All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 648
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NewsHitachi bids to buy Finmeccanica rail businesses
ITALY: Defence and aviation group Finmeccanica announced on November 18 that Hitachi Ltd had submitted the previous day an offer to buy its AnsaldoBreda rolling stock business and its 40% stake in signalling supplier Ansaldo STS. A statement by the Italian group added that it intended to analyse Hitachi’s offer ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern announces plan to acquire Delaware & Hudson line
USA: On November 17 Norfolk Southern Corp announced plans to acquire 455 km of track between Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and Schenectady, New York, from the Delaware & Hudson Railway Co subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. The US$217m purchase is subject to approval by the Surface Transportation Board, which the railways hope ...
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NewsGovia and Bombardier sign Gatwick Express train contract
UK: Passenger franchisee Govia Thameslink Railway announced on November 18 that it had signed a £145·2m order for 27 four-car Bombardier Electrostar Class 387/2 electric multiple-units for use on Gatwick Express services. The EMUs are scheduled to enter service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport in 2016, with some ...
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NewsBuilding a train from a foam sandwich
FRAUNHOFER: The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools & Forming Technology has produced a demonstration high speed train cab assembled from aluminium foam components, to highlight the potential applications of the strong but lightweight material. The aluminium foam material comprises a metal sandwich, with top and bottom external layers separated by ...
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NewsStockholm deploys interlocking software
SWEDEN: Stockholm transport authority SL has licensed iLock software from local company Prover Technology to use when creating its interlocking requirements. Running on a standard PC with a drag-and-drop editor or by using imported files, iLock draws on a formal specification library defining the general principles for Swedish interlocking ...
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NewsSBB awards Eppenberg tunnel contract
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways announced on November 14 that it had awarded a SFr273·7m contract for the construction of the 3 km Eppenburg tunnel, the key element in the SFr855m project to four-track the busy Olten – Aarau line by 2020. The contract awarded to the ARGE Marti Eppenberg ...
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NewsTaipei opens Songshan metro extension
TAIWAN: An 8·5 km, eight station east-west extension of Taipei metro Line 3 to Songshan was inaugurated on November 15, with Line 3 services no longer running to Tamsui in the north. The opening coincides with additional peak-hour services on the Red and Green lines. Headways on the Green ...
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NewsWorld rail market November 2014
Poland: Scheidt & Bachmann has a 5·7m złoty contract to supply PKP PLK with a control centre simulator which will enable staff to be trained to handle emergency scenarios. Slovakia: National passenger operator ZSSK has awarded sole bidder Wagon Slovakia Košice a €15·4m four-year contract to provide onboard services ...
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NewsRail industry news in brief - November 2014
The presidents of Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan ceremonially launched construction of the standard gauge line from Malaba in Kenya to Kampala in Uganda on October 8. With CSR now delivering 30 six-car EMUs for the Mitre commuter network, Argentina’s Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo has ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
SNCF trialled Google Glass to verify the validity of passengers boarding iDTGV services at Lyon Part-Dieu on October 23. Platform staff received green or red indications on their glasses after scanning the barcode of each ticket. Savimex and Alstom have been testing a driver’s head-up display on trams ...
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NewsRhomberg Sersa buys Balfour Beatty infrastructure operations
EUROPE: As part of an ongoing restructuring programme, Balfour Beatty Rail announced on November 14 that it had agreed terms to sell three more of its rail infastructure activities in mainland Europe. Subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities, the track division of Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH Deutschland, (BB ...
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NewsManchester starts to build Second City Crossing
UK: Construction of Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing officially began on November 11, with the start of work on the northernmost section between Victoria and Exchange Square. Forming part of a three-year programme of urban development works known as Grow, the second route through the city centre is intended ...
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NewsEBRD to fund CFM modernisation
MOLDOVA: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is to provide €52·5m to support the reform and modernisation of state railway Calea Ferată din Moldova, under an agreement signed in Chișinău on November 14 by Prime Minister Iurie Leancă and EBRD’s Director for Transport, Sue Barrett. Faced with an ageing ...
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NewsCZ Loko to remanufacture Latvian freight locos
LATVIA: National operator LDz has selected CZ Loko to remanufacture 14 Type 2M62U twin-section diesel locomotives used by its freight subsidiary LDz Cargo. LDz currently has a fleet of 30 Lugansk-built 2M62Us, dating from 1987, along with 40 of the older 2M62s and 33 single-section M62s. Two of the 2M62Us ...
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NewsSelf-propelled wagon prototype
CROATIA: A self-propelled wagon fitted with a 55 kW diesel generator and hydraulic transmission giving it the ability to move around worksites at up to 100 km/h under remote control has been developed by RZV Čakovec and partners. The prototype has two ballast hoppers which can be hydraulically tipped in ...
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NewsEurostar orders seven more e320s
EUROPE: Marking the 20th anniversary of the launch of passenger services through the Channel Tunnel with a celebration at London St Pancras on November 13, Eurostar announced that it had signed Heads of Agreement with Siemens for seven more e320 trainsets. On display in Platform 5 was one of ...
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NewsNorthern Line extension legal powers granted
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has granted a Transport & Works Act Order for Transport for London to extend London Underground’s Northern Line to Battersea. TfL submitted a TWO application in April 2013, which was followed by a formal consultation and public inquiry. Construction of the ...
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NewsFirst Hitachi Class 800 trainset unveiled
UK: The first of 122 trainsets for inter-city services on the East Coast and Great Western main lines was unveiled at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in southwest Japan on November 13. The trains are being supplied by Hitachi under the Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme. Hitachi is building ...
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NewsSecond OmniTram in service
UKRAINE: The second OmniTram 100% low-floor tram developed by the Electrontrans joint venture of Ukrainian manufacturer Electron and Transtech F&E of Germany has entered service in Lviv. The first five-section car was delivered to Lviv in July 2013, and is now in operation on the city’s metre-gauge network which is ...
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NewsZhuhai tramway starts trial operation
CHINA: Trial operation on the Zhuhai tramway started on November 7, when invited VIPs took an initial ride. The launch coincided with the city holding the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, which began on November 11. Trial running is initially taking place on the eastern section of ...