All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 705
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NewsWorld rolling stock market January 2014
Austria: Linz Linien has exercised an option for a further seven Bombardier Cityrunner low-floor trams. The 900 mm gauge cars will be 40 m long and 2300 mm wide with 70 seats. Azerbaijan: Baku Metro expected to sign a contract by the end of 2013 with Transmashholding to buy ...
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NewsETCS goes live to Haparanda
SWEDEN: The ETCS Level 2 installation on Trafikverket's Haparandabanan leading to the Finnish border at Tornio was put into revenue service on December 16. The first Green Cargo freight train to run under ETCS departed from Boden at 04.10 that morning and arrived in Haparanda just over 2 h later. ...
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NewsAlstom to open Brazilian tram factory
BRAZIL: Alstom Transport is to open a tram factory at the group’s existing hydropower manufacturing site in Taubaté. The 16 000 m² plant, to be operational from December 2014, will manufacture trams for the Latin American market. Alstom is to invest €15m in the project. ‘The tramway is gaining ...
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NewsVareo diesel multiple-unit unveiled
GERMANY: The first of 56 Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units for Dieselnetz Köln services was unveiled at Köln Hauptbahnhof on January 15. The 140 km/h DMUs units have real-time information screens, at-seat power sockets, CCTV, an accessible toilet and multi-purpose spaces for bicycles and prams. The 390 kW MTU powerpacks ...
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NewsPolish regional train operator decentralised
POLAND: The local divisions of country-wide regional train operator Przewozy Regionalne gained autonomy with effect from January 1, giving them greater management freedom accompanied by decentralised accounting, cost allocation and debts. PR was originally formed by transferring the regional passenger activities of national railway PKP to the collective ownership of ...
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NewsMore freight to run on High Speed 1
UK: DB Schenker Rail (UK) introduced additional freight services on High Speed 1 from January 13, carrying automotive components and refrigerated containers of perishable foodstuffs from Spain to London via the Channel Tunnel. DB Schenker Rail (UK) has a track access contract with HS1 for an initial six months, and ...
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NewsAlstom delivers high-capacity EMU to SuperVia
BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro commuter operator SuperVia has taken delivery of an initial Alstom Metropolis electric multiple-unit for testing, a year after the €105m order for 10 eight-car units was placed in December 2012. Entry into service is planned by the end of March, with deliveries to be completed by ...
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NewsEngineering skills college to support High Speed 2
UK: A dedicated engineering training faculty for students aged 16 and over is to be opened by 2017 to support construction of the planned High Speed 2 network. According to the Department for Transport, the HS2 skills college will require a 'multi-million pound investment' to train 'a generation of world-class ...
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NewsNews in Brief - January 2014
Zhengzhou Railway Bureau has signed agreements with SF Express, China Post and UPS to carry express parcels on high speed trains, starting with the Beijing – Guangzhou line. Rail transport is expected to be 50% cheaper than by air. UK pension investor the Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd has increased ...
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NewsMilano interurban tram line to reopen
ITALY: The Milano – Seregno interurban tram line, out of use since 2011, is to be brought back into operation from 2016. The route from Niguarda to Desio, which closed in 2011, is to be realigned to run in a road median strip, and the Desio – Seregno section ...
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NewsTracklaying completed on trans-Kazakhstan rail link
KAZAKHSTAN: Two new lines are on course to open later this year, after ceremonies in December marked the joining of the tracks being laid from each end of the routes. According to national railway KTZ the lines are of an economic and social importance with it would be 'difficult ...
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NewsChinese firm to modernise Chemin de Fer Congo-Océan
CONGO: Minister of Transport & Civil Aviation Rodolphe Adada and China Railway Construction Corp signed an agreement to study rehabilitation of the 1 067 mm gauge Chemin de Fer Congo-Océan network on December 21. Both the Pointe Noire - Brazzaville main line and the Mont Bélo - ...
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NewsCambridge Science Park station to incorporate Game of Life
UK: Construction of a new station to serve the Cambridge Science Park in the Chesterton area of north Cambridge is due to get underway shortly, following the granting of planning approval last month. Opening is planned for December 2015. Around 3 000 passengers/day are predicted to the use the station, ...
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NewsHŽ Cargo privatisation collapses
CROATIA: The planned sale of a 75% stake in HŽ Cargo has been abandoned following the collapse of negotiations with Grampet Group, the Ministry of Transport announced on January 13. A call for expressions of interest in the privatisation of the national railway’s freight business had initially ...
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NewsTrinity and Element form US$2bn wagon leasing alliance
USA: Wagon manufacturing and leasing group Trinity Industries and Element Financial Corp and have entered into a strategic alliance which aims to provide lease financing for up to $2bn of wagons over two years. An initial deal covering the sale of leased wagons worth $105m to Element was completed in ...
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NewsStuttgart orders more Tangos
GERMANY: Stuttgart transport operator Stuttgarter Strassenbahnen has exercised an option for an additional 20 S-DT8.12 light rail vehicles from Stadler Pankow, the manufacturer announced on January 13. The order is worth €73m including spare parts. SSB placed an initial order for 20 LRVs in early 2010, the first of ...
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NewsRail-specific export credit rules introduced to encourage sustainable development
INTERNATIONAL: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development has introduced sector-specific rules to govern government-backed export credits, loan guarantees and risk insurance in the rail market. The rail sector understanding which came into effect on January 1 provides tailored amendments to the credit rules followed by the 34 OECD member ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market January 2014
Australia: Thiess has selected a joint venture of Aecom and Aurecon Design to provide design services for the Moreton Bay Rail project. Belarus: China National Electric Import & Export Corp beat four other international bidders for a contract to electrifiy the line from Maladzyechna to the Lithuanian border, with ...
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NewsDCD begins rolling stock plant upgrade
SOUTH AFRICA: The R100m first phase of DCD Rolling Stock's R240m programme of investment in its Boksburg plant was launched by Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba during December. Running for up to five years, the programme is intended to enable DCD to benefit from the multi-billion rand and long-term spending ...
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NewsMetro-North access to Penn Station endorsed
USA: Speaking in Albany on January 8, the governor of New York State Andrew Cuomo offered his support for a commuter rail investment project which would see MTA Metro-North’s New Haven Line trains routed over Amtrak’s Hell Gate bridge into New York Penn Station. Provisionally costed at around $1bn, the ...