All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 645
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NewsBoston to get Green Line extension funding
USA: The Federal Transit Administration is to provide $996m towards the northern extension of Boston’s Green light rail line from Lechmere to Somerville and Medford. Congress is to review the funding agreement for 30 days before it is officially confirmed. The FTA released a commitment letter on December 2, ...
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NewsTrimble acquires condition monitoring specialist Nexala
USA: California-based engineering software supplier Trimble announced on December 1 that it had acquired vehicle diagnostics specialist Nexala, which will become part of Trimble’s Engineering & Construction segment. Trimble supplies GPS, optical, imaging and scanning technologies for the construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure, including building information modelling software ...
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NewsBordeaux selects Thales ticketing
FRANCE: Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux has selected Thales to supply a contactless ticketing system for the city’s public transport network under a 10-year contract. This would provide integrated ticketing for trams, buses and riverboats, as well as park-and-ride sites. Thales is to supply hardware and software that will be ...
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NewsPrivately-funded US commuter service planned
USA: Plans for the USA’s ‘first privately-funded passenger rail service in almost 100 years’ have been announced by Boston Surface Commuter Railroad Co. This would operate over the Providence & Worcester Railroad between the eponymous cities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, offering a reliable alternative to unpredictable road journey ...
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NewsVossloh to sell rolling stock division
VOSSLOH: Following ‘a detailed assessment’ of the company’s product range, the Supervisory Board of German track components and rolling stock supplier Vossloh AG announced on December 2 that its Transportation division ‘is no longer defined as core business’. The intention is therefore to sell Transportation ‘in whole or in parts ...
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NewsOsijek extends its tramway
CROATIA: A 1·6 km western extension of Osijek’s metre-gauge tram Route 1 opened on November 30. The extension runs along ul Bana Jelačića from the previous Route 1 terminus at the western bypass road into the centre of the suburb of Višnjevac. There are five stops. The construction ...
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NewsUtrecht selects Uithof Line tram contractors
NETHERLANDS: The Executive Board of Greater Utrecht Authority selected contractors on December 1 to supply the infrastructure and rolling stock for the Uithof tram line. Once approved by the full board, the contracts would be signed on December 23 after the usual standstill period. Royal BAM Group has been ...
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NewsSiemens signalling for Beni Mansour – Bejaia upgrade
ALGERIA: Siemens announced on December 2 that its ESTEL joint venture with national railway SNTF had been awarded a contract to supply signalling equipment for the double-tracking of the 90 km Beni Mansour – Bejaia route. Awarded by railway development agency ANESRIF, the contract is worth €95m to Siemens. To ...
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NewsHangzhou opens second metro line
CHINA: The second metro line in Hangzhou was opened for trial operation at 09.15 on November 24. Phase 1 of Line 2 runs for 18·3 km from Qianjianglu in the city centre, before crossing the Qiantang River to reach Chaoyang in the southeast, serving 13 underground stations. A limited ...
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NewsEurasian logistics accord signed
INTERNATIONAL: Further steps to improve and expand the operation of international container trains between China, Russia and Europe are envisaged under a co-operation agreement between Russian Railways Logistics and the Zhengzhou International Land Port Development & Construction Co. Signed at an international logistics congress in Zhengzhou on November 27 by ...
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NewsSantiago transport investment plans
CHILE: President Michelle Bachelet has announced plans for US$4·2bn in public transport investment, including a new metro line in Santiago. The government has requested a feasibility study from Metro de Santiago for metro Line 7, with a view to construction starting by 2019. Intended to relieve the east-west Line 1, ...
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NewsGovernment seeks to accelerate Trans-Sumatra railway project
INDONESIA: President Joko Widodo has reconfirmed the government’s commitment to construction of a 2 168 route-km railway across the island of Sumatra, linking three disparate 1 067 mm gauge networks. Outlining the government’s infrastructure priorities for the 2015-19 period, Widodo said on November 27 that a feasibility study for the ...
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NewsAMT launches Train de l’Est commuter service
CANADA: Montréal commuter rail operator Agence Métropolitaine de Transport finally began revenue service on its 52 km Train de l’Est route from Montréal Central to Mascouche on December 1, around three years later than previously anticipated. Serving a region with around 700 000 inhabitants, the route had been expected to ...
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NewsBombardier wins next Wien tram order
AUSTRIA: On December 1 public transport operator Wiener Linien announced that it had selected Bombardier Transportation for a €562m contract to supply up to 156 low-floor trams, which will replace its high-floor E2 tram-and-trailer sets. Wiener Linien says that it will also be signing a maintenance agreement, under which its ...
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NewsAlstom to equip Guadalajara Line 3
MEXICO: The federal Secretariat of Communications & Transport has awarded Alstom and CPVM, a subsidiary of OHL of Spain, a €380m contract to supply railway systems for Line 3 of the Guadalajara light rail network. Announcing the award on December 1, Alstom said that its share of ...
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NewsModi opens railway to Mendipathar
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu and other dignitaries at a ceremony in the northeastern city of Guwahati on November 29, marking the opening of the railway to Mendipathar. Dispatching the inaugural train remotely from Railway Stadium in Guwahati, Modi outlined the ...
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NewsRecord results at Greenbrier
GREENBRIER: US wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has reported record net earnings of $99·3m and Ebitda of $253·8m for the year to August 31 2014, with revenue of $2·2bn and cash generated from operating activities totalling $136m. The company delivered 16 200 wagons, and received orders for 34 300 valued ...
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NewsAccess the Park
CANADA: VIA Rail Canada has introduced accessible sleeping compartments for two people on its flagship Toronto – Vancouver Canadian service as part of a programme to refurbish its 1950s-built stainless-steel coaches. Four of the Park series observation cars are being modified, following experience with accessibility improvements to the Renaissance coaches ...
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NewsÖBB tests regional seats
AUSTRIA: Austrian passengers have been invited to test possible new seats for regional and local trainsets, as part of a €50m programme to refurbish 250 Talent and Desiro multiple-units used by around half a million passengers each day. In 2011 ÖBB undertook an initial survey to identify passengers’ main criteria ...
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NewsNational Express Talent 2 EMU rolled out
GERMANY: The first Talent 2 electric multiple-unit for National Express was ceremonially rolled out at Bombardier Transportation's Hennigsdorf plant on November 28, watched by guests including the UK Ambassador to Germany Sir Simon McDonald. The 160 km/h units are to be deployed on two routes which a consortium of the ...