All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 664
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NewsCeneri base tunnel delay warning
SWITZERLAND: Opening of the 15·4 km Ceneri base tunnel could be delayed by two years to December 2021 as result of tendering disputes, AlpTransit Gotthard warned a supervisory committee of the Swiss parliament on August 28. The project promoter said that the effects that any such delay would have ...
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NewsKirow cranes shipped to China
CHINA: Six Kirow Multi Tasker KRC 2880 construction and accident recovery cranes are being delivered from Germany to China, and a further 20 KRC 1680 cranes are to follow next year. Kuehne & Nagel is responsible for freight forwarding and booking of the initial six cranes, which were transported from ...
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NewsJerusalem fast line tunnel holed through
ISRAEL: The first bore of the 11·6 km twin-bore tunnel for the A1 fast line to Jerusalem was holed through on August 26. The tunnel between Yittla Creek and Mevaseret Zion in the suburbs of Jerusalem will be the longest in Israel. The contractor is a joint venture of Shafir ...
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NewsFRA funds Short Line Safety Institute
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded grants of $250 000 to the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association and $100 000 to the University of Connecticut to support the development of a Short Line Safety Institute. SLSI is intended to help mitigate the risks associated with shipping hazardous ...
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NewsMore Transperth multiple-units wanted
AUSTRALIA: Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority is to issue a request for information to gauge manufacturers’ interest in supplying at least 50 six-car electric multiple-units to double the size of the Transperth fleet. The additional EMUs would support anticipated ridership growth on the 1 067 mm gauge network, as well ...
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NewsOman Rail Co invites civil works bids
OMAN: The government’s railway project promoter Oman Rail Co has formally invited 18 pre-qualified international consortia to bid for the civil works contract for the Sohar – Al Buraymi first phase of the planned 2 244 km national network. A total of 34 consortia bringing together 95 local and international ...
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NewsWarszawa orders tram track maintenance vehicles
POLAND: Tramwaje Warszawskie has selected ZPS to supply eight maintenance vehicles for use on its tram network. Under the 21·7m złoty deal, ZPS will also provide servicing. Six will be 12·5 m to 14 m long powered vehicles equipped with a snowplough; the other two will be non-powered wagons ...
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NewsChengdu metro train unveiled
CHINA: CNR Changchun unveiled the first trainset for Chengdu metro Line 4 on August 21. CNR Changchun is supplying 27 six-car trainsets for metro Line 4, as well as 24 for Line 3, at a cost of 1·36bn yuan. Deliveries of the Line 4 cars are due to run ...
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NewsFirst Addis Abeba tram rolls out
ETHIOPIA: The first of 41 trams being built for the two-line network under construction in Addis Abeba was unveiled at CNR Changchun’s plant in China on August 26. The trams were ordered in March 2014 and are scheduled to be delivered by January, being shipped via Tianjin and Djibouti ...
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NewsSRO signs Dammam – Riyadh upgrading contracts
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organization has awarded China Railway Construction Corp a 123m riyal contract to renew 78·4 km of the Dammam – Riyadh freight line within 21 months, and local contractor Al Mobty a 391m riyal contract to double the 241 km single track section between Hofuf and Haradah. ...
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NewsHaydarpaşa station modernisation approved
TURKEY: The historical monuments section of the Ministry of Culture & Tourism has approved plans for Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa station to be modernised for use by high speed services. The landmark waterfront station on the Asian side of the city opened in 1908. Services were suspended in 2013 because of ...
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NewsDSB sets out long-term rolling stock requirements
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB has supplied the Ministry of Transport with an assessment of the rolling stock needed under the government’s Togfonden DK strategy. This aims to use taxes on hydrocarbon extraction to fund electrification and infrastructure works to provide 1 h journey times between Denmark’s main cities. The ...
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NewsTrans-Kazakhstan railway opens
KAZAKHSTAN: President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave the signal to launch operations on east-west and north-south lines totalling 1 200 km on August 22. Speaking to staff at stations along the routes from a teleconference in Zhezkazgan, Nazarbayev said the opening of two routes on the same day was a first ...
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NewsNagpur metro foundation stone laid
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the two-line Nagpur metro August 21. A 19·7 km north-south line is planned to connect Automotive Square with Mihan City on a mostly elevated alignment, with an underground section at the southern end. Interchange will be provided ...
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NewsOlsztyn selects new tramway contractors
POLAND: Skanska signed a 150m złoty contract with the city of Olsztyn on August 19 for the construction of 6 km of tram route by September 2015. Construction of the standard gauge network officially began in September 2012, but in 2013 the city terminated FCC Construcción’s contract, citing a ...
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NewsTemperature control on China - Europe trains
CONTAINER: UNIT45 has developed a 45 ft diesel-electric temperature-controlled container designed for China - Europe rail journeys of up to 20 days. 'By incorporating a specially designed 800 litre diesel tank into the power unit, we have solved the problem that most rail operators cannot provide a reliable power supply ...
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NewsLasers produce 3D map of French railways
FRANCE: A StreetMapper mobile laser scanning system has been used to produce detailed three-dimensional maps of several hundred kilometres of the French rail network to support studies for modernisation and electrification works. The StreetMapper was developed by 3D Laser Mapping and IGI, and is operated by FIT ESIC. The companies ...
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NewsMontpellier Sud de France station bidder selected
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF has selected a consortium led by Icade as preferred bidder for the public-private partnership contract to design and build Montpellier Sud de France station. The station on the new line between Nîmes and Montpellier is due to open in the fourth quarter of 2017. It ...
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NewsElectrical measurement tools at InnoTrans
LEM: Electrical measuring technology supplier LEM will highlight its 42 years of experience in reducing the size, weight and cost of equipment, while maintaining performance requirements. A range of products will be on show at InnoTrans 2014, including an EM4TII on-board energy meter for both DC and AC vehicles, control ...
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NewsJump into a virtual world
TRAINING: Pennant has produced a prototype Goods Yard Shunter Trainer by combining virtual reality goggles with computer simulation technology originally developed for training military parachutists. Simulation is an established tool for driver training, says John Churchman, Senior Business Development Manager, but 'we now have the ability to place an individual ...