All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 602
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NewsGovernment invites bids for 171bn pesos PPP concession
PHILIPPINES: The Department of Transportation & Communications has issued a prequalification request for a 171bn pesos PPP project worth covering the rehabilitation and extension of the Main Line South, which links Manila with Bicol province on the island of Luzon. According to DOTC, the project is the largest PPP to ...
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NewsRagna Forslund
Legal Director Ragna Forslund has taken over as Acting CEO of Stockholm transport authority SL following the resignation on May 25 of Anders Lindström, who had been convicted of shoplifting in Hong Kong.
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News‘Beauty contest’ to assess high speed line offers
INDONESIA: The government is to hold a ‘beauty contest’ to evaluate rival bids for construction of a 150 km Jakarta – Bandung high speed line, Co-ordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil said on July 13. Rival offers backed by their respective governments have been put forward by consortia from China and ...
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NewsFreight operators fined €49m for operating cartel
EUROPE: The European Commission has fined subsidiaries of Austrian Federal Railways and Deutsche Bahn €17·4m and €31·8m respectively for operating a cartel in the block train sector between July 2004 and June 2012. Kühne+Nagel was also part of the cartel with the Express Interfracht and Schenker businesses, but was ...
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NewsPopulation growth underpins metro expansion
JAPAN: Tokyo metropolitan government has announced plans for two new metro lines to be completed after the 2020 Olympic Games, which the city is hosting. The lines form part of a wider transport plan the metropolitan government will submit to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism this ...
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NewsCharlotte opens Gold Line
USA: The CityLYNX Gold Line tram route in Charlotte opened for passenger service at 13.00 on July 14. The 2·4 km line runs on-street from Time Warner Cable Arena to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center with six stops. There are services every 15 min in the peaks and 20 ...
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NewsApple Pay arrives on London’s transport network
UK: Apple’s Apple Pay system which links payment card accounts to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watches can be used pay for travel on public transport within London from July 14. Apple Pay has the same validity and is used in a similar way to contactless bank ...
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NewsVirginia Railway Express operating contract extended
USA: On July 14 Keolis announced that Virginia Railway Express had exercised an option to extend its contract to operate Washington DC commuter services for a further five years. The contract is worth $21m in the first year, including train maintenance, and has an option for an additional extension of ...
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NewsDB awards GSM-R upgrade contracts
GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz awarded two contracts totalling €110m for the modernisation of its national GSM-R communications network on July 14. The scope of the work includes the modernisation of around 3 300 base stations and 38 control centres by 2024, along with maintenance until 2033. A consortium of ...
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NewsProduction of Lastochka Premium EMUs launched
RUSSIA: The Ural Locomotives joint venture of Siemens and Sinara Group formally launched production of a ‘premium’ version of the Lastochka electric multiple-unit family at its factory in Yekaterinburg on July 9. The Lastochka Premium EMUs will be based on the Lastochka (Desiro RUS) units which are currently produced ...
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NewsTimișoara presents modernised trams
ROMANIA: Two modernised trams for Timișoara were presented to the public on July 8 to coincide with the city’s annual Urban Transport Day. A consortium of Electroputere VFU Pașcani and Astra Vagoane Călători Arad won a €14·4m contract last year to refurbish up to 30 trams over four years. ...
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NewsPadang Besar electric services start
MALAYSIA: Work to double-track the Ipoh – Padang Besar line and install 25 kV 50 Hz electrification has been officially completed. Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai rode a test train on July 9 to inaugurate the passenger service, which is branded Electric Train Service by national railway KTMB. ...
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NewsRefurbished Lyon metro trainset in service
FRANCE: The first refurbished metro trainset for Line D in Lyon entered passenger service on July 10. The second is due to start operations later this month, with the third in September. Lyon transport authority Sytral awarded CAF a €23m contract last year to refurbish 36 two-car rubber-tyred driverless ...
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NewsTitagarh Wagons buys Firema Trasporti
ITALY: Indian rolling stock manufacturer Titagarh Wagons completed the purchase of Italian company Firema Trasporti on July 9. The acquisition of the business from the administrator as a going concern was made through the Titagarh Firema Adler subsidiary registered in Milano. Titagarh Wagons said Adler Plastics SpA will hold ...
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NewsShenzhen metro train rolled out
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou rolled out the first trainset for the future Shenzhen metro Line 11 on July 6. The eight-car Type A trainset includes two first-class cars and a capacity of 2 500 passengers. Shenzhen Metro has ordered 33 trainsets for Line 11 under a 2·1bn yuan contract. Deliveries ...
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NewsTaipei metro opens extension
TAIWAN: A ceremony on July 5 marked the opening of a one-station extension of Taipei metro Line 5. Passenger services began the following day, with travel on the extension free for one month. The 2 km underground extension of Line 5, also known as the Bannan Line, runs southwest ...
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NewsBiofuel from station coffee waste
UK: Following a successful trial, infrastructure manager Network Rail and Bio-bean have signed an agreement for waste coffee grounds from London’s Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo stations to be recycled into biofuel pellets which can be used for heating homes, offices and factories. Bio-bean’s coffee waste ...
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NewsBNDES funds locomotive orders
BRAZIL: Federal development bank BNDES has announced that it is to provide R$70⋅5m to finance the purchase of 19 AC44i locomotives from GE Transportation. To be provided via Banco Alfa Investimento SA, the funding will meet 50% of the total cost of 12 locomotives being acquired by freight operator VLI ...
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NewsBurgas airport rail link planned
BULGARIA: A plan to build a rail link to Burgas airport has been announced by Minister of Transport, IT & Communications Ivaylo Moskovski. The project would require the construction of around 2 km of new line to access the airport, which is the second busiest in Bulgaria. An ...
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NewsPolish tram projects receive EU loans
POLAND: The European Investment Bank has signed two loan agreements for tram projects in Poland. Bank Pekao is to receive 231m złoty, which it will lend to Tramwaje Śląskie. This will be used for the modernisation of the power supplies and 63 km of track, as well as the ...