All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 663
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NewsSiemens wins South West Trains suburban EMU order
UK: South West Trains announced on September 3 that it had selected Siemens and leasing company Angel Trains for a £210m contract to supply 30 five-car electric multiple-units. The Desiro City EMUs would be ‘similar in style to the Class 700 units being produced for the Thameslink route’. Deliveries ...
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NewsRiyadh - Dammam high speed line study contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: A consortium led by Spanish firm Consultrans signed a 6·6m riyal contract to study options for the construction of a Riyadh – Dammam high speed line on September 2. The 10-month study commissioned by Saudi Railways Organisation will consider routes, technical requirements, costs, demand forecasts and potential revenue ...
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NewsRio metro train on test in China
BRAZIL: The first of 15 trainsets ordered for Rio metro Line 4 is undergoing testing at the CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles factory in China. In mid-October it will leave for Rio, with arrival scheduled for December. Deliveries are due to be completed in 2015, in time for the opening of ...
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NewsCAF to refurbish Lyon metro fleet
FRANCE: Lyon transport authority Sytral has awarded CAF a €23m contract to undertake heavy overhaul and refurbishment of 36 two-car MPL 85 trainsets. Built by Alsthom, the rubber-tyred driverless cars entered service in 1991 on Line D of the Lyon metro. Due to start during autumn 2014 for completion by ...
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NewsFeature articles in the September 2014 issue of Metro Report International
Articles in the September 2014 issue of Metro Report International. Comment Licensing agreements are helping Škoda Transportation develop its activities in China, says Petr Vízdal News Review Round-up of world metro, light rail and tram news City digest London goes contactless, Sydney Rapid Transit plans, Paris funding package, Wien metro ...
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NewsTransdev signs new Luas operating contract
IRELAND: The National Transport Authority and the Railway Procurement Agency signed a new contract for incumbent Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd to operate the capital’s tram system on September 1. The five-year contract worth €150m starts on September 29, and includes responsibility for infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance through novated ...
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NewsAlstom awarded ScotRail EMU refurbishment contract
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail has awarded Alstom a two-year contract worth £36·1m to modernise 40 Class 334 three-car 25 kV electric multiple-units. These were built by Alstom in 1999-2001 and are operated by ScotRail. The work is due to start in early 2015. It will be led by Alstom’s ...
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NewsAubagne opens tramway
FRANCE: The Aubagne tramway entered commercial service on September 1. The 2·7 km line runs from Le Charrel to the main railway station with seven stops. Aubagne is the first city to use Alstom’s Citadis Compact tram. According to the manufacturer, this is ‘specially designed to meet the needs ...
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NewsChallenging and frustrating year hits KiwiRail
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has had a ‘challenging’ and ‘frustrating’ financial year, the national railway announced on August 29, adding that it is ‘cautious about the outlook for 2015’, particularly in the commodities sector. KiwiRail warned that it ‘cannot rely on revenue growth alone to get us to a sustainable position’. ...
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NewsOne-year postgraduate metro programme
INDIA: The Secunderabad-based Institute of Metro & Rail Technology has welcomed its first intake of 17 students for a one-year postgraduate programme in metro and rail technology. Organised in partnership with consultancy firm Barsyl, the IMRT course has extensive industry involvement, providing ‘case study-based learning, individual and group work, industry ...
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NewsReclassification nationalises Network Rail
UK: National infrastructure manager Network Rail has been formally designated as a part of central government with effect from September 1. This coincides with a change in European accounting rules from the same date, requiring what NR called ‘a statistical change’ to reclassify its debt from the private to the ...
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NewsBesançon’s low-cost tramway opens
FRANCE: A weekend of ‘modest celebrations’ marked the inauguration of Besançon’s 14·5 km tram line on August 30-31, with local residents attending wearing turquoise-blue to match the trams’ colour scheme. The tramway has been explicitly developed as a low-cost project by the Grand Besançon municipality, which had hoped to reduce ...
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NewsNetwork Rail awards buildings and civils framework contracts
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced the award of building and civil works framework contracts worth a total of £250m to seven suppliers on August 28. The agreements cover more than 1 000 maintenance, renewal and enhancement projects which are to be undertaken on NR’s Scotland and London North ...
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NewsLe Mans launches second tram route
FRANCE: The light rail network in Le Mans was extended on August 30 with the opening of a 3·6 km branch through the northeast of the city. The city’s 15·4 km starter line opened in 2007, consisting of a principal route of 12·6 km from the university in the ...
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NewsARG Transportation selected to revive central Washington line
USA: Washington State Department of Transportation has selected San Pedro & Southwestern Railroad and Coos Bay Rail Link operator ARG Transportation to revive freight services on the 40 km Othello – Royal City line in central Washington. ARG is to spend six months determining interest from prospective customers. If the ...
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NewsRoller bearings for 40 tonne axleloads
SKF: A compact tapered roller bearing unit for 45 tonne axleload wagons will be launched by SKF at InnoTrans 2014. The CTBU was developed as a result of requests from operators seeking to move heavier loads without lengthening trains. ‘The SKF CTBU is the only heavy haul bearing ...
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NewsVocational training in Castilla
SPAIN: The national government, the regional authority for Castilla y León and national operator Renfe have signed an agreement covering the establishment of a vocational training scheme for railway maintenance staff. The ‘dual professional training’ scheme is intended to provide vocational qualification in mechanical and electrical engineering skills to young ...
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NewsBombardier Transportation inaugurates Kuala Lumpur hub
MALAYSIA: Bombardier Transportation has formally opened a regional centre of expertise for system engineering and integration in Kuala Lumpur. The office will accommodate more than 100 engineering, project management, systems integration and signalling specialists, supporting rail projects in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific region. ‘This investment strengthens our ability ...
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NewsReading viaduct ready for tracklaying
UK: The structure of a £45m viaduct which is being built as part of the £895m remodelling of the Great Western Main Line through Reading has been handed over to infrastructure manager Network Rail by construction contractor Balfour Beatty, ready for tracklaying by Carillion. The 320 concrete beams for ...