All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 633
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NewsHigh altitude freight locomotives ordered
CHINA: Following 27 months of in-service testing with two prototypes, at the end of January CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive was awarded a contract to supply a production batch of 80 HXD1C locomotives which will be used to haul heavy freight trains on the 1 000 km Lanzhou – Xining – ...
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NewsSiemens to build RRX double-deckers
GERMANY: The four regional authorities promoting the Rhein-Ruhr-Express project announced on February 10 that Siemens had been selected as preferred bidder to supply and maintain for 30 years the double-deck trainsets to be used by the future operating concessionaire. Subject to ratification by the governing bodies of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, NWL ...
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NewsAbellio to run Limburg services
NETHERLANDS: Regional rail and bus services in the province of Limburg are to be operated by NS subsidiary Abellio, the regional authority announced on February 10. Valued at €55m a year, the integrated public transport contract will start on December 11 2016 and run for 15 years. As well as ...
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NewsRATP board approves T7 extension
FRANCE: The board of Paris transport operator RATP has formally approved the draft plans for a southern extension of tram line T7 from Athis-Mons to Juvisy, where an interchange will be provided with RER lines C and D. Being promoted by Ile de France transport authority STIF, the extension ...
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NewsBombardier and New United Group form signalling joint venture
CHINA: Bombardier Transportation and New United Group have finalised an agreement to establish a signalling and train control joint venture. Each company will have a 50% share in the joint venture, which will be known as Bombardier NUG Signalling Solutions Co Ltd. The Changzhou-based company will focus on ...
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NewsFinal NS Traxx handed over
NETHERLANDS: A ceremony at the Utrecht railway museum on February 6 marked the handover of the last of 19 Bombardier Traxx F160 MS electric locomotives ordered by NS. The national passenger operator ordered the locomotives in mid-2013 to haul refurbished coaches on trains introduced to replace the troubled AnsaldoBreda ...
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NewsCAF signs Caledonian Sleeper coach contract
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF announced on February 10 that it had signed the €200m contract to supply Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd with 75 new coaches for use on Anglo-Scottish sleeper services from April 2018, plus associated spares and technical support. The coaches are being financed by the ...
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NewsSensor for smarter track maintenance
UK: In response to a request from infrastructure manager Network Rail, Product Innovation has developed a void meter designed to measure the movement of a rail or sleeper in real time, enabling maintenance crews to attend only when needed. The Void Meter is physically and electronically simple to install, ...
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NewsUnion Pacific announces $4·3bn capital programme
USA: Union Pacific Corp has announced a 2015 capital programme valued at $4·3bn, which it says is an increase of $200m on 2014. UP said the programme would be ‘driven primarily by equipment acquisitions and infrastructure investments’. Spending on Positive Train Control is expected to total $450m, up from ...
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NewsKøbenhavn selects tram line designers
DENMARK: København metro authority Metroselskabet has selected a joint venture of Arup and Rambøll to develop the Ring 3 light rail line. The joint venture plans to co-ordinate design and technical integration of the line, design the control and maintenance centre, and undertake traction power network, noise and vibration ...
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NewsSydney opens South West Rail Link
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian officially opened the South West Rail Link on February 8, adding a further 11·4 km to the Sydney Trains suburban network. Under construction since 2011, the line diverges from the Sydney – Melbourne main line at Glenfield ...
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NewsArendalsbanen upgraded
NORWAY: The 37 km Nelaug – Arendal branch has reopened following a suspension of services to permit the installation of new signalling and automatic train control systems. The route had previously operated under special rules. However, the installation of modern signalling was seen as vital for its continued long-term operation, ...
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NewsComposite light rail catenary offers potential savings
UK: Consultancy Atkins, bespoke composite engineering company Cecence and electrification equipment supplier Brecknell Willis are studying the potential use of advanced composite materials 10 times stronger and four times stiffer than metals to lower the cost of tramway overhead electrification. Copper contact wire would be suspended from a carbon fibre ...
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NewsContactless and wristband ticketing in Jakarta
INDONESIA: The national railway’s Jakarta suburban train operating subsidiary PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek is deploying Sony’s FeliCa electronic payment technology on its 182 km network, which has 64 stations and carries 700 000 passenger/day. KCJ is to accept payment by FeliCa IC chip contactless cards and embedded wristbands from this ...
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NewsJerusalem fast line track contract awarded
ISRAEL: A US$195m contract to design, build and maintain track and electrical, ventilation and fire safety systems for the tunnels and bridges on the A1 fast line to Jerusalem has been awarded to the Electra Boegl joint venture of Electra, Electra Infrastructures Hasharon Excavators, Signon Schweiz and Max Bögl Bauunternehmen. ...
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NewsValencia tests Line 9
SPAIN: Test running on Line 9 of the metre-gauge Valencia metro started on February 2. Line 9 includes a 9·4 km, four-station branch off the western end of lines 3 and 5 at Rosas. After emerging from a short tunnel, the single-track branch runs northwest to Riba-roja del ...
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NewsLeipzig selects Solaris trams
GERMANY: Leipzig transport authority LVB has selected Solaris to supply five trams with options for a further 36. The value of the base order is €7·7m. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2016 and run until 2020 if all options are called off. The 1 458 mm gauge vehicles ...
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NewsLIRR Grand Central Terminal contract awarded
USA: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has awarded the GCT Constructors joint venture of Schiavone Construction Co and John P Picone Inc a $404·8m contract to build the future Long Island Rail Road concourse at Grand Central Terminal. The work is part of the $10bn East Side Access project, which ...
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NewsMidland Metro opens refurbished depot
UK: A ceremony on February 5 marked the completion of a £13·8m programme to increase capacity at Midland Metro’s rolling stock maintenance depot in Wednesbury. The second phase of the programme includes a 42 m extension to the existing maintenance shed, new office and staff space and new storage ...
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NewsLokoTrain buys its first locomotive
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access freight operator LokoTrain has taken delivery of the first locomotive it has bought outright, a Škoda Class 43 electric locomotive which previously belonged to Bulgarian national operator BDZ. The locomotive has been modernised by CZ Loko and ČMŽO Přerov, with the installation of new cabling, Mirel ...