All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 629
-
NewsBremen ticketing upgrade
GERMANY: Init is to modernise the ticketing system used on trams and buses in Bremen by the end of 2017. The upgrade includes the replacement of mobile and stationary ticket vending machines and printers, as well as the installation of a boarding control system. These will be installed on ...
-
NewsMetro Trains Melbourne to test vibration harvesters
AUSTRALIA: Metro Trains Melbourne is to test bearing and wheelset monitoring sensors supplied by Perpetuum which are powered by the train’s vibrations. Electrical energy is generated by using an oscillating magnet which induces a voltage in the coil. This powers the vibration and temperature sensors, which provide ...
-
NewsEversholt Rail sells wagon fleet to CIT Group
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Eversholt Rail Group sold its freight wagon fleet to the Nacco (UK) Ltd subsidiary of CIT Group on February 27. The price was not disclosed. The fleet comprises 920 wagons, including container flats, open wagons, coal and aggregate hoppers and autoballasters. Eversholt Rail Group ...
-
NewsVirgin Trains East Coast starts operations
UK: On March 1 the Inter-City Railways consortium of Stagecoach Group (90%) and Virgin Holdings (10%) began operating inter-city services on the East Coast Main Line under the Virgin Trains East Coast brand. Stagecoach and Virgin had been awarded an eight-year franchise in November last year, committing to invest £140m ...
-
NewsTransnet finalises locomotive financing deals
SOUTH AFRICA: On March 2 national freight operator Transnet issued an update on the contracts for the supply of 1 064 locomotives which it awarded in March 2014, and announced financing packages worth R13bn for the locos to be supplied by GE and Bombardier. Transnet Group CEO Brian Molefe said ...
-
NewsEvraz delivers new design of wheel to Turkey
TURKEY: Russian manufacturer Evraz NTMK has begun delivering 2 000 of its newly-launched Type BA 002 wagon wheels to Turkish national railway TCDD. The 920 mm diameter BA 002 wheels are made of grade ER7 steel and feature high-precision boring of the hub with tolerances measured in hundredths of ...
-
NewsIn-cab USB charger
CHARGER: Lütze Transportation has developed a USB charger to support train drivers’ increasing of mobile phones for communications and mobile tablet computers to display driving data such as routes, timetables and speed restrictions. Two mobile devices can be charged simultaneously using the 819001 DC/DC converter, which has a sturdy and ...
-
NewsBattery-diesel hybrid multiple-unit on test
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has begun test running with the first of eight Series HB-E210 two-car battery-diesel multiple-units which are being supplied by J-TREC. The units are expected to offer a 60% reduction in NOX and particulate emissions compared to conventional DMUs. JR East ordered the hybrid DMUs in ...
-
NewsHands-free mobile ticketing demonstration
TICKETING: A proof-of-concept smartphone rail ticketing app which would not require passengers take their phones out of their pockets is being developed by New York-based transport and event payment technology specialist Bytemark. Ticket gates would use Bluetooth wireless technology to communicate with the app as the passenger walks through the ...
-
NewsIsrael Railways ready to launch first bond issue
ISRAEL: Proposals for Israel Railways to raise private investment to fund infrastructure development are moving forwards, with the company expecting to start marketing its first bond issue at the beginning of March ahead of a formal offering later in the month. Under a framework agreement signed with the government in ...
-
NewsInvitations to tender issued for Northern and TransPennine franchises
UK: The invitations to tender for the next Northern and TransPennine Express passenger franchises were issued by the Department for Transport on February 27. The ITTs set out the minimum requirements which must be included by bidders in their proposals. Last year Abellio Northern Ltd, Arriva Rail North Ltd and ...
-
NewsCairo Line 3 Phase 4 contracts awarded
EGYPT: The National Authority for Tunnels has signed contracts for fit-out and signalling for the 5·7 km Phase 4A eastern extension of Cairo metro Line 3 to Cairo International Airport. The infrastructure contract was awarded to a consortium of Alstom, Colas Rail, Orascom and Arabco. Alstom has an €80m ...
-
NewsMTR tests body-worn cameras
CHINA: In response to confrontations between staff and the public, Hong Kong MTR’s By-laws Inspection Unit testing the use of body-worn cameras. BIU staff will turn on their cameras when they see a need to record a situation, advising passengers that they have done so. MTR Corp says all ...
-
NewsIndian Railways budget launches five-year plan
INDIA: The 2015-16 railways budget should be seen as the beginning of a Rs8 560bn five-year action plan to transform the network, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said when he presented the budget to parliament on February 26. This year’s budget forms part of a ‘trilogy’ of documents being produced by ...
-
News‘Connectivity and vision’ key to future of high speed
RAILWAY GAZETTE TV: More than 370 viewers in 20 countries registered to watch Railway Gazette’s interactive live debate on high speed rail on February 25. Sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, the latest in RG TV’s debate series assessed the future of high speed rail over the next five decades saw Chris ...
-
News‘Healthy DSB’ objectives achieved in 2014
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB presented its annual report for 2014 on February 26, with Chairman Peter Schütze and Acting CEO Stig Pastwa saying it has achieved its objectives under the ‘Healthy DSB’ programme to improve its financial performance, punctuality and reputation. Ridership was up 2% on the previous year ...
-
NewsOmniTRAX acquires Peru Rail Line
USA: Short line and terminal operating group OmniTRAX announced on February 23 that its Peru Industrial Railroad subsidiary had agreed to purchase the Peru Rail Line from the City of Peru, Illinois. The price was not disclosed, but local media reports put the figure at $1·25m. The 3 km line ...
-
NewsNetwork Rail orders third rail compatible ballast cleaner
UK: Network Rail announced a £50m order for a Plasser & Theurer ballast cleaning system on February 26, the fifth in its fleet and the first designed to be used on 750 V DC electrified lines with the third rail remaining in place. Ballast Cleaning System Five is scheduled to ...
-
NewsReconfigurable real-time remote monitoring
MONITORING: Barnbrook Systems has won a significant order to supply its BlueCube multipurpose sensor, data logging and analytical technology to a UK train operator, which will use BlueCube to provide real-time remote monitoring of the performance of on-board equipment. Two leasing companies are also deploying BlueCube. The train operator is ...
-
NewsFinland seeks EU rail funding
FINLAND: The government has applied for funds from the TEN-T programme for several railway projects. The application includes €12·2m for planning and €66·8m for the construction of the Helsinki City Rail Loop. This project was approved by the Finnish Transport Agency in February 2012 as a means of relieving ...