All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 692
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NewsFirst Jazz EMU delivered
ITALY: Alstom officially handed over the first of 70 Coradia Meridian electric multiple-units being built for Trenitalia at Roma Termini on March 27. The operator placed the €440m order for the four and five-car 160 km/h EMUs in November 2012. Following the musical themes of the Vivalto and Minuetto trainsets, ...
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NewsCrossrail trains to reach Reading
UK: Transport for London and the Department for Transport announced on March 27 that the western branch of the Crossrail route is to be extended from Maidenhead to Reading. Project sponsors TfL and DfT had previously envisaged that those Crossrail services continuing west from the deep-level platforms at London Paddington ...
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NewsAusterity in Northern Rail direct award franchise
UK: The Department for Transport announced on March 27 that it had directly awarded incumbent Northern Rail a new franchise running from the end of its current franchise on April 1 2014 until February 2016, when a long-term franchise is now expected to be let. DfT said the deal 'marks ...
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NewsSydney opens Inner West light rail extension
AUSTRALIA: The 5·6 km Inner West Extension of the Sydney Light Rail line from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill was inaugurated by New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell and Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian on March 27. Adding nine stops, including an interchange with Sydney Trains’ Bankstown Line suburban services at Dulwich ...
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NewsCoach order a done deal
POLAND: PKP Intercity is expected to confirm a contract shortly for FPS to supply 20 long distance passenger coaches for Warszawa - Poznan - Szczecin services. Valued at 148 million złoty, the deal covers eight first class, 10 second-class and two restaurant cars, specifying air-conditioned vehicles suitable for 200 km/h ...
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NewsVoith to retrofit Pacer DMU final drives and wheelsets
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains has awarded Voith a contract to supply 188 final drives and cardan shafts to improve the reliability and reduce the maintenance costs of Class 142 diesel multiple-units operated by Northern Rail and Arriva Trains Wales. Voith has modified the design of its KE-485 ...
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NewsRecord ridership in a 'challenging year' for SBB
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways found 2013 'a challenging year', but carried more than a million passengers/day for the first time while its freight business recorded positive net income for the first time in more than 40 years. SBB's consolidated net income fell from SFr422·5 in 2012 to SFr238·2m in 2013, ...
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NewsRégiolis approved for passenger service
FRANCE: Alstom reports that its Régiolis multiple-unit is now expected to enter passenger service with SNCF on April 22. What the manufacturer describes as ‘an important milestone' in the Régiolis commissioning programme was reached on March 21 when safety regulator EPSF issued its approval for the new train type to ...
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NewsPotential growth in the rail catering sector
INNOTRANS: Many railways see potential growth in the catering sector, which is worth around €1bn a year according to Roger Williams, President of the International Rail Catering Group. InnoTrans 2014 is strengthening its focus on this business, with a new theme of 'Travel Catering & Comfort'. Galley kitchen specialists ...
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NewsWorld rail market March 2014
France: SNCF has appointed Nomosphère to provide wi-fi for passengers at 128 stations by the end of February 2015. Free access will be funded by advertising on the portal managed by Métropolis. Germany: Scheidt & Bachmann is to supply AKN Eisenbahn with FareGo Sales ST|40 ticket machines and back ...
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NewsCantus retains Nordost-Hessen-Netz contract
GERMANY: Following a Europe-wide tender, on March 24 Nordhessen transport authority NVV selected incumbent Cantus for a 15-year contract to operate Nordost-Hessen-Netz regional services between December 2016 and December 2031. The services linking Kassel, Göttingen and Fulda and between Bebra and Eisenach have been operated by the Cantus joint venture ...
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NewsEtihad Rail operation and maintenance joint venture formed
UAE: National railway project promoter Etihad Rail has signed an operations and maintenance joint venture agreement with DB Schenker Rail. The Etihad Rail DB joint venture will initially provide operations and maintenance expertise for the 264 km Phase 1 of the network. Test running is now underway and commercial freight ...
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News10th InnoTrans draws new exhibitors
INNOTRANS: More than 200 first-time exhibitors will be participating in the 10th InnoTrans trade fair, which takes place in Berlin on September 23-26. Once again, InnoTrans has attracted a high proportion of international exhibitors, including a joint US pavilion organised by the Railway Engineering & Maintenance Suppliers Association which will ...
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NewsCOWI buys ERTMS consultancy
DENMARK: COWI announced on March 24 that it had acquired Danish railway consultancy Apsilon, which specialises in signalling systems. Founded in 2000, Apsilon has 14 staff at two offices and recorded turnover of DKr18m in 2013. 'With the acquisition of Apsilon - which is among the leading Danish railway consultants ...
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NewsGATX buys 18 500 wagons from GE Capital Rail Services
USA: GATX Corp announced the purchase of GE Capital Rail Services' North American per diem boxcar fleet of more than 18 500 vehicles for $340m on March 24. The fleet has an average age of 34 years, and GATX expects it to generate $70m in annual revenues. 'This fleet acquisition ...
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NewsMakkah metro railway systems contract pre-qualification begins
SAUDI ARABIA: The Development Commission of Makkah & Mashaaer has invited applications to prequalify for the railway systems contract for the 25·5bn riyal Phase 1 of the Makkah metro, which is expected to open in 2019. The scope of the design and build contract includes track, power supplies, 1·5 kV ...
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NewsRail Industry Training & Recruitment in Brief
DB Schenker Rail and the Technical University of Dresden have agreed to establish a Centre for Rail Logistics to develop alternative business models and product ideas in the rail freight sector. The co-operation agreement runs to December 2018 with an option for a further year. Angolan operator Caminho de ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market March 2014
Australia: On January 15 Queensland’s Department of Transport and the Bombardier NGR Consortium signed the A$4·4bn New Generation Rollingstock PPP 32-year contract covering the supply and maintenance of 75 six-car EMUs (RG 1.14 p14). They are to be manufactured at Savli in India for delivery over five years, with testing ...
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NewsCNR Dalian locomotives exported to Ethiopia
ETHIOPIA: CNR Dalian is supplying three diesel locomotives for use by contractor China Civil Engineering Construction Corp during the construction of the standard gauge route which is to replace the out-of-use metre gauge line from Djibouti to Addis Abeba. The 2 940 kW locomotives have 16V240ZJD engines and a maximum ...
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NewsNew fares boost high speed traffic
SPAIN: Presenting on March 20 the results of the first 12 months of the market-based fares structure introduced by RENFE in February 2013, Development Minister Ana Pastor reported that the number of passengers carried on high speed services had grown by 23⋅47% from 12 million to reach 14⋅9 million in ...