infrastructure contract to build the proposed light rail line in Newcastle. The interest period is expected to close on February 12, with a shortlist to be invited to tender ...
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NewsEtihad Rail suspends Stage 2 tendering
UAE: National rail developer Etihad Rail announced on January 26 that it had suspended the tendering process for Stage Two of the project and informed all the bidders in writing. Etihad Rail recently started commercial operation on the initial phase of the planned network, which links Shah and Habshan to ...