All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 722
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NewsMelbourne’s B-Class trams to be refurbished
AUSTRALIA: Public Transport Victoria is investing A$4·4m to refurbish Melbourne’s B-Class trams, which make up a quarter of Yarra Trams’ fleet. The work will be completed early next year and aims to increase the capacity of each two-section tram by seven to nine passengers. This will be achieved by ...
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NewsWarszawa orders short trams
POLAND: Tramwaje Warszawskie has selected Pesa to supply 30 low-floor trams to the Polish capital for 185·4m złoty. Pesa beat offers from Solaris, CAF, Škoda Transportation and Stadler. At 20 m long, the unidirectional three-section trams from Pesa’s Jazz family will be shorter than most of the Warszawa fleet. ...
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NewsNews in Brief
The Dutch government has allocated €2·4bn for rail in the 2014 budget, with projects to include eliminating conflicting paths at Utrecht and €126m to provide additional tracks at Weesp which will enable the provision of a train every 10 min between Schiphol and Lelystad. A decision on the implementation of ...
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NewsArrowedge aims to cut fuel use
USA: Union Pacific has begun testing Arrowedge, a device designed to reduce fuel consumption by improving the aerodynamics of double-stack intermodal trains. The first wagon of the train is loaded with one container, with the 14·6 m (48 ft) Arrowedge sitting on top. Its tapered body improves air flow around ...
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NewsSmart phone for locomotives
RADIO: Kapsch CarrierCom has launched the RC900 cab radio, which it calls a ‘smart phone for locomotives’. The RC900 supports GSM-R for speech and data, plus ER-GSM, and has inbuilt wi-fi and a GPS receiver. Its memory can be expanded with an SD card.
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NewsKøbenhavn - Ringsted civils contract awarded
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has awarded a joint venture of MJ Eriksson of Denmark and Züblin of Germany a DKr562m contract for civil works on the 18 km Ishøj - Køge section of the 60 km New Line København - Ringsted, which is being designed for 250 km/h operation. One ...
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NewsInterCity East Coast tendering launched
UK: The Department for Transport formally launched the competition for the next InterCity East Coast franchise on October 25, publishing documents setting out what potential bidders will need to consider when developing proposals for the operation of passenger services from London King's Cross to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh. 'We want ...
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NewsWorld rail market October 2013
Australia: Western Australia’s Department of Transport has appointed a Parsons Brickerhoff/Aecom joint venture to support development of the A$1·9bn Perth MAX light rail project. Germany: Keolis Deutschland has selected Scheidt & Bachmann to supply a ticketing system including mobile terminals, onboard and station ticket vending machines and a back-office ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
CNR Qiqihar has developed a stainless steel bodied iron ore wagon with a 40 tonne axleload for heavy haul lines in Australia. The axleload could be increased to 44 tonnes if required. La Farga has introduced its Dx3 Deep Defects Detector to the rail market, saying it can identify small ...
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NewsKapsch CarrierCom opens Lisboa office
PORTUGAL: Kapsch CarrierCom Chief Executive Kari Kapsch officially opened the company's branch office in Lisboa on October 22, saying it would provide the Austrian firm with a base to 'address key target markets in Africa, South America and the Arabic regions'. The office has eight staff. Kapsch CarrierCom acquired part ...
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NewsDubai metro contract extended
UAE: Serco Group announced on October 24 that it had extended its contract with Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority to operate and maintain the metro network. The five-year extension is worth £355m and will run to September 2019, with an option to extend it further to 2021. Serco has ...
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NewsPrivate operation ends on Sarmiento route
ARGENTINA: The Sarmiento commuter route in Buenos Aires was due to return to full state control on October 24, transferring to federal railway operating company SOFSE and infrastructure company ADIF SE. Since the government revoked the concession held by Trenes de Buenos Aires in 2012, the Sarmiento network had been ...
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NewsFremantle Port rail expansion contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: York Civil was awarded a contract to extend the North Quay Rail Terminal at Fremantle Port near Perth on October 23. The A$31m project is funded by the central government, which is contributing A$18·6m, and the state of Western Australia, which is providing A$12·4m. The work will extend ...
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NewsEurope's railways are getting even safer
EUROPE: The number of people killed in railway-related accidents in the EU during 2012 was the lowest since data collection to common standards began in 2006, according to figures published by the European Railway Agency on October 21. The member states' national safety authorities recorded 36 passenger and 46 employee ...
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NewsTyne & Wear Metro launches door safety campaign
UK: A campaign to encourage passengers not to obstruct train doors has been launched on the Tyne & Wear Metro. This includes a specially-commissioned animation 'Use your brain near a train' which is being published via social media. The campaign has been launched in response to recommendations made by ...
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NewsSouth West Trains prepares to introduce longer trains
UK: South West Trains has taken delivery of the first two five-car Class 458/5 electric multiple-units rebuilt from former Gatwick Express Class 460 vehicles. The first 10-car formation is expected to enter service by early December, increasing peak capacity on commuter routes from Reading and Hounslow to London Waterloo station. ...
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NewsSantiago metro lines 3 and 6 E&M contract awarded
CHILE: A consortium of Eurovia subsidiary ETF and Colas Rail has been awarded a €150m contract to build and maintain track and catenary on lines 3 and 6 of the Santiago metro. ETF's share is 55% The contract covers 75 track-km and 15 track-km in two depots. Once built, ETF ...
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NewsPere Calvet
Pere Calvet, Director General of Spanish operator FGC, has been named President of UITP’s Metro Assembly.
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NewsCuvillier confirms high speed alignments to Toulouse and Dax
FRANCE: Noting that his government ‘would prioritise the everyday transport needs of the French people without turning its back on high speed rail’, Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier confirmed on October 23 the government’s intention to build two new high speed lines under the 410 km Grand Projet Ferroviaire du Sud-Ouest. ...
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NewsSiemens funds rolling stock academy
UK: Siemens is to provide 50% of the cost of a training academy specialising in traction and rolling stock skills, to be built at its King's Heath depot in Northampton which maintains electric multiple-units for London Midland and is the headquarters for Siemens' UK service operation. The remainder of ...
